Hello, thanks for the add!! : ) Im in need of help with my two Toy Poodles separation/crate anxiety. They both do a very good job of going into their crates and waiting to be released on cue, but their duration is only for a minute or so, and with me present in the room. This is more of an exciting trick to them than a calm behavior. So when I attempt to extend the duration, even with a variable rate of reinforcement, I find they just get tremble-y and squirmy and sometimes jump the gun. I dont know how to convince them that crate time is for relaxing. Also, Ive read over and over that the best training sessions are short and sweet, so Im not even sure how to transition from short training sessions to 20 minutes in a crate. It seems their arousal level builds during any training session, and after a few minutes they start getting sort of frantic and tremble-y with other behaviors as well. It feels to me that shorter sessions are the answer, stopping before they get to that state, but then Im lost again regarding extended periods of crating! I do keep a calm demeanor during most training sessions, but there is exciting training we do such as recalling and retrieving games, do I need to cut those out? I have read the Unhappy Alone file and found some helpful ideas there that I will begin to implement, as well! : ) Thank you so much for your time and help! My doggies will be very thankful when they can just snooze while Im grocery shopping instead of crying! Oh, for a little background, they are both females, one is 1 year and the other is almost 3. Ive had them from puppies and this has been an ongoing issue for as long as Ive owned them. I work from home as a dog groomer so theyre very conditioned to having me always available. Also, they sleep quite contentedly in their crates for hour and a half periods while Im working in the same room grooming a dog. I cant really reward them or practice leaving and returning during those periods since Im working with a groom dog. When I try to recreate this phenomenon without a grooming client present, they dont relax. What to do? Thanks again for your help!! : )
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 20:14:18 +0000
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