Hi. My name is Heather and I have a 9 week old Cocker/shih tzu-poo named Buddy. We got him at 7 weeks old and undoubtably made some training mistakes right off (i.e. we brought him to bed with us the first few nights. Oops). He's as cute as he could be, and we love him to bits, but there are a few issues that have me at my wits end!
Like, crate training! I've lurked here for a bit and know that not all of you crate, but if anyone does, I'd love some help!! Buddy hates his crate. I've tried feeding him in there during the day and giving him special treats in there so that he has some positive associations, but it doesn't seem to work. The moment the crate door closes he starts to flip out. He's gotten a little better and now only whines, whimpers and howls at bedtime (that's basically the only time we crate him) for about 20 minutes instead of the two hours he spent serenading us the first couple nights we started leaving him in his crate. But all the books say he's supposed to love his crate and feel secure and safe in there and go in on his own.. not happening!! Also, no matter what time we put him to bed, he's up fussing and fretting at 6:15 without fail. I get up to let him outside and he stays revved up and hyper for just long enough that there is no hope at all that I'll be able to fall back to sleep, then he crashes out at my feet and snoozes peacefully. Ack!! I am NOT a morning person.. is there any way I can get him to go back to sleep (or at least be calm) until I'm ready to get up?
Also.. separation anxiety. I think he has some. He follows me everywhere around the house. If I leave the livingroom (which we have closed in with baby gates) he fusses and whines and tries to climb over the gate to follow me. Ditto with leaving him tied up outside. If I go inside for two minutes to get a bag to clean up "puppy landmines" he whines and frets and tries to follow me. He does not like to be left alone AT ALL. I've tried leaving him for just a few seconds and then coming back so he knows I've not abandoned him for life, but it doesn't seem to matter. Two seconds, two minutes.. it's all the same to him: heartbreaking, apparently.
I'm sorry about the length of this post. I've been aching to ask someone about this for a while now, and was so happy to find this forum! I'll spare you the rest of my woes (for now) - these are the two biggies. On the plus side, housetraining is going well, he loves people, knows "Sit" already and (usually) comes when we call. I'll be so grateful for any help you guys can offer. I'm hoping to take him to Puppy Kindergarten when he's got his next shots, but there is only one class in my area and I think the next session is full.
Like, crate training! I've lurked here for a bit and know that not all of you crate, but if anyone does, I'd love some help!! Buddy hates his crate. I've tried feeding him in there during the day and giving him special treats in there so that he has some positive associations, but it doesn't seem to work. The moment the crate door closes he starts to flip out. He's gotten a little better and now only whines, whimpers and howls at bedtime (that's basically the only time we crate him) for about 20 minutes instead of the two hours he spent serenading us the first couple nights we started leaving him in his crate. But all the books say he's supposed to love his crate and feel secure and safe in there and go in on his own.. not happening!! Also, no matter what time we put him to bed, he's up fussing and fretting at 6:15 without fail. I get up to let him outside and he stays revved up and hyper for just long enough that there is no hope at all that I'll be able to fall back to sleep, then he crashes out at my feet and snoozes peacefully. Ack!! I am NOT a morning person.. is there any way I can get him to go back to sleep (or at least be calm) until I'm ready to get up?
Also.. separation anxiety. I think he has some. He follows me everywhere around the house. If I leave the livingroom (which we have closed in with baby gates) he fusses and whines and tries to climb over the gate to follow me. Ditto with leaving him tied up outside. If I go inside for two minutes to get a bag to clean up "puppy landmines" he whines and frets and tries to follow me. He does not like to be left alone AT ALL. I've tried leaving him for just a few seconds and then coming back so he knows I've not abandoned him for life, but it doesn't seem to matter. Two seconds, two minutes.. it's all the same to him: heartbreaking, apparently.
I'm sorry about the length of this post. I've been aching to ask someone about this for a while now, and was so happy to find this forum! I'll spare you the rest of my woes (for now) - these are the two biggies. On the plus side, housetraining is going well, he loves people, knows "Sit" already and (usually) comes when we call. I'll be so grateful for any help you guys can offer. I'm hoping to take him to Puppy Kindergarten when he's got his next shots, but there is only one class in my area and I think the next session is full.