[graficoartista31]

This post is rather long but i am in desperate need of all your help!!

My name is ashley and my boyfriend (bob) and I just recently purchased a second dog to be a companion for our first. Our older dog is named Einstein and our new puppies name is DaVinci. We have had Einstein for 4 years and he was raised by my Boyfriend. We battled with some seperation anxiety with Einie but got thru it. That was tough and I never want to do it again. So farm they seem to get along. Our older one is starting to play with and tolerate the youngling now. So here is my delema...

Right now Einie sleeps with us on the bed and even though we wish he didnt and we push him off, in the morning we find him back on the bed. He has been our baby for 4 years and even though I know its fixable, I sorta like him cuddling with us. Davinci on the other hand sleeps in a crate in our spare bathroom with a nightlight and soft music. Most say, the crate should be in our bedroom and I feel guilty putting the little one in there at night but his SCREAMS are MURDER, go on for HOURS, and I can't aford to miss the little sleep I get so its where he resides. We have had Davinci for 4 days now and everynight he calmed down faster. We have to be quiet once we put him down, and he seems to settle sooner and sooner each night. Last night it only took him 5 mins to calm down and fall asleep. So I feel the bathroom is working fine. I have 2 crating questions which I will sum up again at the end, but here is the 1st one...

Q #1: Is this harmful for DaVinci to be in the bathroom while we are all in the bedroom? Or if it is working, to continue with it. I'd like to eventually bring the crate into our room but he'd have to be comfortable being in his crate and seperate from me before we do that. He is SUPER attached to me right now and if he see's/or hears me, and can't be under my feet, he cries. I want him to stay close to me emotionally, but I also want him to learn how to be on his own too. Will housing him in the bathroom at such an early age post for seperation anxiety problems later?


Another issue I am worried about is what to do during the day. I curently work from home and hope to get an office job shortly. While at home, I have let the pup roam since a)he is in the crate all night and also when I leave home and 2)watching him has been easy. (Remember I said he won't leave my feet?) A friend who's dogs both love their crates, told me it would be fine to place him in another room other then the bedroom since thats what she did. She also let them have freedom when she was home for the same reason I do. The turned out fine (She did however have both her dogs in crates side by side at night, so I wonder if the company is what made it a positive den. My pup is alone) We take frequent potty breaks during the day and have only had 3 indoor accidents in the 4 days of him being here. I want him to become aquainted with being in the crate so while im home I can do chores like Laundry or cooking etc without watching him. I was told to put him in the crate while I can't watch him but when I do, he cries. The whole "I can hear you and see you.. I WANA BE NEAR YOU!" cry. Even if he is calm, if i leave the room, he screams.

Q #2: What can I do to help ease his fear of going in the crate while im home and not fear being along in it? I put treats, toys, kongs, blankets etc in it to make it fun and he still doesnt care. If i sit near it, and throw toys in it, he will go in and get them and come out. He will also sit in the crate with the door shut for a few minutes. But after that, or if i leave, he SCREAMS. Whats worse, is if i get up to go somewhere, my older dog follows me which im sure makes the pup even more jelous and left behind. What do I do when this happens?

I know I am not supose to aim attention to him since it will inforce that I will show up when he cries, so I wait. The problem that ends up forming is that he won't stop crying long enough for me to praise the good silence and to let him out.

On another note, lets say he DOES quiet down and I can't let him out (either Im doing laundry and left the room, he starts to cry and upon my return he quiets down) how do I reward him?

Most occassions, when he is quiet, I'll get up to go to the bathroom and the cries start back up. What do I do if I need to come back into the office upon returning from a jaunt to the bathroom if he is crying?

Also, should I place the crate in the kitchen when Im cooking, In the bedroom when Im doing laundry, and in the office when I work? Right now, I move it to the office during the day since I am in here MOST of the time, but that doesnt seem to help. He cries and cries and cries!! When I move the Crate closer to my feet, he calms down more.

I know I covered alot and If any of you could help me out with even one solution to one of my issues,I think I could sleep better. Here is the sum up...

1. Is it ok to have the pup in the Bathroom at night (seems to be working) or will that cause seperation anxiety later on.

2. Where/how should I crate him during the day when i can't watch him since he is SUPER attached and screams for HOURS when he is in the cage, even when in the same room as me. I know the "i wana be under your feet" attitude will wear off soon and "EXPLORATION" attitude will creep in. I want him to like his cage before then.

3. What can I do to help ease his fear of going in the crate while im home and not fear being along in it? I can't bring the crate in the kitchen when Im cooking, In the bedroom when Im doing laundry, and in the office when I work. So how do I train him to be ok with my absence? Most say to put it in the most active area (which is the office) but I dart about during the day so no room is ever "THE MOST ACTIVE"

4. On another note, lets say he DOES quiet down and I can't let him out (either Im doing laundry and left the room only to return, he starts to cry and upon my return he quiets down) how do I reward him?

