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Walleye Message Central - View Single Post - TERRIBLE anxiety!!! Really appreciate help/ideas.
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Old 12-04-2019, 07:02 PM
Aspencreek Aspencreek is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Madison WI
Posts: 2,909
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I understand this is a very old post, but I just wanted to give you my experiences with this type of training. Kennel training and/or giving your dog it's own space is key to a happy dog and happy household. Making your dog go into it's kennel is not punishment. It is your dogs own safe place, it is their's nobody elses, and I try and make it as comfortable for them as possible. I only close the door when they need to stay in it, most of the time she/he can come and go at will.
When you first bring the puppy home, inside the kennel goes your old sweatshirt or something you have worn, they will bond with this scent. But a lonely puppy will howl, cry, and bark. Feed them, pet them but they need to know this is where they belong, a chew toy and something that will make noise, like an old clock that ticks out loud helps with what they have known since birth, puppy noises. It should only take a couple of days and this goes away, but in the meantime get ready to treat the pup like a newborn, get up and take it out, play, then back in the kennel. If it ends up in bed with you or in your daughters bed, your time line just got way longer, it has to know no matter what they do, in the kennel they go, no exceptions.
Remember you are dealing with that blank slate. My Springer it took 2 days for her to get with the program. Her kennel is her space and is protective of it. She is just 21 mos. but has made 2 trips to SD pheasant hunting already. Her kennel is in the back of the truck and it stays there and she is happy as a clam. Her Kennel is one of those plastic 2 piece that is screwed together and has a quilted kennel cover from Cabela's. Inside I purchased a carpeted Bath mat 2x the size of the kennel floor so I can fold it for double thickness at $General for $5. Then she has an old Polar Fleece blanket that she can nest in. This last trip it got down to 15F and was snuggled in and was really warm inside the kennel. In the field she knows that she is not allowed out of the kennel unless I say so and getting back in after the hunt is also just a matter of telling her to Kennel, but this took a while, treats are a great way to get them to understand.
I trained Labs and Springers from 16 to 19 at a Game farm outside Horicon WI, all of the dogs were kennel trained, it really is just understanding that you are dealing with a 2 yr old child that doesn't understand what you are saying and no matter how loud you yell, it won't matter, they just hear loud.
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