crating

[Ollie and Max]

I have had my male rottie max for 1 month now. before i got him i found this forum and decided that after my older boy ruined a few couches in his puppy years i would crate him.
it is the best thing i have ever done. he is only left for 3 hrs during the day and he is in there at night and i am able to rest easy knowing that my house and puppy are safe. my question is that he gets very grumpy about going in the crate at times. Is there anything i can do to make him tolerate it any better. he is fine once he's in there not a peep and he just goes to sleep. he has never got away with no going in the crate and it has never been used as a punishment. any suggestions would be great

[AngelBunny]

Ollie and Max:

Aren't crates good things?! I think having a dog who's crate trained is a skill all dogs should have--they can save a life.

"he gets very grumpy about going in the crate at times."

Exactly what do you mean by "grumpy"? How is he grumpy "at times"? Is he happy about going into his crate at other times??

To make the crate a friendly place, I feed puppies & fosters in their crates & always give Fido a treat after being crated. (No treats for being let out of the crate which I do w/o fanfare or fuss.)

[Nosferatu]

My dogs love their crates because it's the only place they get bones. When I put them in their crates they usually get a treat. I got them into the habit that when they come in from outside they go into their crates immediately and get let out later. It cuts down on the mess in the house and they get the pleasure of being with us after they've gone into their crates.

They consider their crates their retreats and will go into them to rest when the kids are rambunctious as the kids are not allowed to bother a dog in a crate. I keep the crates in the high traffic area of our dining room/kitchen area so they are always part of the family and can see what is going on.

I also feed them in their crates so if they see a food bowl in my hands they race for their crates and stand inside waiting for their meal. My male hides in his crate when he sees nail clippers, the crate is definitely their safe place.

[delila]

Crates are the best thing ever.

Mine too do not like to go into them though. Seeing that I do not give them treats too often, I buy special treats that are only given to them at crate time so that it is almost looked forward to :)

[Ollie and Max]

when i said he gets grumpy at times I mean that he will growl and snarl. he only does it during the day when he goes in at night he goes straight in and goes to sleep. i will start feeding him in there and giving him a treat when he goes in. I started off throwing treats in for but he used to jump in grab it and then try and get out as fast as possible.
Although he is not our first dog he is our first rottie and he has a much stronger personalty than our mix ollie. He was aggressive when we first got him but has settled in well and we are weeding out the problem areas. does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop him from snapping when being picked up and when approached from behind when he has a toy. these are the two problem areas at the moment and i really want them broken before he gets much older thnaks for all your replys

[moondog]

How old is he?

[Ollie and Max]

he is 11 weeks we have had him since he was 9 weeks

[Mattweiser]

everyone else has already said it, but i will too..just for emphasis:


Food, Food, and Food! :)

[AngelBunny]

Ollie and Max:

This growling & snarling, and snapping when being picked up, & snapping when he's approached from behind when he has a toy, *must* end. Your puppy is exhibiting this behavior because he doesn't respect you as the master and his training is poor. Think about what it will be like to live with a grown male Rottie who continues to behave in such a disagreeable fashion. He won't outgrow this bad behavior which will get worse as he gets older and gets away with more. You're going to have to start training him out of it right now.

Your puppy goes like a lamb into his crate at night because he wants to; he growls & snarls during the day because he doesn't want to. Well, that's too bad--if you want him crated, he's crated. End of story.

You mentioned your dog protests if approached from behind when he has a toy--what is his reaction if approached from the front? Based on your description of him, I bet he also acts irritated.

How much obedience training does your dog have?

[CajunsMom]

Food, Food, and Food!

What Matt said!;) :D

[CajunsMom]

AngelBunny, you have some very good advice but the pup is only 11 weeks old. You must have missed that one :). I'm not excusing the behavior just commenting on your question about how much obedience training he's had.;)

[AngelBunny]

CajunsMom:

Right you are! The puppy is a brat.

[Ollie and Max]

you are right that he is a brat. we fed him in there for his last few feeds and he has been great. as for the snarling we have discovered that the clamer we are the better. he is great with me because i ignore him and he settles down i can pick him up and take anything away from even bones. my husband however tended to yell at him if he snapped and max just got het up. Now my husband has quietened down with him he is much better the difference in him last night was unreal. no more evil puppy tantrum just nice calm puppy. he starts training in a few weeks
thanks for all your replys