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

[skelaki]

He's fine in another room. It is important to have him in his crate when you're home sometimes so that he doesn't come to associate it with his people leaving him. One thing to do is put him in and then praise and give him a small treat through the back of the crate so that the treat is associated with going into the crate. If he starts crying when you return to the room to check on him or to put something away in the room but you don't plan to let him out, just go about your business and ignore him. Go in and out of the room several times, sometimes just a quick in and out and sometimes stay in the room doing something (read, dust, whatever) without letting him out. When you do let him out, if he starts acting up, just wait by the crate until he stops. The instant he does, quickly praise and open the door. As soon as he comes out, give him a sit command (help him to obey if necessary), and then praise and release him from the sit. This way (1) you praise him for becoming quiet, and (2) obeying a command uses his mind and then he gets praised for obedience.

[graficoartista31]

Thank you so much. Like I said this is my first pup and I wasn't sure how to handle him while im home. I have started to incorporate your advise and so far he won't stop crying but i have faith he will be calm soon. I did notice when I moved the crate to sit right next to my desk, he seemed to calm down faster.

Q: Should I move the cage closer to me or should I keep him where he is (in the room but against the oposit wall). When he does calm down, its for 10 seconds and I try to reward him with a treat but the second I turn my chair, BAM! the crying starts. I feel so bad but i want him to stay in his cage when I'm working.

Q: What should I do when he DOES calm down but I can't take him out? Should I throw a treat inside? Thanks for reasuring my actions are ok. I would love for him to come out and be with me but I just can't watch him. Thanks!! I appreciate it!

[briteday]

1. bathroom at night...our dog sleeps in her crate in the family room at the opposite end of the house because she snores. She is 7 years old and has no problems with this arrangement. I also find that because my husband and I go to bed and get up at different times, putting her in a room other than our bedroom eliminated the problem of her thinking that because someone was coming or going from the room that it was time for her to wake up.

2. When I can't watch a pup during the day and I am moving about I use two different techniques. First you could tether him to your belt loop or such with about a 10' leash. The dog will be near you so that you can watch for signs of needing to go out. Or, you could buy a child safety gate like thing and put it across the laundry room or wherever has a cleanable hard surface floor so that the pup has more room than the crate, but not enough freedom to ruin your carpeting while you're not right there with him. I assume the goal is to eventually give him freedom to be wherever in the house when you are home but you are worried about chewing and piddling right now. Giving him supervised freedom while you are home will get this going faster than crating while you are there.

3. Not one of our dogs has liked their crates right away. We make sure to bait the crate with the most yummy treat (turkey hot dog bits, chop up the hot dog into bite-sized bits and microwave until almost dried out, you can keep them in a baggie, unrefrigerated for about a week). It takes anywhere from a week to a couple of months before our dogs run right in when we say "go crate." But all of our dogs have come to love their crates as a place to take a prized chew toy for privacy or a place to be when someone comes over, especially with small children. The dogs run into their crates and it's like they are saying "hurry up, close the door, close the door!" I've not had a dog yet that didn't come to like his crate. And we'v had a few that were like an octapus to get in for the first couple of weeks. Be patient.

Personally, even if you are planning to go back to work and may need to crate the dog during the day at some point, deal with that as it happens. In the meanwhile I would try to have the dog out of the crate as much as possible during the day while you are home. I think the dog will housebreak much sooner than crating him while you are there. And, I don't think I would really let him see the older dog sleeping on the bed. You could get some conflict there since it denotes that the older dog is equal to the adults in the house, as far as leadership and position. The only leaders in your house should be the humans. On the other hand depending on the breeds, it might not make a lick of difference.

[graficoartista31]

Thanks for your advise as well! We live in an apartment so our laundryroom is tiny and our Kitchen has a HUGE opening to it but faces a wall so he wouldnt be able to see me in the office. If we were to find a way to baracade him in the Kitchen, and he was to have the freedom to piddle in on the floor, won't this cause him to think its ok to piddle in the house? I have a 2 enterance bathroom, one door off the office and the other in the hallway. Would this be better? When we first got him (6 nights & 5 days ago) he only pooped once and piddled twicein the house. I was able to take him out before he had the chance (every 1.5 hours). Now, 6 nights later, I am battling with him piddling 3 times a day in the house and 3 times outside. Just tonight we caught him in the act twice, both times RIGHT AFTER i took him out. Im talking 5 mins. And he piddles just fine outside. So i know he goes. Why is he doing this? It's agrivating. What can I do to teach him how to hold it? Wouldnt freedom in a kitchen or bathroom teach him inside is ok? I was told a crate forces him to hold it. Wouldnt this work better if he can't go? PLEASE HELP!

....

Well, I have made a decision to get him used to being in the cage during working hours so I will do what I normally would which is put him in at 8am, take him out at noon to pee and play, around 1:30 I'll put him back in and at 4-5 i'll take him out for the rest of the night untill bed time. As guilty as I will feel to see him in the cage when Im home, it will not only help him master the "HOLD IT", he will also get used to being in it so its not a huge ajustment when I actually go back to work.

Today actually he went into the cage on his own and played with a toy while in the cage (for 5 mins only but its a start)! I was so excited! We went to the movies and he was in the cage and when we got back we played with him and he ran into his cage and sat for a few licking a peanutbutter treat we gave him. AWSOME!