He never goes into his crate unless I put him in when I leave every day, or actually tell him to go in. I feed him in his crate as well. He likes to sleep near the ac vents, he is very hot or out on the deck if it's cool. If I put him in the crate to sleep he would just bark in the morning and wake us up anyway.

I like the muzzle idea for when he's home with my teenage son, who tends not to keep the best eye on him. AS a puppy of course he chews anything someone might leave on the floor.

It's tough living in the city, there is just no space. We def don't have a closet large enough for a crate. We usually eliminate the crate after dog is 1-2 years old and just put them in the kitchen with the gate when we are out. That has always worked out well. We can't get near our dining room with the crate there. I'm a big fan of the crate but after awhile I'm tired of bumping into it and not being able to eat in the dining room.

if u wana slp l8r..just stop getting up and giving him what he wants..
he will get the picture and wait a little longer...my 2 used to whine from around 4 in there 1st few weeks with me...but i would just check on then from a distance and then if they were ok then id climb into bed and slp..we already have a routine...in the week im up at 5:30 and as soon as im up and done getting dressed they will start barking and making a noise...thats around 6 after i have had my breakast and my time. then on weekends when i slp a bit l8r they are quiet until around 8 when im ready for them.
its all about consistency!!

 Quote: Leslie Downey

I like the muzzle idea for when he's home with my teenage son, who tends not to keep the best eye on him. AS a puppy of course he chews anything someone might leave on the floor.

UGH!!! I apologize for this, but shouldn't the dog stay in his crate if who ever is watching him does not do a good job of it?

Muzzles have a place, but for a dog with a lack of groundwork or a puppy in training, they have no place IMHO.

I would NEVER muzzle my dogs for anything other than vet visits, dog aggression and so on.......of course the purpose is to train the dog what is correct so the muzzle can go away and I understand that, but I find it unfair the dog has to wear one due to lack of supervision on a humans part. It kills me when they are used as a crutch.

I want to recommend an article Ed wrote to you: Puppy Groundwork Please, read it.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

Given he is in his crate all of the day he doesn't get too much crate time when we are home. I'm sure that is part of the problem, but given we are at work all day M-F, don't really think it would be fair to keep him in there a lot when we are home.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

I just have a problem putting him in the crate to sleep when he spends 8-10 hours during the day in it. I know I should, but I find it hard to do. And now I'm sure it would take a long time to get him used to it and he would bark relentlessly.

Don't feel guilty about this. Think of it as their den. That is how they think of it. Also, the barking is going to happen at first, but you must not cave in or you are teaching the dog that the whining gets them what they want. Now, the dog is six months old. If he needs to go to the bathroom, there is no reason not to let him out, even after whining. Wait until it subsides for awhile, then let the dog out to go and give it a frozen kong like Connie said. That will occupy the dog for quite awhile. He just needs some distraction.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

He sleeps downstairs usually because it's too hot up in the bedrooms and comes up to wake us up at 5:45.

I wouldn't let the dog sleep in the bedroom regardless of temperature. The best bedding is reserved for pack leaders.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

He never goes into his crate unless I put him in when I leave every day, or actually tell him to go in. I feed him in his crate as well. He likes to sleep near the ac vents, he is very hot or out on the deck if it's cool. If I put him in the crate to sleep he would just bark in the morning and wake us up anyway.

Do you treat the dog going into the crate? I taught my dog to go in there relativly quickly, and she was a spaz case when I got her!

 Quote: Leslie Downey

I like the muzzle idea for when he's home with my teenage son, who tends not to keep the best eye on him. AS a puppy of course he chews anything someone might leave on the floor.

Don't do this. As Connie said it is a crutch. If this dog is yours, why do you want it running around when you are not there to watch it? I want my dog to know that I am in control of his/her environment at all times. If you don't trust someone to be handling your dog properly, it makes no sense to leave the dog under that person's supervision. Besides, no one else should be handling your dog that much anyway.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

It's tough living in the city, there is just no space.

This is true. But think of it this way. If you were living in a one bedroom apartment and found out you were having triplets, would you make long-term plans on staying there?

