Puppy Advice (merged)

red-boxer

He might feel more secure in a cage, if he has come from a rescue center it might be what he is used to. Have you tried putting him in the cage and leaving the door open? And put the old tshirt/jumper etc in with him

JennyW_2

He's only a baby and it's only been a few days so he's probably feeling very scared and vulnerable and wondering where the hell he is. Coming from the kennels, he's used to noise and company and all of a sudden he's got a new home and new parents. I don't see any harm in letting him sleep near you. Both my dogs sleep in the bedroom with me and I have no problems with dominance. In fact I feel safer with my dogs near me.

He probably just wants to be with you.

foreign_correspondent

OK, firstly, I must say I am only speaking from experience here, not any training theories... -but in the past I have ridden this out and ignored the dogs noises... My last two dogs did this at first, buy both stopped within the first week.

I think that if you go down to the dog he is getting the reward he wants for his behaviour (ie. he cries cos he feels a bit lonely and wants your attention, you go down and sleep with him, and he gets that - so bingo! he knows this works brilliantly!)

He is in a strange place, he does not know it is permanent and will feel a little unsettled! You say you leave him behind - in the livng room I suppose - I dont know whether it makes any difference, but my dog leeps in the kitchen, so when we get up to go to bed she heads off to her bed too... maybe this feels better to the dog? Also, I think letting the dog out for a wee before bed then taking it to its bed at first creates a bit of a routine so the dog knows when it bed tie, instead of him thinking - 'ooh, interesting, where are we off to now... oh no they have left me here!' - my dog will give just one bark even now if she is shut in the living room - as if to say 'I am here, have you forgotten me?'

So I would suggest a seperate sleeping place for the dog, with a warm cosy bed, perhaps tucked into a corner somewhere so the dog feels safe, that the dog has positive associations with (give him odd treats in his bed area to make him feel it is a good place to be), I agree that one of your T shirts ight help, and make sure he has had a pee and has access to fresh drinking water... then you know his physical needs are met. An evening walk ught help to make him tired out, I would then gve hi chance to settle in and try not to worry about the noise.

kaya

My dog sleeps in our bedroom, in fact she sleeps anywhere she likes, the dominance issues shouldnt be a concern so long as you dont let the dog on the bed or the furniture

Bunnylady

Hi

My dogs are allowed on both the bed and the furniture and we have no dominance issues - both dogs will always move when asked to if they are in the way. It is just a case of training and as long as they do as they are told they know you are in charge. It is important to remember that dominance is quite an out of date theory and dogs really are not trying to take over your house. Like kids they just need to know the rules and boundaries and they need consistency so decide what your rules are and stick with them. Re: the howling, you could try something that smells of you and see how it goes. If dog will not settle and is disturbing you, you could train her to use a crate and she could sleep in this in your bedroom as she will be near you and feel safe and then gradually move her to where you want her to sleep permanently. Do not just stuff her in the crate and expect her to be happy, you need to introduce it slowly and with positive connections - I won't go into detail here but you should be able to find the info online or in books or you can PM me. The best book I have read about understanding dogs is Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.

Good luck.

Bunnylady xx

Chesnut1

Our boy came from a rescue center at 13wks old and would howl when left on his own. We bought him a large soft bed and a furry thow. For the first week the bed and throw was put beside the bed and as others said he was taken out for a late night wee then we when to bed. We would take him to his bed and say go to your bed. The first couple of nights he tried a couple of times to get on the bed but we reinforced with a no and placed him back in his bed and said go to your bed, good boy. After about a week we put his bed in our tiny hall right beside the bedroom door with the door open. Same pattern but by now he knew what go to your bed ment. We kept this up for a couple of weeks untill he was happy with his bed then we removed the throw and put in on one armchair (this is now his bed) we left him to make the choice and after about a month he decided that he wanted to go to the lounge to sleep on the throw that he would use during the day;) Now he is no problem and occasionally we allow him on our bed for a cuddle but when we say go to your bed now, he does:D

Mike54_2

My dog hows when I hears stuff like the ice cream man, eastenders, anything pianoish. He also does it when my mums out and it's just me in the house. 9 or 10 years old. I think option 3 is a good idea, easy does it.

t_r

In my humble opinion Get A Crate
Introduce him gradually to the crate don't force him to go in there.
Oh and don't get him to big a crate, it really needs just to be just big enough for him to go in and turn around. They don't appreciate space like we do. He might settle better if his crate is covered so only the front is open. It worked for me anyway.

daisykinn1

You must never go downstairs when they're howling it reinforces the behaviour. I recommend using a puppy pen. My pup howled for about 3 days and if he did it when we approached we would walk away until he stopped. It worked! Plus I think it really helped that we kept him awake for most of the evening, playing high energy games.

By caving into his whines you are putting him into a dominate position, dog howls = human comes, it's basically recall for dogs! I know it's awful to hear them howl but you must be consistant, he willl respect you and be a better dog for it.

gemmalouanna

I agree with daisykinn....do not go downstairs.

Got my rescue dog 2 years ago and for the first 5 nights or so she howled and would not settle but we stayed in bed and ignored her (although it was hard) - after that not a single noise.

In the new house she sleeps outside bedroom door - is that something you could do?