When we brought our precious angels home, they were just so small, cute and sweet. No, I am not talking about the girls, I am talking about the furry children. As most of you know, I grew up on a farm and always had animals around me. Our modern day house in the city is like an Ark full of animals. We have a white rabbit (Lollipop), an adopted Cat (Elizabeth Parham Rawlinson- aka Lizzy) and two absolutely gorgeous chocolate AKC registered cocker spaniels. Condoleezza Godiva Rice Rawlinson (Condi) is a year old and is a solid chocolate female. Churchill's Truffle Rawlinson (Churchill) is a three year old parti-color chocolate and white male.
When the herd arrived they had that precious puppy breath and every time they did anything it was just so very funny and cute. Now that they are three and some of the things they are doing are no longer cute, funny or precious. Today, after they almost destroyed my house in less than 30 minutes, I began to ponder why I never crate trained them the day they arrived. What could I have been thinking?
When Churchill came to be a part of our family, I had just lost my beloved cocker of 15 years Barbara Bush McLaughlin Rawlinson (Babbs). Babbs had been kennel trained, was completely house trained, and would ring the bells on our door to let me know she needed to go outside. She slept with me, traveled with me and basically could run our house with out my help. I think I was spoiled and had forgotten all of the training I did with Babbs when she was younger to get her to that point. Needless to say, Last night I started the process of training these "older" dogs to kennel so that I can have my house back in one piece and have some peace.
As I reviewed my books on Crate-training, everything I read said it is easiest to kennel train in puppyhood, but at times it’s feasible to train an adult dog. The experts warn that if the puppy or dog gets the idea that making a fuss will cause you to come to the rescue, you can accidentally create a dog who becomes hysterical when confined to a crate. Thus it is like a baby, you have to let them cry just a little. Last night we were in this stage with Churchill who sat in his kennel howling at the top of his lungs for 45 minutes straight. Condi, on the other hand, hopped right in the kennel, turned herself upside down and is snoring. The dogs personalities are as different as those of my children. With older dogs who are not chewers, it is advised to put bedding in the crate to make it a cozy place for them to sleep. If you have a chewing pup or young dogs who could chew and swallow bedding it is advised to avoid bedding in the kennel. We went with a fluffy towel in Condi's kennel and a bed in Churchill's. In the past the two of them have chewed up everything, but their beds, so we are hoping this behavior will continue and the beds will stay in one piece. According to everything I read, the goal is for the dog to eventually like the bedding enough that he or she will go in the kennel for a nap with the door open. Many suggested giving the dog treats or putting a favorite toy in the crate to make it a positive and pleasant experience for the dog.
Remember, it is important that you never overdo the length of time a dog is in a crate. The length of time to continue work on positive conditioning will depend on the dog. It is advised to take this process slow. As the dog gets comfortable with the idea of the crate with the door open, start closing the door briefly. You should build the time in the crate gradually, staying in the room, then start leaving the room for short periods. You should only gradually lengthen the periods of time you are gone. Eight hours is the top limit for crating a dog at any one time and a dog who sleeps for 8 hours in a crate may not be able to make it for eight hours at other times. Remember as soon as you take the dog out of the kennel you should immediately take them outside to restroom.
During this outside time it is important that the focus initially be on restroom. Once the dog has taken care of important business, then it is play time. Always remember dogs often need to take care of business after playing and eating. I recommend a restroom breaks every 45 minutes to one hour when you have your dog out of the kennel for play time.
Here's hoping I can teach these old dogs some new tricks!
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