TERRIBLE anxiety!!! Really appreciate help/ideas.

[alumalunker]

Awesome good to hear!

[mgrandick]

Surely you realize that you have the pup for just a short amount of time. Delmar Smith(Best way to train your bird dog)said in his book a dog is like a blank black board. Every time you put something on that board(dog's mind) it stays there. You can train around faults but never really erase them. You need lots of patience and time to fix things that have already been ingrained. Jul's idea is dead on. A ton of reinforcement and positive attitude from you will eventually help your situation. The huge thing to remember is a dog can sense if your mad, sad, nervous or scared and will act upon these "shows" that humans exhibit. This is the HARDEST part of training a dog. While dog training I've had dogs that have been abused(you won't believe what people do trying to train a hunting dog) and I've worked with the animal and had it respond to my positive and rewarding behaviors. Then demonstrate to owner how to work with the dog using what I had trained the animal. Sadly many times the owners don't change their behaviors and the dog goes back to its old ways.
You need to earn it's trust sometimes it takes a lot more time than you think. Get a chance read Delmar Smith even if your not raising a hunting dog. Great for learning about dogs. Delmar thought like a dog.
mg

[dschiebel]

Had a springer that was extremely kennel shy


Had my wife move into the kennel with " Wilbur" is cost me a new car, and diamond ring, but the dog is fine, now my wife growls at me and craps on the floor. So selling a good slightly used wife, cheap comes with her kennel.

[Aspencreek]

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.

[Juls]

Originally Posted by Aspencreek

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.

Please tell me that you have a cap on the back of your truck...

[Aspencreek]

Originally Posted by Juls

Please tell me that you have a cap on the back of your truck...

Yes

Back in 2010 I didn't have a cap, but I had made a kennel by sandwiching 1/8" plywood over 1/2" styrofoam. My old Springer loved her house. But that trip we stayed at a farmhouse that didn't have a porch or garage, and dogs were not allowed in the house. It was the 1st weekend in Dec, so it was cold. Well my springer and my Cousin's Lab decided to play tug-o-war with a skunk, what a mess. We had to try and clean her the best we could in the field, but Labs dry WAY better than Springers. Next morning I got up early to get her going and she was shivering and shaking, and still smelled to hi heaven. I mixed up her food and started the truck to heat her up in it. When I came back to the rear of the truck she was laying on the ground having fallen off and dislocated her shoulder. To make a long story short, her hunting days were basically over from that point, 6 yrs old and she was done, in her prime!

Yes we either have a cap on the truck or they go in the porch or garage at the farmhouse. This past trip I opened the back of the truck and unzipped her kennel and it was actually warm air that hit me, those kennel covers are remarkable.