April 21, 2011
My boyfriend and I have 2 dogs. We tried crate-training them. One has transitioned well, but the other has not. How can we retrain one without 'punishing' the other?
Full Question:
My boyfriend and I have 2 dogs, both small ~20 lbs. We acquired both as adults, Robot from a pound and Diesel from an elderly couple that couldn't care for him anymore. The problem we are having is with house training. We have a doggie door, and tried crate-training them. Robot transitioned very well, and we never have any problems with him. Diesel still has accidents in the house, although lately they seem less like accidents. In the mornings, it's almost as if he forgets he can go outside by himself when we are still sleeping. And now as the weather had turned colder, he doesn't go outside at all. If he was our only dog, we'd just put the crate back up against the doggie door at night and when we are at work. But it doesn't seem fair to limit Robot's freedom. How can we retrain one dog without 'punishing' the other? We both work full-time, and actually I'm only there on the weekends.Holly
Cindy's Answer:
I would recommend our housetraining ebook.
Dogs don’t understand “fair.” It is our job as their leader to give them structure and training. Using a crate is the best way to do this and there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. Using a crate isn’t punishment, even for a dog that doesn’t have any behavioral problems. You should consider changing your way of thinking about this because it’s actually hindering your dogs. Freedom is something that dogs earn, they aren’t entitled to it.
Here is a directory of housetraining info.
I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website for any additional questions you may have.. If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q & A’s and posts on our forum.
Cindy
Dogs don’t understand “fair.” It is our job as their leader to give them structure and training. Using a crate is the best way to do this and there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this. Using a crate isn’t punishment, even for a dog that doesn’t have any behavioral problems. You should consider changing your way of thinking about this because it’s actually hindering your dogs. Freedom is something that dogs earn, they aren’t entitled to it.
Here is a directory of housetraining info.
I would direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website for any additional questions you may have.. If you type in your key words it will guide you to articles, Q & A’s and posts on our forum.
Cindy
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