6 month lab pup crate training
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Hi there,
I have a lovely 6 month choc lab pup called Hurley, he's crate trained for night times and sleeps through til 6.30 most mornings, then needs to go for a wee and comes in with us.
The advice I am after is more for when I need to go out in the day without him really.
I work from home so am with him most of the time but I need to go out sometimes too. I have been giving him a Kong with Marmite and kibble in it and leaving him for 15 - 30 mins at a time whilst I pop to the shops but when I come back he's always barking (I can hear him from outside), he stops when he hears the outer door of my building close and I let him out, ignoring him whilst he's excited and making a fuss only when he's calm.
Is it ok to leave him for longer? Is the barking thing meaning he's stressed? Do I have to leave him for some of every day to get him used to it? Help and advice most welcome.
Also I have read about freezing a Kong to keep him occupied, how does that work? Do you fill it with water?
I have a lovely 6 month choc lab pup called Hurley, he's crate trained for night times and sleeps through til 6.30 most mornings, then needs to go for a wee and comes in with us.
The advice I am after is more for when I need to go out in the day without him really.
I work from home so am with him most of the time but I need to go out sometimes too. I have been giving him a Kong with Marmite and kibble in it and leaving him for 15 - 30 mins at a time whilst I pop to the shops but when I come back he's always barking (I can hear him from outside), he stops when he hears the outer door of my building close and I let him out, ignoring him whilst he's excited and making a fuss only when he's calm.
Is it ok to leave him for longer? Is the barking thing meaning he's stressed? Do I have to leave him for some of every day to get him used to it? Help and advice most welcome.
Also I have read about freezing a Kong to keep him occupied, how does that work? Do you fill it with water?
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Comments
He might be barking for many reasons, stress, excitement, guarding, there's some evidence to suggest dogs can sense thier owners coming home so he may only bark as you approach the house.
Baby steps will help, and there's nothing wrong with leaving him for a few hours as long as he's happy in the crate (which he obviously is at night, he just needs to get used to it at night)
I am training a puppy for family at the moment and today and yesterday I did this, i set my webcam software to monitor and it detects his motion. Yesterday he cried pretty much the whole time i was out ( 2 hours) give or take a couple of 15 minute breaks. He had things to occupy and comfort him.
Today he stopped whining barking and crying 1/2 an hour after i left, then he exhausted himself and went to sleep, there were isolated pityful attempts at whining that lasted all of a few seconds when he woke, then he went back to sleep again.
I established that he is not doing it through boredom as I left him a toy stuffed with bits of his fave foods, soon as i left he whined and did high pitched barks..and howls.
When the post lady came, he woke up and was alert and his bark went deeper and was more of a warning/danger/alert bark.
Then when i came home I saw his reaction as i walking up the drive, he heard me well before i got to the door.
He is also six months old tomorrow, uses to his crate but never left alone much, he is a quick learner, so he will pick this up pretty quick.
He has been left but only today and yesterday we filmed him, so now we can see exactly what goes on and take steps to put it right.
I vote for filming your dog op and you can find out what is triggering your dog, how long the barking lasts and also how long the rest lasts.
Also you can see the improvement as the dog starts to pick it up.
I have done this method with dogs before.