Dog will not leave rug

downperiscope · 03-10-2009, 09:46 AM

or anything else to lay on inside Dog house. How do I break her of this. During the day if it is warm outside we leave our dog outside in her kennel. I have always tried to keep something inside the dog house for her to lay on but ultimately she removes it. I have tried nailing it to the floor and anything else I can think of. I have tried straw or pet bedding, she will not leave anything in the dog house.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to say that our dog is going on two years old. She tears up stuff in her kennel thats in the house. She stays in it at night.

Elana55 · 03-10-2009, 09:57 AM

How much time is she forced to spend outside alone with the dog house for shelter? How much time do you spend with the dog? Are you training the dog? How old is the dog? Do you take this dog for daily walks? Is she inside and with you when you are home?

This sounds like a dog that is 100% bored and does this behavior to alleviate the bordom? When you nail the rug down, it makes it a better game!

downperiscope · 03-10-2009, 10:21 AM

She is in the kennel while my husband and I are at work. As soon as we get home we let her out of the kennel and let her run and then we bring her in the house with us. She is almost 2. We can give her toys and things to play with but ultimately she tears up anything inside the kennel. We have underground dog fence but she refuses to get off our deck when she has it on. We originally got her because my husband's daughter wanted another dog to replace the one that we had that passed away. Our dalmation was 14.
Now his daughter is hardly ever at our home and when she does come our dog goes crazy. Maybe your right maybe she is bored but I don't know what else to do for her.

hulkamaniac · 03-10-2009, 12:14 PM

Maybe she just doesn't like laying on something soft. Does she use the dog house otherwise?

Elana55 · 03-10-2009, 02:21 PM

Well, this is one of the problems with using an aversive correction (e fence). It can so scare the dog, that they are afraid to move when it is on. Maybe the area fenced is too small and she gets the tone too soon (just wondering.. I don't use an E fence).

When you say you let her out of the kennel and "let her run" but she is afraid to leave the deck when the e fence is on, is she just allowed to roam about the neighborhood loose? Un fenced or confined?

If she does not leave anything in her dog house in her kennel (it sounds like she is in a chain link kennel days) then don't leave anything in there. I still think her issue is boredom, but we all need to go to work.. someone has to buy the dog food. You could get a Buster Cube and feed her food in that out in the kennel (instead of feeding her in a bowl in the house). You could also get a couple of Kongs and fill them with yogurt or cottage cheese of peanut butter (or a combination) and leave that for her when you go. Freezing them over night can make them last longer too. This can help with boredom.

Do you walk the dog or train her at all? A two year old dog is a good age.. lots of energy and a really great walking companion. Way fun to train too.

I am a bit confused.. you have another dog? Or is this one dog you have and she is the one that is kenneled and your husband's daughter left there etc., and that is the dog that goes crazy when the daughter shows up? By crazy, do you mean crazy for her attention? Or is the dog aggressive?

Have you thought of walking her when you get home instead of just letting her out of the kennel? Do you play with her at all? Do you do any sort of training on a regular basis? Do you take her with you places? All those things can be lots of fun and can alleviate the dog's boredom.

I don't know what kind of dog this is, but most dogs thrive on interaction. I have a 2 year old German shepherd. I walk her a mile b4 work (I get up at 4:30AM) and then again at night (for 2 miles at least) plus I spend time training her and playing with her. I sometimes feed her entire meal in a Buster Cube and then I give her a Kong stuffed with peanut butter and/or Yogurt and some dog food (less in the Buster Cube when I do this.. I don't want her to get fat!). All this plus I work full time, have a 45 minute commute (each way) and bad knees (20 years milking cows). I tell you this so you know I am neither young nor overwhelmed with free time!

I take my dog with me places too. We go to the park and walk and I train her there too and when it is real hot in summer sometimes I go to the ice cream stand with her and we each get a cone (sometimes the cat comes too.. LOL.. and we ALL get ice cream). I don't do this too often or I will get fat!

All these things are GREAT boredom busters (for us people too). Keeping a dog physically active is important but keeping a dog mentally stimulated is just as important.

downperiscope · 03-10-2009, 03:34 PM

We bought the underground fence because we wanted her to be able to be in our yard and not run out into the street if we were unable to watch her constantly. We have about an acre of ground that she can be in. I trained her for three weeks walking the area with her that she is allowed to be in, plus the flags are still installed in the yard. She had one bad experience with the underground fence because she wanted to run out to our road to visit with a neighbor’s dog and the fence shocked her. After that she would not hardly leave the deck.

