Bed time problems

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Mrshill
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 2:56 am

Bed time problems

Post by Mrshill »

Hi every one,
I have 2 issues with my 10 month old pup.
Bed time is getting to be a real problem. She will follow me to the kitchen at bed time and then lay down and wont budge. No amount of calling or encouragement will get her through the kitchen door. I have to physical stand her up and walk her into the kitchen. (its not easy at 27kg). Once she is in the kitchen she will walk to the utility , go outside and pee then go into her crate. Then she gets a treat. The other night I walked back down the hall, saw her watching in the mirror and then she went into the kitchen herself, and off we went outside.
The other issue, is the last couple of weeks she doesnt want to go for a walk during the day, she trembles and wont put her harness on, yet will go out around 7 no problem at all. I would like to start taking her to work with me, but don't want to force her. I have had to take her a couple of times when nobody was going to be home all day, she had a great time, but again wouldn't go outside and struggled to get her outisde to go home. (oh and she won't pee when she is out. I am quite happy to not take her to work and work on getting her happy on going out, but next week I have to take her to be spayed. Am worried about getting her to go, but know I will end up having to make her go. She loves the vets too!
Any advise welcomed, I somehow seemed to have trained my dog to be stubborn, although I keep telling myself she is just being a teenager too.
Thank you
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
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Re: Bed time problems

Post by JudyN »

Mrshill wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:35 pm Bed time is getting to be a real problem. She will follow me to the kitchen at bed time and then lay down and wont budge. No amount of calling or encouragement will get her through the kitchen door. I have to physical stand her up and walk her into the kitchen. (its not easy at 27kg). Once she is in the kitchen she will walk to the utility , go outside and pee then go into her crate. Then she gets a treat. The other night I walked back down the hall, saw her watching in the mirror and then she went into the kitchen herself, and off we went outside.
So what you're saying you want to happen is for her to walk through the kitchen into the utility room and then out into the garden to pee, then come back in and go into her crate for the night? Is the crate in the utility room?

And the sticking point is that she won't go into the kitchen, but once she is in the kitchen, the rest of the sequence goes in the way you want?

Do you think she has any anxiety about being separated from you at night? If so, would you consider letting her sleep (in her crate if you want) in your bedroom? Or could there be something about the garden that makes her anxious - which could just be when it's dark?

As she went into the kitchen when you weren't watching, I would try to persuade her less in case she's feeling pressured. Things you could try:

- Making 'go to the kitchen' a fun game - e.g. during the day you could teach a 'stay' at the kitchen door followed by a rewarded 'come' into the kitchen.

- Giving her a treat at different points, e.g. when she goes into the kitchen, when she goes in the garden, when she comes in from the garden and goes in her crate (not all of these, unless this is what works for you!).

- Going out into the garden with her.

- Making a point of turning away and walking back down the hall, as that's what worked before, and then rewarding her when she chooses to go into the kitchen by herself.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
JudyN
Posts: 7018
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Dorset, UK
Contact:

Re: Bed time problems

Post by JudyN »

Mrshill wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:35 pm The other issue, is the last couple of weeks she doesnt want to go for a walk during the day, she trembles and wont put her harness on, yet will go out around 7 no problem at all. I would like to start taking her to work with me, but don't want to force her. I have had to take her a couple of times when nobody was going to be home all day, she had a great time, but again wouldn't go outside and struggled to get her outisde to go home. (oh and she won't pee when she is out. I am quite happy to not take her to work and work on getting her happy on going out, but next week I have to take her to be spayed. Am worried about getting her to go, but know I will end up having to make her go. She loves the vets too!
Any advise welcomed, I somehow seemed to have trained my dog to be stubborn, although I keep telling myself she is just being a teenager too.
Thank you
Has anythng happened when she's been out during the day, e.g. fireworks? Has she always been generally anxious and sensitive, or has this started out of the blue?

For now, I wouldn't make her go out during the day. I'd work on desensitising her to her harness, aiming to be able to put it on and then not going out, and then I'd work on walking to the door, opening it and not going out... Then walking a few steps and turning back... and so on, till she regains her confidence.

I'm not an expert, though, so hopefully others will have some more ideas.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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