Guest badderh Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 So we recently tried crate training again. The first time around that we tried it was absolutely horrible, he screamed as if someone was in there trying to kill him. After about 3 days of that our brains/ears were starting to hurt and patience was wearing thin. That was about 5 months ago. Since then we have done everything to make his crate the pillow and blanket palace that every greyhound would dream of (4 blankets and 3 pillows later). Sure enough he started sleeping in there at night and just going in there to chill out in general. So we decided to start giving him "nap" times in his crate 2 times a day to start out and its been pretty decent this time. He whines and barks, and puts up some fuss, but nothing that would drive us bonkers like last time. I think it also might be helping him that we started him on a Melatonin supplement to help him be less anxious in general. However when ever he gets out his crate after a "nap" he drinks TONS of water. Normally he would just do a quick lap or two and be done but this is a good minute at the water bowl which seems odd. Is it because he's nervous after coming out of his crate?/ Doesn't like being in his crate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IrskasMom Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Does he need to be crated ??? Is he having SA or destroying Things ??If not why not Babygate him in an Area where you want him to be (Kitchen,Den or others) . You could also leave the Crate open , so he is not so confined and he maybe will just uses it as his Safe Place. I guess there is no Waterbowl in the Crate, no wonder he is thirsty. He should have excess to Water at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badderh Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) Does he need to be crated ??? Is he having SA or destroying Things ??If not why not Babygate him in an Area where you want him to be (Kitchen,Den or others) . You could also leave the Crate open , so he is not so confined and he maybe will just uses it as his Safe Place. I guess there is no Waterbowl in the Crate, no wonder he is thirsty. He should have excess to Water at all times. Usually we don't crate him at all. And yes he has SA, we are re-trying crate training because of his SA. We have water in his crate for him, but for some reason when he gets out of his crate he goes straight for his water bowl in our living room. This is only day 2 of us re-trying the crate. Edited July 2, 2012 by badderh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time4ANap Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I wouldn't read too much into it. He's getting a drink. If there are other problems associated with it later, then take another look at it. Quote Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan. Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket, Allie Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPDoggie Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Our greys don't drink whlie we're out.... so make a mad-dash to the water bowls when we come home... so it could be that type of quirk. And PS-- one of our guys hated the crate and has been fine since we allowed him free-roam of the house... while Ruby loves it and spends most of her down-time in it even when we are home. So, if the crate continutes to cause more stress than it is worth, it is fine to not use it! Quote Amy and Tim in Beverly, MA, with Chase and Always missing Kingsley (Drama King) and Ruby (KB's Bee Bopper). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 If he's been out of the crate for 5 months, why put him back. I would think that would make his SA worse. If he's comfy in there taking a nap and laying around, I would just leave the door open. If he's not destroying anything in the house or going to the bathroom in the house I wouldn't crate him, I'd just leave it up with the door open so he could go in and out at will. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badderh Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) Our greys don't drink whlie we're out.... so make a mad-dash to the water bowls when we come home... so it could be that type of quirk. And PS-- one of our guys hated the crate and has been fine since we allowed him free-roam of the house... while Ruby loves it and spends most of her down-time in it even when we are home. So, if the crate continutes to cause more stress than it is worth, it is fine to not use it! When we first got him the stress of crating him definately got to us so we ended up not using it. Part of me believes now that it was because of his SA and we just didn't realize it yet. We didn't fully figure out that he had SA till about a month after getting him. Now that we've had him for about 5 or 6 months now we decided to re-try the crate since he is much more content and knows this is his home now. I think its going much better this time around, today I think I heard 2 whimpers in a 1 hour period, so I think we might be on our way to crating success If he's been out of the crate for 5 months, why put him back. I would think that would make his SA worse. If he's comfy in there taking a nap and laying around, I would just leave the door open. If he's not destroying anything in the house or going to the bathroom in the house I wouldn't crate him, I'd just leave it up with the door open so he could go in and out at will. Our thought process behind giving him "nap times" was that if we can get him crate trained and get him to not whine while we are out of his sight that we might have better luck having him successfully stay home by himself. As of Right now he is extremely vocal and urinates on our bed when we leave him alone Edited July 2, 2012 by badderh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Timo Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Timo makes a mad dash for the water bowl whenever we get home. I think it's a psychological thing. He is baby gated into his room (our 3rd bedroom) where his crate is located. And, he loves to spend time in his crate. There is a water bowl In his crate, but he refuses to drink out of it unless he is literally dying of thirst. So, when we get home, he runs to the water bowl after his 30 seconds of excitement from seeing us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 In my experience, the crate isn't going to help with S.A. if the dog isn't comfortable with it to begin with. Dogs who ARE happy in the crate right off do very well in it, but you can do the alone training and everything else that helps with S.A. without putting him back into the crate. My dog was totally miserable until I gave up on the crate, and fine after! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I don't think the crate is a bad thing. If the dog is peeing on your bed, I'd crate him too. That said, if his issues are SA-related, you will need to work on alone training. Crate training is important of course, but the alone training will address the SA, the crate training won't. I wouldn't worry about the water drinking, as long as he has water in the crate. My dogs all have water in their crates when I'm not home, but after they come out and go potty they tend to tank up from the kitchen water bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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