rescued rott inside/outside problem

[JBconway]

hope this stays on the board to get more responses-

this doglikes to be with me everywhere i go. i have a 7 week old baby who sleeps @ night. i put the dog in the den with his leash connected to a heavy sofa(had 10 feet to move around). i layed in bed with my wife & not 10 minutes later, he was yelping & barked for the 1st time. i really want to keep him inside but i can't have this with a baby & my own need for sleep. i had to sleep on the sofa with the dog so my wife & kid could sleep. i am afraid if put outside, he will wake the neighbors up.

i also have to go to work from 3pm to 11pm so that should be interesting.

anybody have thought if this will all work out after some time passes?

any ideas or tips?

[jbach]

A crate should work. She may or may not bark during the crate training process. Most dogs love to be in their crates. (Or so I've read here) I'm still working with my new girl. The male has free run of the house and is very well behaved and sleeps at the foot of my bed. The new girl is not quite behaving as well yet so she sleeps in her crate to keep her out of trouble. Please give your guy a chance at a crate and living indoors before banishing to the backyard.

[My3Rotties]

My question is why do you need to keep him tied down in the house??? Does he destroy stuff? How long have you had this dog? and how old is he/she? A crate will work fine if you need to keep the dog confined to one place..but, i wouldn't use a leash to keep the dog tied in one place...i would section of an area like the kitchen with a baby gate. with a leash the dog could choke and of course he/she will bark since they feel bound up by being tied up and seeing you go elsewhere, specially if you say the dog is used to following you around. My 3 rotties do the same thing..they follow me every where i go even if it's to the bathroom. I would really use a crate, or section of an area and then you won't need to tie him/her up. At first she/he won't like the crate but they do get used to it. it happened with my pups at first, they will bark and cry. but, they will adjust to it. the best is just to section an area.

[JBconway]

used the leash b/c of our cat. the dog is cool witht he cat but the cat is still unsure with the dog. i originally placed him in the guest room with door shut & he yelped loud enough for the baby to hear it so the one room confinement really didnt work.

[tugger5000]

I would begin crate training, but understand that it likely will not be without growing pains.

I know some people have to go as far as putting the crate in the bedroom, but we have our 2 dogs in the next room over with the door open. The first week was pretty frustrating with the whining and the high pitched "whiny" barnks, but once she realized we weren't going to let her out until the morning, she gave up on the behavior. The alarm clocks still cue her when it is time to get up... sometimes she helps out by barking (which helps keep us from being late)...

[JeanT]

Since Vik doesn't want to eat the cat, I wouldn't worry at all about the cat. I've never had a cat, nor has anyone in my family had a cat, that didn't adjust to having a dog in the home. (Also never had a dog that wanted to eat a cat, but that isn't your problem either.) Your cat will probably hide out for a while and come to either just stay away from Vik or get to like him. So far, and this covers a few decades of cats and dogs, every cat has either come to watch the dog(s) ( from a perch (chair, sofa, etc) or decided to interact (sniffing, batting in play, curling up right on the dog to sleep). As long as Vik doesn't eat the furniture or something like that, I'd just let both cat and dog have free roam in the home. They (Vik and the cat) will work out who goes where and how close they want to be.

[JBconway]

great ideas, but i might not have a week if the baby is woken up & the wife is already in bad moods this week from lack of sleep. i just hope he realizes he has it made in the shade sooner than later

[JBconway]

i was feeding the baby last night & had Vik next to me on the floor. the cat has kept a watchful eye from afar but getting closer with thime. the thing that scared me is out of the blue, she darted @ him & looked like she was about to attack him from behind but i screamed & both animals were frightened & the cat went the other way. i think if the cat does something like that, Vik might act back.

[sparklemom]

JB, I wouldn't worry too much about the cat and dog. Most cats are able to out-run and out-jump a dog. They will work it out on their own. With my dog and cats, all it took was one swipe to the nose and Sparkle knew not to mess with the cats anymore.

As for the whining and yelping, ignore it. If you respond by coming to him, he knows to keep doing that to get what he wants.