When we get home, we let her out and we stay out in the yard with her where she is allowed to be and she runs and plays. At that point we do not have the collar on her for the fence but she is still within the area she is allowed. If we did not have the electric fence she would go over to the neighbors every time we would let her out.

Yes she is in a chain link kennel that my husband constructed so it’s actually larger than most kennels that can be purchased in stores around here. Her doghouse is large also I just feel bad that she has nothing to lie on. During the summer you will find her lying on top of her doghouse. Her name is Molly but I told my husband that we should have called her Snoopy. We got her about a year after our Dalmatian passed away. She was about 3 months old when we got her. She appears to be a pit bull but does not have the really massive head or the fullness of her body like some pit bulls do. She is very lovable and my husbands plays with her in our house all of the time. She has a whole big wicker basket full of toys in the house.

I do have two Kong’s at home but I have never put them out in the pen with her. I never thought about peanut butter or cottage cheese to put in them and the freezing thing sounds really good. I will try that for tomorrow.

Molly seems to miss my husband’s daughter a lot because she used to play with her a lot and had not been to our house a lot recently (teenager and all). So I wondered if she is upset because she has lost one of her playmates.

I walked her before winter set in. But it was extremely cold here and we did not get out much. As far as us taking her with us before we got her I wanted to get a small dog so we could take it with us all of the time. Our Dalmatian had to be taken to what I call the doggy hotel on weekends when we were gone because of her size. I just don’t feel like its right to have a pet and to just ignore it and leave it alone all of the time. We have a pontoon and a boat and our Dalmatian used to go with us on the boat but Molly seems apprehensive about being on water.

I am not familiar with a Buster Cube?

Elana55 · 03-10-2009, 06:28 PM

It sounds like you do an awful lot right with your dog. Yes.. when the weather breaks back out walking is good. Remember it is so good for us too!

I would suggest that you take away all her toys but one or two. What you do is play with those two and hide the rest. next week, thake those two away and get two different once. Dogs are like kids.. they get bored with toys.l You get to keep recycling them so they are fresh. Another idea is have a couple of special toys that she can only play with if you or your husband are part of the game.

You might want to build a "flirt pole." This is a pole with a line and a rag or toy tied to the end of the line. You can get her to chase the toy around.. and move fast.. it can burn up a LOT of energy. You can also use the flirt pole to teach her self control by disengaging when you ask.

I think you might want to work at desnsitizing her to the boat so she can go with you. Maybe start with the boat at dock. Use food rewards to get her to associate the boat with good things.. and work from there. Heck.. Pit bulls and their crosses, when handled right are, as you have noticed, REALLY social and loving dogs to people. Once she is used to the whole boat thing she will be so much happier with you than not with you I am sure! I had dogs that rode in a canoe with me. My current dog has not been tested yet.. but this season is looking good for that. I wonder what she will do when I catch a fish? We may ALL end up in the lake LOL.

If you go to www.petswuppliesdelivered.com and look for Buster Cubes you can see them there. They also sell them at petSmart. These are food puzzles. You put kibble in them and the dog has to flip them around to get the food out. It slows down eating and gives the dog activity and gets their mind engaged. You can change them so that they are easy or hard. My dog started out easy and went to hard the first time.. she and her cat, Oliver, work the cube. Atka has to be fast or Oliver will steal the food. It can keep her entertained for 20 minutes or so. There is NO RULE that says a dog must eat out of a bowl. I can just barely ift her evening meal in the cube (I got the big one) and she gets 1/2 c of dog food in the AM in a Kong with peanut butter. She cannot WAIT to go in her crate when I go to work! Somedays I think she is pushing me out the door.

It sounds to me like your dog just isn't going to let that towel or bed stay in her dog house. It is a toy and so she takes it out. I guess the thing I would accept is she is going to lay on a hard surface. I removed the bedding from my dog's crate because she started to eat it.. so she is now on a hard surface. She is fine. Yes.. I would prefer to see her on a bed, but I don't need to go to vet with an obstructed or torsed dog.. so that is how it is. Nights she is with me and has a bed. It is different than days when I have to work cuz someone has to make money for the dog food.

OK.. now we have some things for you to do and have fun doing.. do you have a photo of her you can post??? She sounds like a good dog!