Hi,
I have not been around for a long time as all was very nice here. But I lost my Harley to heart failure so now I have a new puppy.

I need advice on crate location as my house is very open.
My old boy Dexter is not happy and bug the puppy even when he is crated. Growl or bark at him. They are in the same room and can see each other.

My question is were is the best option to place an extra crate for the puppy. My bed room and a closed door or in the barn (cold and humid very soon)
The rest of the house is in full sun or not enough room for a crate.

The puppy is a 10 weeks old European Doberman

 Quote: Ariane Gauthier

Hi,
I have not been around for a long time as all was very nice here. But I lost my Harley to heart failure so now I have a new puppy.

I need advice on crate location as my house is very open.
My old boy Dexter is not happy and bug the puppy even when he is crated. Growl or bark at him. They are in the same room and can see each other.

My question is were is the best option to place an extra crate for the puppy. My bed room and a closed door or in the barn (cold and humid very soon)
The rest of the house is in full sun or not enough room for a crate.

The puppy is a 10 weeks old European Doberman

A few questions for Clarification:

Is Dexter already used to being Crated?

If so, where is his crate located now?

Could the new pup's crate be put in an open closet & not be visible from Dexter's crate?

I would NOT want to EXILE a Dober-Pup to the BARN in WINTER

http://leerburg.com/introducingdogs.htm

P.S. Adriane, my heartfelt Condolences on your loss of Harley...

Dexter is crate trained and had great manners until the puppy arrived.

My one closet I could use is not well located as it is full sun in the after noon and I have no way of providing shade.

I guess my bed room would be the best location when I am not home

 Quote: Ariane Gauthier

Dexter is crate trained and had great manners until the puppy arrived.

My one closet I could use is not well located as it is full sun in the after noon and I have no way of providing shade.

I guess my bed room would be the best location when I am not home

Well, because Dobermans are typically quite Territorial in defending their own Home, then it was to be expected that your established Resident dog would NOT WELCOME any new canine onto your property "with open arms" -- At least I do hope these TWO are NOT both Males ... And by the way, it is quite possible that Dexter will Strongly Resent it if this "upstart newcomer" gets to claim YOUR BEDROOM as its Private Domain Is there really nowhere else to put the puppy's crate, such as a bathroom, perhaps (even if you must install some Black-Out window covering to keep the sun from Over-Heating that space) ???

Dexter does not like my bed room, he sleep in his crate (open door) and sunbath in the kitchen/dining room.

Kitchen, living room and dining room are just one big open space (first floor). My tiny powder room is too small for a crate and my mud room/tack room is loaded with a washer/dryer and horse stuff.
Second floor is 2 bed room and very hot/sunny messy office/cloth drying room.

Harley lived in my bed room when I was not in the house.

Dexter is more my boyfriend's dog. Harley was my shadow

 Quote: Ariane Gauthier

Dexter does not like my bed room, he sleep in his crate (open door) and sunbath in the kitchen/dining room.

Kitchen, living room and dining room are just one big open space (first floor). My tiny powder room is too small for a crate and my mud room/tack room is loaded with a washer/dryer and horse stuff.
Second floor is 2 bed room and very hot/sunny messy office/cloth drying room.

Harley lived in my bed room when I was not in the house.

Dexter is more my boyfriend's dog. Harley was my shadow

Oh I see, okay then -- Probably best to just do the same with your new puppy as you did before with Harley.

Territorial of no not?...I would not tolerate Dexter, if he weryyr . DRe mine, barking or groweling at my pup. Just not be allowed in MY house. You note I said MY house. Because I am the boss of MY house not the dogs.

I have had 4 work/GSDs(1 female,3 males...all dogs intact) in the last 13 years & some did not get along with each other at all no matter what I did or how much time passed. But they were still not allowed to bully each other. If you start out as allowing that kind of behavior it will only increase as time goes on.

Also fact of life for multiple dog owners: sometimes it turned out that they may never get along well..but can be trained to tolerate one an other to some degree. I have a number of friends that have multiple wl GSDs & mals & like me some get on well together & some do not at all.

Sorry to hear about you loss of Harley. Good luck with & enjoy your new puppy.

100% agree with Anne.

Dogs with sound temperaments can get along with little bickering but some need to be put in their place to get the message.

As to crating.

The open area of your house need not be a problem.

Simply put a cover over one or both crates.

First put a piece of plywood on top the crate that reaches 4-5 inches past the edges.

That will hold the cover away from the crate where the pup/dog cant get hold of it and tear it up.

I must confirm with what Anne said. When I had only my two Pits there was peace around the house. When later on I adopted two strays (not at the same time) the problems began. One of the Pits became aggressive against them.

I had either to supervise the dogs or to put them in the kennels. I also had to learn (thanks Webboard) not to accept any growling or such thing from the Pit. Meanwhile the Pit tolerates the former strays, but there isn`t any friendship between them. So I don`t leave any toys, bones not even kongs lying around.

I had done this in the beginning and it triggered aggression. Possessiveness, jealousy, envy, whatsoever. In between it is already a quite distant past. Nevertheless I will never do it again, first because I don`t want to run any risk, second because I`ve fortunately been adviced here on the Webboard not do this anyway. Toys, bones, whatsoever are mine.

The tip from Bob, I think is great. I have no experience with crates though, but the kennels helped solving many problems. They have an open (but fenced) space, where the dogs can see each other. But they hve also space with walls around, but with a door through which the dog can withdraw, when he doesn`t want to be seen.

I`m writing this, because it corresponds in principle to the cover over the crate, Bob spoke about.

I`m sorry too for the loss of your Harley and I hope that over time your two dogs will get used to each other. With good management and the always helpful advices you get here from Bob and sometimes also other moderators and various very experienced members. Good luck!

Hi Ariane. Congrats on the new pup! I can't offer much different in the way of advice than what you've already gotten here. It's been a long time since I've had a new puppy in the house, and when I do, I too will have challenges in trying to find a place for the crate. I mainly just wanted to say it's nice to hear from you again, and I'm so sorry for your loss of Harley.