Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello! I am new to these posts however I am not new to handling dogs. Although, I finally have a situation that I have never dealt with before. I am a college student who is going to be moving into an apartment soon. We are allowed to have pets ONLY if we can keep them well trained and quiet. A friend of my older sister had a stray dog with a puppy show up in her yard. If they didn't find a home for it they were going to take it to the vet. Me being me thought about it all day and finally decided why not. SO I met her in town and picked up the puppy. His name is Moe. Within the first week of having him, I was able to crate train him which essentially housebroke him. With the exceptions of a few accidents (rare occassions) he is completely housebroken. He fetches, eats regularly, and is beginning to only chew on HIS toys. MY PROBLEM is that while we are at my apartment he needs to learn how to stay in his crate without barking while I am in class. When I first had him he would bark for a minute or two and then stop. I went out of town for a week and a half and my family let him run around whenever he wanted. Now that I am back and trying to keep him in his crate of an hour at a time sparatically throughout the day he will bark for anywhere between 15-30 minutes straight. I live at home with my family which puts 6 people in this house. We can't handle the barking and although several of my friends have suggested shock collars, the idea of that makes me extremely nervous and I don't particularly care for that. So if anyone has any other ideas PLEASE let me know! Thank you so much!

Katie

>>Hello! I am new to these posts however I am not new to handling dogs. Although, I finally have a situation that I have never dealt with before. I am a college student who is going to be moving into an apartment soon. We are allowed to have pets ONLY if we can keep them well trained and quiet. A friend of my older sister had a stray dog with a puppy show up in her yard. If they didn't find a home for it they were going to take it to the vet. Me being me thought about it all day and finally decided why not. SO I met her in town and picked up the puppy. His name is Moe. Within the first week of having him, I was able to crate train him which essentially housebroke him. With the exceptions of a few accidents (rare occassions) he is completely housebroken. He fetches, eats regularly, and is beginning to only chew on HIS toys. MY PROBLEM is that while we are at my apartment he needs to learn how to stay in his crate without barking while I am in class. When I first had him he would bark for a minute or two and then stop. I went out of town for a week and a half and my family let him run around whenever he wanted. Now that I am back and trying to keep him in his crate of an hour at a time sparatically throughout the day he will bark for anywhere between 15-30 minutes straight. I live at home with my family which puts 6 people in this house. We can't handle the barking and although several of my friends have suggested shock collars, the idea of that makes me extremely nervous and I don't particularly care for that. So if anyone has any other ideas PLEASE let me know! Thank you so much!
>>
>>Katie

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A shock collar on a puppy is a bad idea. He is forming his temperament for life at this stage. Perhaps someone else could take him. Dogs do make some noise, and some situations simply cannot accommodate it. He would be very easy to place in a new home while little and cute, and you could feel very good about having helped him. Later when you are forced to give him up, he's apt to be more traumatized and to look like a gawky teenage dog rather than a cute baby puppy. Try to think ahead and see if you really have the resources this puppy needs.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thank you for that option and I will keep it in mind although I will not be finding a new home for my dog. He will simply have to learn that he will not get his way and he will be forced to understand that barking and throwing a tantrum is not the answer. I appreciate your help on the situation though. I think he has realized that he isn't going to be able to run free because the past few days he has done MUCH better than last week.

Thanks again.

Katie

The best thing to do is wait the pup out, don't approach him until he's been quiet for a few moments. BUT if you can't do that, and even that much noise is too much, instead of getting a shock collar, I would get an ultrasonic bark eliminator. It's not a collar at all, just a box that plugs into the wall. Place it near the crate and whenever the pup cries, it will ommit an ultrasonic frequency only the dog can hear, which slightly annoys them. Only problem with these, is that other noises can set them off. So if you use one, only use it when you know the pup is going to be the only one making noise. My Cookie would cry and wail every morning starting at 5 am until we got up with her (We knew she didn't have to go potty). We got the ultrasonic thing, used it for ONE day and never heard a peep out of her again.
Other methods are using a shake can or a squirt bottle. I wouldn't use a squirt bottle because it would mean you entering the room which could ultimately be rewarding the dog. A shake can you can toss around a doorway so the pup doesn't see you, but this method did not work for me. We tried everything in the book and the ultrasonic thing was our last resort.
Good luck and welcome! Got any pics? What breed is the puppy?

This is a really good idea! The can isn't working because my sister has cats and they use it as a play toy and the squirt bottle didn't work either because he loves the water -- However -- i am going to look into that though. Thanks a ton! I will be more than happy to post some pictures of Moe as soon as I get them! Although I am not sure how to do that. He is a mixed breed. A friend of my older sister was going to take him to the pound and for some reason I was compelled to save him. He has turned into one of my best friends and has definitely helped me get through this summer. THanks for your advice!!!