Some Advice Pls: New Hav Owner

[Tia]

Personally I like the crate but I don't leave Doug in it when I am not home. He sleeps in it and when I am home I take him in and out. I find it good so I can mop the floors and things like that but also that he becomes comfortable in his own space and to help with his toilet training. At first he was just terrible in it but he doesn't bark at all now. He will cry a little bit sometimes when I put him in but it stops pretty quickly if he has a toy to occupy his time with.

Doug also has our laundry which sort of plays the part of an ex pen in that he has his crate inside and room to have a play around but is still restricted so he can't get into any mischief or hurt himself. When I am home sometimes he will be confined to this space also. What normally happens with Doug is crate at bed time. He wakes at around 6am (was 530 but we are getting later) to go potty, I put him back in until about 7am (as 6am is way too early a start for me) then give him some breaky and play time. After his next potty break I put him back in where he will normally be ready for a nap and pull him out a couple of hours to then go potty again. Then he is out most of the day where he will be in the house while I watch him and as I cook dinner I usually pop him in the laundry but don't crate him again until bed time- at which point he takes himself off to bed when he is ready and I just shut it behind him. I was leaving it open of a night but I find he sleeps later with it shut.

So during the day he isn't in the crate a whole lot but I make a point to put him in there so he doesn't come to expect complete freedom and so I can work on his toilet training. When he does go in and is quiet I give him a treat. Also often he is quiet in the crate but when I come over he gets excited - whilst he is happy again I wont take him out until he is quiet. Ill say sit, quiet and when he does this I open. Same goes for the laundry - we have a child gate on the door and when I come home he gets so worked up I ignore him for at least five minutes until he has settled himself and is quiet before letting him out.

[Anna6]

We crate Nina, 7 1/2 months, whe we are gone and at night. She does not bark until we come home or get her out of her crate.

[Zarika]

Thanks for all your suggestions guy. I've started trying some of them. It's too soon to say if anything is working.

I have another question if I could. Hobbes seems to have some pretty extensive allergies. The vet suggested half a Benadryl (He is full grown, 9.9 pounds) a day. With my borzoi, I could either hide it in food or just plop it in. With him, I've only got about a 10% success rate at getting the Benadryl in him and he does much better with it.

If I hide it in food, he either ignores the food or manages to spit out the pill part (and I must have tried over 15 different types of food). I can't get him to cooperate with the "pilling" (just putting it in) and he has so many trust issues that the restraint it would take to get it in would be too much for such a scared dog. A

Any strange ideas?

[narci]

I had issue with separation anxiety with Oreo..it was a LONG road to get rid of it.

What I did was:

1) Put him in the kitchen and walk out the kitchen door closing it behind me
2) I would count (in my mind) to 5 seconds, open the door and lots of praise and a treat.
2a) if he/she is barking and making noise...DO NOT open that door until you hear 5 seconds of silence.
3) keep repeating at 5 second intervals till your little furball got 5 seconds down pat.
4) move to 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds etc.

It took me forever to get Oreo to understand that being alone is not a bad thing.

Max we ever left him home alone is about 4 hours with no issue.

[narci]

Originally Posted by Zarika

Thanks for all your suggestions guy. I've started trying some of them. It's too soon to say if anything is working.

I have another question if I could. Hobbes seems to have some pretty extensive allergies. The vet suggested half a Benadryl (He is full grown, 9.9 pounds) a day. With my borzoi, I could either hide it in food or just plop it in. With him, I've only got about a 10% success rate at getting the Benadryl in him and he does much better with it.

If I hide it in food, he either ignores the food or manages to spit out the pill part (and I must have tried over 15 different types of food). I can't get him to cooperate with the "pilling" (just putting it in) and he has so many trust issues that the restraint it would take to get it in would be too much for such a scared dog. A

Any strange ideas?

Half a Claritin tablet might work. Vet suggested this for Oreo.

[Sheri]

Originally Posted by Zarika

Thanks for all your suggestions guy. I've started trying some of them. It's too soon to say if anything is working.

I have another question if I could. Hobbes seems to have some pretty extensive allergies. The vet suggested half a Benadryl (He is full grown, 9.9 pounds) a day. With my borzoi, I could either hide it in food or just plop it in. With him, I've only got about a 10% success rate at getting the Benadryl in him and he does much better with it.

If I hide it in food, he either ignores the food or manages to spit out the pill part (and I must have tried over 15 different types of food). I can't get him to cooperate with the "pilling" (just putting it in) and he has so many trust issues that the restraint it would take to get it in would be too much for such a scared dog. A

Any strange ideas?

Have you tried Liverwurst? Boy, that worked for my own and my neighbor's dog. I can't imagine a dog refusing it, it's so smelly. I now use just cheese, in three tiny pieces. I give Tucker the first little piece to get him hungry for it, then give him the pill wrapped in the second piece (however big that has to be,) then IMMEDIATELY offer the last piece of cheese. He gulps them down fast to make sure he's ready for that piece that is to follow.

[krandall]

Originally Posted by Zarika

Thanks for all your suggestions guy. I've started trying some of them. It's too soon to say if anything is working.

I have another question if I could. Hobbes seems to have some pretty extensive allergies. The vet suggested half a Benadryl (He is full grown, 9.9 pounds) a day. With my borzoi, I could either hide it in food or just plop it in. With him, I've only got about a 10% success rate at getting the Benadryl in him and he does much better with it.

If I hide it in food, he either ignores the food or manages to spit out the pill part (and I must have tried over 15 different types of food). I can't get him to cooperate with the "pilling" (just putting it in) and he has so many trust issues that the restraint it would take to get it in would be too much for such a scared dog. A

Any strange ideas?

When Kodi needs a pill, I wrap it in a piece of American cheese, sort of squeezing the edges together. He swallows it so fast I'm sure he has no idea there is a pill in it! Other people I know use either cream cheese or peanut butter to coat it.

[sandypaws]

Another alternative is Pill or Capsule Pockets made by Greenies. They actually sell them at my vet's office and when she started one of my guys on meds, she gave him his first dose at the office in one. They come in beef or chicken flavor and I have used them ever since. Actually, I also use half a pocket as a treat after cutting Tyler's nails as he hates the procedure so much. When I'm finished "torturing" him, he runs to the cabinet where the pill pockets are located and stands there and barks in case I forget.

[Carol2012]

Greetings Zarika,
I have had my Jackson for just over a year now and went through something similar to what you are currently experiencing. I searched the web, went back to my breeder (as this was my first experience with a Havanese) and here is a list of things I tried:

1. Leave the TV on for background noise.
2. Talk to your dog, let him know you will be leaving, but you will be back.
3. Give a treat before leaving.
4. Try leaving for a short time, 2 mins, talk to the dog letting him/her know you will be back shortly. Repeat step, increasing the time period you are gone 5, 10, 15 mins.
Before you know it your dog will be ok, with you running arrands and returning.
5. Make sure you take your dog out to complete his business, immediately before leaving and as soon as you return.

Hope this helps, it worked for me but I am not a professional trainer.

Good Luck

[Zarika]

By the way....

This is Hobbes!