My wife and I just adopted our new girl Chloe. She has really learned fast and is adapting to our home life very quickly. We haven't had any accidents in the house and she understands that we are the alphas of the pack.

We decided to crate train her because we are away from home for ~8 hours a day. She does not like to go in her crate and I usually have to gently push her in or coax her with a treat. At night she will go in the crate if she has her blanket. When we are home and she is crated she is fine-a little whimpering if we are upstairs.

The problem is that she is crying (rooing, barking, and whining) while were are gone. I left my mp3 player on record today for the first hour that I was gone and she cried on and off for the whole time every couple of minutes. When I returned home I could hear her before I even opened the door. I also left the radio on while we were gone.

I feel bad that she is crying, but I feel worse for my neighbors if they are home.

We have not used toys or a kong yet. I know the kennel advises no treats or toys for the first 2 weeks to eliminate posessiveness. Although this morning she picked up a pair of my socks and began to nip and lick them. It was really cute.

So what should we try?

Thanks,

Joe

Hey Joe. Chloe might do better if she spends less time in her crate. Of course she needs to be crated (at least at first) when you are at work. Could you leave her out at night with a doggie bed in your bedroom? If she tends to wander all over the house at night maybe you can close your bedroom door? Also, Chloe might not need to be crated at all when you are at home. If you give her a place to lie down and invite her upstairs (you might need to teach her to climb stairs) I expect she will settle down quickly and be content to be beside you.

Best Wishes!
Karen

I should have mentioned that we let her sleep out of the crate last night (4th night home) and she did fine. She does fine while we're home. We were thinking of just tring to crate her when we have meals.

I really don't want to leave her uncrated during the day while I am gone.

Hi Joe
I'm the volunteer coordinator at the kennel. Everything you are told at the kennel isn't written in blood. You have to try to find out what is best for each grey. You can try giving Chloe a kong with p-nut butter and maybe some pieces of food frozen in it before you go to work. That will give her something to work on for a while. She is not yet used to being in the crate 8 hrs a day without hearing other dogs or being let out at at noon-so something to keep her busy might help.
Also if she can be taken for a 10-15 min walk before you go to leave her a little tired it might help-I always walked my dogs in the morning-had to get up earlier to do it, but I think it's a necessity and so does Cesar Milan if you have watched any of his programs or read his book.

Joe,
I wouldn't leave Chloe uncrated during the day when you are not home. She is too new to the home enviorment to be trusted. She may get into something that could hurt her, and you don't want her to damage anything in your home. She is still adjusting to her new home and its sounds and surroundings. I fill a kong with small treats and then fill it with p-nut butter then freeze it. When I go away...I say, "crate," to the dogs, when they are in..I give them the kong with the frozen treats. They go right in. It just gives them something to do while confined.
Does she have a blanket in her crate during the day? When you come home and she is crying, try to let her stay in the crate for a few minutes and not pay any attention to her fussing. If she learns that by fussing you hurry to let her out, she may think if she makes enough noise, she will get her way. Of course if you live in a condo/townhouse situation, that may not work. I think you are just going to have to see what works best for you.
Good luck.
Jean

Mocha had been a pain since day one about this and it has gotten significantly better now. Both greys are crated in my computer room so I try to spend some time in the room with them where she can see me just to let her see that I am there. They are just like children in the fact that it is worse for them if they know you are gone. Try crating her somewhere where she can see you to know that you are not away. Comforting her may also work better than disciplining her if she starts to whine while you are in view. If it doesn't, the waterbottle seems to work well without having to say any harsh words to them.

I know that some people are fine with not crating their dogs and I did that for a while with one of my last greys alot. The part that always worried me is what could happen if I wasn't home and something happened to them. The grey I am reffering to completely tore a garbage can to pieces and had trash everywhere in the house without EVER showing any signs of doing something like that in 6 years.

The crate for me is a good piece of mind and knowing that my girls are going to be safe and so is my home while we are away. To them, it is always used for their "bed" and they are told to "Go to bed" when we put them up. They will both just about run through the back to get in now. The flipside to this is that Ginger feels so much more comfortable in there that she doesn't even want to come out sometimes!! Patience is the number one key here and you have to just put yourself in her shoes to think how you may feel and what she has been around her whole life.
Good luck and enjoy your new girl!!

Hi Tunez, glad the girls are doing fine and Mocha is behaving better.
I told their breeder that they have been adopted together and he was very happy about that.

Joe, can you give her a kong with peanut butter? Hang in there, it will get better! Bribe the neighbors with cookies.

Tunez, how are Ginger and Mocha doing? Are they still shy?
The lady who adopted one of their littermates through TGS likes to get them together for a play date. Wonder if they recognize each other?
They look so much alike.
Her dog Purl is still shy but has come a long way already and is doing much better at meet and greets.
I think I still have a photo of all the girls in their pen at the farm, it is on my home computer.

If you have a recent picture of them, could you please email it to me? I like to make a photo book of all the Pruett farm dogs that were adopted last year and send it to the breeder. I am also looking for pictures of the other Pruett dogs that have been adopted through GFNC. Ginger, Mimi, Benito Joe and the wht/fawn female that got adopted in one hour (forgot her name).
Poor Jensi is still waiting for her home...