Help please

sjwoody

I have a 3 year old weimeraner bitch ,and latley she is testing me ..she jumps all over people keeps, when taken into another room she just keeps jumping up at the doors and scratching the paint off and barking and now is taking things of the worktops and chewing them ,the only thing i think of is getting a create but is she to old to be created now ?

Mischief

I don't think crate training has an age limit but it's something that would have to be introduced gradually and with positive methods, rather than simply putting her in it and hoping for the best. Has your normal schedule changed? Do you give her unsupervised access to areas where there are things she can get into and chew, when she's bored? How much exercise is she receiving on an average day? Does she enjoy puzzle treat toys, kongs? Has she had any obedience training? Wiems are such beautiful and energetic dogs, I love them but they do need so much physical and mental stimulation.

If nothing has changed in your daily routine and she is getting enough exercise/attention etc, and this is very uncharacteristic for her, it might be wise to have her checked out by a Vet, just to rule out any medical causes for her sudden change in behavior. Good Luck

sjwoody

thanks for your reply we are in the forces and hubby has gone away (to canada ) for a few months and think she is missing him i still give her walks and lads here take her out to,so i think its because hubby is away ,which doesnt really help me as i have 2 toddlers to be looking after and now she is playing up ,people wont come round the house because she just keeps jumping up on them ! and she is such a big unit people dont want to have this big dog on them ,she is a beautiful dog but this is getting out of hand now , i think i will invest in a crate .

Tess

First, thank you and your husband, for your service.
Looks like you have your hands full with two small humans and one large dog!

I think the idea of a crate as a place to confine your dog when visitors arrive is a reasonable one. At least you will not be allowing her to keep reinforcing herself the "fun" of jumping all over people. You may be able to make it a positive thing for her to go to her crate if she is food motivated and you can make it a good game to "go to your crate" and entice her with a morsel. You could practice that, not even closing the door at first, just lead her in with a treat and tell her what a good girl she is when she goes in, and give her the treat. You could do 10 or 15 repetitions of this, in just a few minutes, leaving the door open so she can come right back out.

It would probably only take a few days, perhaps 2 or 3 five minute training sessions, to get her to go into the crate pretty happily. Then you could start closing the door for just a minute or so. Maybe have a kong in there with peanut butter in it. Again, just a few minutes of training (between toddler needs!) could have her happily going into the crate this time with the door closed. You could gradually increase the time she's in the crate to 5 or 10 minutes.

If you do all this and keep things really positive, then you might move on to working the doorbell into your routine. You yourself go ring the doorbell, then do the "go to your crate" thing with her. Do this 5 or 10 times, or how ever many reps you can fit in, until the toddlers need your attention!

My bet is you could have her cooperating about going into her crate, at the cue of the door bell in a couple of weeks. In the interim you could post a sign on your door telling visitors to just be patient for a moment while you crate the dog. Then, once you have her trained, you could announce to all your friends that it is safe to come over!

One thing to be careful of would be not to over-use the crate, so the dog becomes frustrated and pent up. My guess is if you used it for visitors for an hour or so at a time, the dog would be fine with that, particularly if she had a chew toy. But if she has to spend long hours in there, she'll start to feel all pent up and the energy will have to express itself in a burst when she gets out.

One other thing, which is can be a challenge, is once you get her trained and feeling safe/comfy in the crate, don't let her out if she is fussing. Ask her to sit quietly for a few minutes before opening the door. You may even have to play a little game where you reach for the door, if she fusses, withdrawl your hand, and so forth, until she gets the idea that wiggling and vocalizing does not make you open the door. But that problem is a ways down the road. The first goal would be to just get her to happily accept the crate as a place to be and enjoy a nice chew toy for a few minutes. You can keep coming back here for advice if you want it!

sjwoody

Thanks for that Tess thats is really useful and will do this and let you know how i get on ,firstly to get a crate ,she's such a lovely dog and is so gentle with the kids yet she goes crazy with adults .

Tess

I think you can get a handle on this, and make it possible to live happily with your sweet dog! keep coming back to the forum. Folks here know a lot about helping with this sort of thing. Many are much more expert than I, so if you run into questions, there are many voices here to help!


Once you get the crate thing mastered, there are ways to work with her to help her be better behaved with adults outside the crate too, but first just making life go reasonably smoothly when people come to visit would be nice, right? ;-)

Dawnben

help with crate training
Crate Training : The Humane Society of the United States
Also get something like a Kong to stuff with peanut butter or something yummy when the dog has to be in the crate