Guest Lyra Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 So I've gotten really used to Harley's GSOD, happens when he couldn't figure out how to get off the couch in his cast, when he stubbed his rear toe on the porch steps, and when he swallowed something a little too cold for his liking. Now he is starting to do it when I go to kennel him when I leave the house. He does well in his kennel, once he's in there. He's calm, doesn't try to break out or anything (unlike my last dog!). So this morning I'm getting ready to kennel him and he screams bloody murder and tries to run. Because he's on restriction I caught him around the chest and just held him for a second to calm him down, then I let him go. He then went to the corner of the kitchen and wouldn't look at me. I opted for a little tough love and put his muzzle on (to keep him off his cast) and just pushed him towards the kennel. He made no further further protest and walked right in and laid down. Of course he gave me the sad puppy eyes, but was calm otherwise. Am I taking the wrong approach? I didn't shove him in the crate, just pushed his rear end towards it when he tried freezing. It was almost like he was testing me, and then realized I meant it. But I still feel like a jerk for doing it. My mom can get him kenneled fine, so I really feel like he's testing me. Am I wrong? Do any of your Greyhounds do this? I would never force him in his kennel if he was absolutely freaking out, so I'm hoping he won't figure that out. Unfortunately, until the cast is off he has to be muzzled, so he cannot have his stuffed kong. My goal is to not have him kenneled in the future, but he's only been here with us for a month and is not ready yet. Not to mention the less he moves right now the faster he will heal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 (edited) Dogs don't "test us". They do what's worthwhile to them, or in some cases they're motivated by fear, which is a physiological response, not a conscious thought process. Sounds to me like you hurt or scared him. Why don't you just give him something he'll really enjoy in his crate as you're leaving rather than needing to coax him in? My dogs get stuffed frozen kongs (or West Paw Topples, which are our new favorite) each time I leave the house. If I'm only leaving for a really short time, to run an errand or two for instance I might just put some yogurt or PB in one, but that way they're engaged and busy when I leave. For longer absences they get something that will last them longer. Violet is loose, but I give hers on the same dog bed each time. Skye is crated. Both know the signs that I'm getting ready to leave and are waiting in their respective spots anticipating their treats by the time I've picked up my keys. And if he's on exercise restriction, he needs mental puzzles to expend energy instead. Stuffed frozen kongs are one nice way of doing that. Edited May 1, 2017 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyra Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Dogs don't "test us". They do what's worthwhile to them, or in some cases they're motivated by fear, which is a physiological response, not a conscious thought process. Sounds to me like you hurt or scared him. Why don't you just give him something he'll really enjoy in his crate as you're leaving rather than needing to coax him in? My dogs get stuffed frozen kongs (or West Paw Topples, which are our new favorite) each time I leave the house. If I'm only leaving for a really short time, to run an errand or two for instance I might just put some yogurt or PB in one, but that way they're engaged and busy when I leave. For longer absences they get something that will last them longer. Violet is loose, but I give hers on the same dog bed each time. Skye is crated. Both know the signs that I'm getting ready to leave and are waiting in their respective spots anticipating their treats by the time I've picked up my keys. And if he's on exercise restriction, he needs mental puzzles to expend energy instead. Stuffed frozen kongs are one nice way of doing that. I didn't hurt him, he screamed as soon as I touched the gate. I only caught him when he went to run by me because he's only a week out from surgery and cannot run yet. I also can't give him anything to entice him in the crate, he has to be muzzled because he chews at the cast. He gets stimulation during the day, its just when he's kenneled I can't give him anything. He does really hate it when I leave, more than anyone else in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 (edited) He can lick PB from a kong through his muzzle. Or use an x-pen, maybe he will tolerate that better. Or gated into a smaller room. Or perhaps a larger crate. Edited May 1, 2017 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 This just got posted. Her situation is not completely analagous (resistance to walking vs resistance to going in crate), but the gist applies: http://www.ispeakdog.org/success-stories/stubborn-or-scared Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Speaking 'dog' is the secret to almost anything behaviour-wise. They are doubly upset when people 'don't even get' their most basic of calming signals. There are loads of displacement activities they employ too. We must seem like truculent teenagers who 'just want to go out and never mind the chores' to them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyra Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 He