The Dog Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [55]
CRATE DOS AND DON’TS
Follow these guidelines to guarantee that your dog will regard his crate or portable kennel as a great place.
Select a crate only big enough for your puppy to stand up and turn around in easily. If you buy a crate to match your puppy’s eventual adult size, temporarily insert a divider until he gets larger.
Let your puppy investigate inside the crate on his own. Encourage his curiosity by tossing a toy or a few treats inside.
Feed your puppy in his crate. Quietly close the door while he eats and then open the door after he eats and let him go outside to go to the bathroom.
Make the interior of the crate comfortable with a blanket or old bath towel and a chew toy to keep him occupied.
Never put your puppy in his crate as punishment. Select a different time-out location, like a bathroom, when you need to stop an unwanted behavior.
Do not keep your dog in a crate longer than four or five hours at a time.
Who’s the Boss?
Q At first, we thought it was cute when our Scottish terrier puppy growled playfully at us whenever we tried to take a toy away from her or keep her from stealing a sock. But Mimi is now nearly a year old and her growls don’t seem so harmless. She hasn’t bitten anyone, but she definitely sounds like she means business. What can we do to keep this behavior from escalating?
A It may seem amusing when a puppy commandeers a sock or keeps you at bay when you try to take a toy from her, but this is a very bad habit. Left undisciplined, many dogs will begin to view themselves as the leader of the household and will progress from growling to snapping at, or even biting, people who challenge them.
This type of aggression may surface between 12 and 24 months of age as a dog gains physical and social maturity. If aggression directed at owners is allowed, the dog can become uneasy and anxious, and the owners frustrated and fearful, setting up a vicious cycle of behavior. Untreated, this canine bullying will only intensify. This is a particularly important time for you to be firm, fair, and consistent. Be aware that showering such a dog with affection, giving her unearned treats, and allowing her free reign of the house will reinforce this behavior, because the dog will feel that her top dog attitude is being rewarded.
In Mimi’s case, you need to become a VIP (Very Influential Person) in her view while she is demoted to PHP (Pretty Humble Pup). Instead of trying to match growl for growl, you need to become the household’s benevolent leader whom your dog looks up to, the person who has more influence over her than anyone or anything else in the world. (See Paying the Price on page 156.) Whenever Mimi shows any sign of aggression, calmly put her in a bathroom. Close the door and give her a brief time-out (less than five minutes). When you open the door, ignore her for about 30 seconds. Banishment and withdrawal of attention are the most potent forms of correction because they remove a dog’s ability to control a situation.
You also need to work on properly training Mimi so that she understands basic obedience cues. (See Ignoring Temptation on page 169 for tips on teaching her to drop it, for example.)
Have everyone in your house and regular visitors practice these new rules. By becoming a better leader who is consistently gentle but firm, you will have better control of the situation and Mimi will be likely to stop growling and display better behavior. If her behavior does not improve, however, I favor being pro-active and seeking help from an animal behaviorist before growls turn into lunges or biting attacks.
Dalmatian puppies are born pure white. Their trademark black spots pop up as they mature. A few Dalmatians have liver-colored spots.
Having Spot Find His Spot
Q When I get ready to leave the house and