[Karyn]

Ya know, you just gave a memorial to Bama who you regretted leaving outside. Why would you even think of doing that again? As with anything, there is a period of adjustment. You were not born knowing how to drive - you had to learn and take time to be a good driver. Your dog has to learn the rules before you can expect him to conform to the rules and be the good dog.

[LORHEL]

I realize your baby is priority, but the dog is also a member of the family and should never be tied up anywhere, indoors or outdoors.

Rottweilers do not do good left alone especially tied up.

Crate him when you are away. Its a safe haven, and the cat most likely is not going to do anything but act bossy... trust me, I haven't met a dog yet, who was the boss over a cat...

I hope that your wife is in agreement to having the dog, I do not know, so please, if she isn't, and this dog isn't going to be able to be a part of your family, more than being tied up, and left outside, please, do the kindest thing and re-home him.

I mean no disrespect, but only have the dog's best interest at heart here.

[JeanT]

Yes, that could surprise Vik at first. Right now I have neither a cat nor a rottie, but at my sister's home there are four rescued cats and two dogs (and that ratio has held for the past 20+ years). Some of the cats take great pleasure in the rear attack, or attacking a wagging tail. They should get to know each other better first though, to be sure that Vik isn't surprised. Try holding the cat around Vik sometimes, so the cat is higher than Vik and can look down on him. They do need to get used to each other. A behavior that I've seen frequently when either a new cat or a new dog comes into the home is that the cat will often approach a sleeping dog and sniff all around him to get to know him. One of my sister's cat's first real approach to one of my rotties was when he was sleeping. After a few sniff-visits, she started licking his closed eyelids. He liked that.

If you see your cat doing the rear attack approach again (which may not happen since all three of you were scared) try not to yell - say something to the cat that draws Vik's attention to the cat. As soon as he looks around, your cat will stop dead in his/her tracks and they'll look at each other. It would be nice if Vik knows sit/stay so the cat can stare at him for as long as the cat wants to. Again, since Vik does not want to eat the cat, I think it is very likely that the two of them will work out a comfortable lifestyle with each other. Where a dog wants to chase a cat for play - not eating - the dog needs to be checked until the two of them are comfortable with each other. Then they set their own limits. Cats often give dogs (not cat-eating dogs) a few face punches with or without claws as their way of saying they are finished with the interaction.

[JBconway]

the comment i made about Bama was b/c he was inside for 2 years & he was placed outside all of a sudden. he was too big for a little ol' place.
if i was single, the thought would not have even entered my mind about placing Vik outside. it is stressful to have a new baby & husband & wife do fight alot due to the lack of sleep. my only concern is that she might not be as patient as i am in waiting for the dog to settle down. i am trying here. he seems to be better today as he leaves me to wander & also lay down somewhere.
now, when i am gone 8 hours for work or when i sleep, who kn ows what will happen. i just hope problems with the yelping dont last long because my wife has been beyond cooperative with allowing Vik inside to begin with. she knows it means alot to me.
she just gets grumpy w/out much sleep & i am hoping the dog doesnt intefere with any of those precious sleep hours.
Vik is part of the family but i cannot control what my wife will say down the line. i took it apon myself to get no sleep last night, feeding the baby, walking the dog, laying near the dog in his new surroundings. i'm trying

[austin]

another idea would be to set the cat up with its litter box and food in a room and section that room off with a baby gate (you can cut a hole in the bottom of the gate that the cat can get in and out of). That way the cat can roam freely, but has an escape route if it needs one. That system has worked well for my dog and two cats.

And definitely start crate training. This a a good link crate training. Tying down the dog is only going to frustrate him.

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally posted by Karyn
Ya know, you just gave a memorial to Bama who you regretted leaving outside. Why would you even think of doing that again? As with anything, there is a period of adjustment. You were not born knowing how to drive - you had to learn and take time to be a good driver. Your dog has to learn the rules before you can expect him to conform to the rules and be the good dog.

Karyn said what I was going to say - you just got this guy - he needs time to learn that he HAS a forever home - I am sure being tied to the couch alone in a new place is a recipe for destructive behavior. When he does get quiet you may find that was because he has decided to eat the couch - please crate train him - it will be safest for all