I'm a new dog owner and I just adopted a 2 year old border collie mix- she's fantastic! She's certainly made progress in the week and a half that she's been here- giving me less trouble getting her out of her crate for a walk, eating pretty much as soon as the food is in front of her- but I want to know how to make her more comfortable. She does not leave her crate whatsoever unless I put her harness on her (while she's still inside) and take her outside to walk, and she only eats in the crate as well. I'm under the impression that she thinks she isn't allowed outside of it, even though the few times she's come out she's gotten lots of positive reinforcement. Same goes with food- I'm pretty sure she thinks she's only allowed to eat in the crate. I've placed her food bowl a foot or two outside the crate and done my best to gesture and tell her she can go eat, but she won't touch it until I move it inside the crate. How can I help her be more comfortable? I know it will take time- the poor girl has never had a home before and she's doing her best, I just want to know if there's anything I can do to make it easier on her.
She also has a dislike for my dad. We've been doing our best to show her he isn't a threat, and it's gotten a tiny bit better, but she still growled at him the other day even though I thought we were past that. I've mostly been telling him to just give her space and let her observe that he isn't going to hurt her or anyone else, but is there a better way to get her to trust him?
I've tried starting some clicker training with her, but it's hard to get through the "charging" stage when she's only in her crate and doesn't seem to be very focused on me. Any tips for this as well?
Thanks for the help!
She also has a dislike for my dad. We've been doing our best to show her he isn't a threat, and it's gotten a tiny bit better, but she still growled at him the other day even though I thought we were past that. I've mostly been telling him to just give her space and let her observe that he isn't going to hurt her or anyone else, but is there a better way to get her to trust him?
I've tried starting some clicker training with her, but it's hard to get through the "charging" stage when she's only in her crate and doesn't seem to be very focused on me. Any tips for this as well?
Thanks for the help!