What are we in for?
We haven't had a dog in years. We are the proud parents of a 17 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. We decided on the Corgi because it is a big dog in a small package that is sturdy enough to keep up wit...
Forum Discussion
Pawz4me wrote:WyoTraveler wrote:
TV works. Our dog watches animal planet. Dog toys work. Our dog doesn't seem to mind being left alone. We never put our dog in jail i.e. crate. Maybe that is the reason your dog barks. Our dog was crate trained when we got him. Breeders big selling point. :h. Once we threw away the crate and made him part of the family training was real easy. JMHO crates are for breeders and dog show people transporting dogs that aren't part of their family. BTW when Jake (our ACD)isn't watching animal planet he lays on the dash board and watches the people walk by.
Every dog needs at a minimum to know how to tolerate being crated. 'Cause life happens and sometimes dogs have to be crated (either at the vet's or at home) due to injury or illness.
I'm helping a lady on another board deal with this. Her Doxie has a serious back problem and needs to be on strict rest for the next six weeks or so in order to have a chance to avoid euthanasia. The dog is six years old and isn't familiar with being crated. It's a bad situation. The owner's failure to crate train the dog may cost him his life.
^Yes!!^
My dogs are all crate trained. I feed them in their crates, so they love them and run into them to wait when they see me preparing their meals! They also only get yummy treats, such as bully sticks in their crates. In multi-dog households, this helps avoid resource guarding problems, which can turn nasty in a hurry. It also prevents my resident piggy, Maddie, from stealing the other dogs' food/treats (yes, she owns the boxer...). Crates keep them out of trouble when I have to leave them alone. When they're boarded or groomed, they have to be crated, so I'd prefer that they're used to it.
Back to the OP's concern, we leave our camper's radio on loud enough to mask outside noises, without being loud enough to annoy the neighbors. We also shut all the shades, so that they don't get any visual stimulation. You could also leave a stuffed Kong with your pup, to provide something for him to do while you're gone. I just smear the inside with peanut butter and freeze it, which makes it last longer. I don't completely stuff it, b/c of the calorie/fat overload it would provide.