Is it really so tight for space that you cannot fit in a crate? I live in a two-bedroom apartment with one other person, a cat, and Bella. She is 70 lbs., and uses a large crate. She doesn't run about the house. Rather, she lays down beside me and either chews on a nylabone, or sleeps. Poor doggie, you say...well, she isn't complaining. She knows there is a time for roughousing, and getting excited and running and having fun, and that is when we play outside.

I want to again highly recommend an article Ed wrote to you: Puppy Groundwork Please, read it.

Rick, you credited me for some of Carol's advice, but that's OK. :>

Carol is 100% correct!!!

 Quote: Leslie Downey

I like the muzzle idea for when he's home with my teenage son, who tends not to keep the best eye on him. AS a puppy of course he chews anything someone might leave on the floor.

Then he should be crated..... not muzzled.

I'm 100% in agreement with Carol and Rick.

JMO.

 Quote: leslie downey

I can deal with most of that stuff. If I could only get him to let us sleep later. He's up at 5:45, the sun isn't even up.

As mentioned, the crate will help with that.

For the whining, etc.:

Unless an unwanted behavior has some built-in reward, then NOT rewarding it in any way is a very good method for extinguishing the behavior.

Not reacting to excitement with more excitement and attention .... not feeding him while he is acting up ... not taking him for a walk until he is quiet ...

One thing you might want to try is to stand like a statue, unresponsive and inactive, until the dog is silent and looks at you (probably with a "WTH?" look on his face), and then mark and praise. If you reward the behavior you do want, you're doubling up the teaching: you refuse to reward the unwanted behavior and you look for and mark the wanted behavior.

Sometimes this can result in a kind of bi-polar behavior on the handler's part. When I was teaching my dog not to slip under the closed gate in the yard, and I saw him crouch down to scrape his way under, I said "NO" in my low "no" voice. The INSTANT he reversed his direction and started backing back into the yard, I was marking and praising in my "yes!" voice.

Timing. It can look pretty crazy to an observer.

Some very good advice you've received is about exercise. Both structured exercise and short motivational training sessions will drain frustrated energy.

I'd get the crate, and I'd leave a tired dog in the crate when I left the house.


You asked about teaching bark so you can teach no-bark. I used to recommend (and do) that. Now I don't. Barking is one of those self-rewarding behaviors, I think, that some dogs just like doing, once they start.

You can wait for silence and instantly (timing! timing!) mark and reward, with a cue word (maybe "quiet"). You want the dog to associate the command with the marker and reward, so "no" isn't that great. I like positive commands (to do something) much better than negative ones (not to do something). Marking and rewarding for "quiet" is more effective (IMO) than marking and rewarding for "no."

Thanks for all your replies. I will use the crate more and I will put him in it if someone isn't watching him closely. He does run to his crate when I tell him or I get a treat out of the cabinet. He just doesn't go in on his own accord.

Think he needs some more exercise and marker/obedience work. I got both of Ed's videos and I worked him a lot at first, I'm falling down on the job now that kids are back in school etc.
We have the large crate, it just takes up a huge part of the dining room. Was thinking of putting it in the laundry room, but that's downstairs in the basement. I'm less likely to use it if it's down there.

 Quote: Leslie Downey

Thanks for all your replies. I will use the crate more and I will put him in it if someone isn't watching him closely. He does run to his crate when I tell him or I get a treat out of the cabinet. He just doesn't go in on his own accord.

Think he needs some more exercise and marker/obedience work. I got both of Ed's videos and I worked him a lot at first, I'm falling down on the job now that kids are back in school etc.
We have the large crate, it just takes up a huge part of the dining room. Was thinking of putting it in the laundry room, but that's downstairs in the basement. I'm less likely to use it if it's down there.

Right now I have all adults and seniors and no crates. However, I have kept the crate under the dining-room table.

I agree about the laundry room. Plus a lot of dogs want to be in the social stream, but with some ability to disengage. For me, that has often meant that the dog could see the goings-on but had a wall against one side and possible a cloth over part of it at night.

And yes, more marker work will be a good thing. :>

http://www.leerburg.com/markers.htm