can lick PB from a kong through his muzzle. Or use an x-pen, maybe he will tolerate that better. Or gated into a smaller room. Or perhaps a larger crate. His 'kennel' is actually his crate with an xpen for more room. He used to tolerate just his crate, but then he started freezing when it was time to go in so we gave him more room. That worked for 3 weeks, now he doesn't want that either. I'm not sure he can get to the kong with this muzzle, but I can try. He's raw fed, so I can always freeze chunks of meat that will keep him busy a while as it thaws. He just has difficulty 'holding' things with his front leg casted in flexion. I think he may have mild seperation anxiety because he doesn't go completely nuts when left alone, but doesn't seem to like it when I leave. But it's just when I leave, everyone else he's fine with coming and going. My last dog had seperation anxiety, so I know what severe cases look like. He was supposed to start some obedience training, not because he needed it, but because I like to mentally stimulate my dogs and build a deeper bond with them. So I guess I can start mentally challenging him with some easy tricks while he's healing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 If he's housebroken, I'm not sure why you think he's not "ready" to be out of the confinement. I think he's made it perfectly clear that he IS. My first hound was crated for a couple of miserable months. My second? One day. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 If he's housebroken, I'm not sure why you think he's not "ready" to be out of the confinement. I think he's made it perfectly clear that he IS. My first hound was crated for a couple of miserable months. My second? One day. Because he has a cast and is on exercise restriction. Sheesh. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyra Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 So I went to move the xpen this morning and he freaked out again, I wasn't even trying to kennel him, I just moved it to get to something. I think it's the xpen he's afraid of. I don't know what happened with it, or if it is just me. We are going to test it tonight and have my mom move it and see if he has a strong reaction. He would NOT come near me for a while after, not even with treats. He is now sleeping next to me, so that makes me feel a little better. I'm really at a loss, I'm not sure what happened with the xpen or why the sudden change. We used the xpen to keep him in his corner while he eats, so it's really strange. I did stop using the xpen for his feedings since his surgery, because I had to chop up his food smaller and he wasn't interested in carrying it all over the house. So I don't know if something happened at the vet's that the xpen reminds him of? If it's something completely new, I just really don't know. Yesterday was the first day I had touched the xpen and he reacted to it. I'm going to find another way to pen him, and hopefully he will be okay with that. If he's housebroken, I'm not sure why you think he's not "ready" to be out of the confinement. I think he's made it perfectly clear that he IS. My first hound was crated for a couple of miserable months. My second? One day. I don't WANT to confine him, I just really don't have a choice for the next couple of weeks. He's on restriction for 6 weeks while his fracture heals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 Hes worried that you're worried and that makes him more worried. Try to chill just a little, send him the 'lick, yawn, sigh and look-away' calming signal. Appproach more slowly and from the side.. You'll feel like you're trying, he'll see that you're not so stressed and, hopefully, it won't tip him into irrational fears so easily. When one of my Borzois had a broken stifle with pins in it, she was much better being given a free run of the lounge, hall and kitchen. I just baby-gated off the stairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyra Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 Hes worried that you're worried and that makes him more worried. Try to chill just a little, send him the 'lick, yawn, sigh and look-away' calming signal. Appproach more slowly and from the side.. You'll feel like you're trying, he'll see that you're not so stressed and, hopefully, it won't tip him into irrational fears so easily. When one of my Borzois had a broken stifle with pins in it, she was much better being given a free run of the lounge, hall and kitchen. I just baby-gated off the stairs. He gets re-bandaged in 2 days, I'm going to speak with the surgeon then about leaving him in the living room where he has access to the couch only and his beds. I think at this point I would prefer him to take the chance roaming than the stress of trying to kennel him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lyra Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Update: It is definitely the xpen that he is afraid of, tried having a couple of other people move it and he freaked out with everyone who touched it. Not sure exactly what happened with it, possibly something when we weren't home. Luckily, he's able to be penned in the living room now so he doesn't have to get stressed out by it anymore. Will be happy when he's all healed and then we won't have to worry about penning him at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Great news! Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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