The Cone of Shame - Is it okay?

3170 Views 22 Replies 9 Participants Last post by PunkyPug, Jul 13, 2012

reimacram

Discussion Starter · Jul 12, 2012

Dear fellows. Recently, my puppy broke 4 mobile phone chargers, a usb connector, router connector, an Ethernet cable and just last night our Electric Fan short-circuited causing temporary power-off in our unit. I was really mad at her but then I can't do anything except stare at her and shout her words while pointing at the things she broke.
She chewed on the wires mentioned above though she already have a chew-bone, a toy ball, a pull-rope and a number of mats and rags. Every time she did it, I can't do anything to the poor puppy. I put her in her cage but her whining and whimpering is enough to let her out again after a few minutes.

Recently, I've been reading on how to prevent this but they doesn't seem to work. Just want to ask you out there if using e-collars or "cone of shame" is okay to use as punishment? I know I've spoiled her somehow but she's a dog and its natural for her to chew things specially while in the puppy-phase. Any advice would be great..

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reimacram

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 12, 2012

yes. after some thoughts, It was stupid of me to think that E-collars would help. But she wont stop crying her lungs out when she's in her crate. She's too playful. Even after our evening run, when we're back in the unit, she doesn't stop playing. I let her sleep by my side but when I wake up, paper and other sort of stuffs are scattered everywhere. Please give some advices how to prevent this or if putting her in a crate is an option, how could I stop her moans. I mean, its pitiful. Honestly I can't stop myself from letting her out. Am I too soft?

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reimacram

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 12, 2012

Yes. Though frustrating, I still don't know how to give her a punishment without hitting her. I mean, I just can't do it. Her crate is very near my bedside. Shall I put it farther away? Thank you for listening to my questions!

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reimacram

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 12, 2012

PunkyPug said:
Shouting at her isn't helping either. When you shout at her you're scaring her. Dog's don't understand most of our language. They really don't know that sit means sit. They just know that when we've trained them to sit. They either recognize the hand signal or the word that is given when their bum touches the floor.
When you catch her in the act firmly(not shouting) tell her "no". Use a low, deep tone of voice. Like a man's voice.

ETA: I just read you have a crate. Do you have mental stimuli toys or teething toys?
Moving crate may just make her more uncomfortable.

Be STRONG. Don't listen to her. Put some headphones on and blast some music to your ears. Do not give in! I know it's hard to not give in during the beginning. But it is for the best.

I've been doing the low-voice thing ever since but she doesn't get it yet. I know I'm part of the whole thing. I think I'll go with your suggestion of not minding her as long as I could. thanks for the insights!

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reimacram

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 12, 2012

ThoseWordsAtBest said:
Well, you certainly don't have to hit her! And it's not a bad thing to not be able to do that. We've made it through some heavy chewing puppy phases and nobody was hit. Don't get hung up on punishment here. She's just a baby and these things are attainable without punishing her. The chewing stage is a not so fun part of raising puppies, and prevention is the best approach.

It's good that her crate is in the room with you. Look up Susan Garrett's crate games to help get her more accustomed to being in her crate. Things to do inside the crate are also helpful. Frozen peanut butter filled kongs and the like. Before she goes to the crate for the night (or when you can't watch her) be sure that she is physically- and mentally- pooped.

Thanks for the advice. I'll do that too.

Actually, most of the times I pat her to sleep. And when she goes down, I sleep too. But oftentimes, she wakes up and whimpers. I'm still wake up every 2 hours to let her pee on the bathroom floor. But then returning her to sleep is another good 15 minutes of patting her again. Am I wrong? Most of my friends think she's too spoiled.

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reimacram

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 12, 2012

ThoseWordsAtBest said:
How old is she? The general rule of thumb is a puppy can hold it one hour for every month they are old. I would try not to continue the patting habit lest she becomes used to it, but admittedly I understand doing whatever you can just to get the pup to go to sleep. You can try transferring the comfort to a shirt of yours that smells like you, something to busy herself with (like the kong) to not be focused on you, things of that nature.

She's 2 months old right now (and some ++days mom was killed a few days before I got her..). Okay so I really was spoiling her.

She's a wonderful dog. Though playful, I managed to teach her "Sit", "Stay" and "Jump". She also likes to sit on my lap while I work on my computer but after some scratching behind her ears, she reacts to it by playfully biting on my hand which is one of my other problems. I should follow your advices and give you some progress gist. Thanks for the time reading my thread.

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