Merry Xmas all,
I am having a problem with Polo going up the stairs to go into his crate when I leave to go somewhere. I have to lift his front legs and body up each stair because he refuses to go up the stairs when he knows I'm leaving, otherwise hes up and down all day. Today while I was lifting him up and he didn't want to go, he growled at me, it scared me at first and then I said "NO!", lets get going, and I continued lifting him and he didn't growl anymore. I know he is young and I don't know what kind of life he had before, but I sense that he was beaten. If I gently pat him to sit, sometimes he will cry, or sometimes when wiping his paws, or touching his chest area. I had the vet look at him at the Humane Society where I got him and she didn't feel anything. So I am giving him lots of TLC and praise, but I don't want him growling, I want to nip this before it gets started. Any ideas, any help would be appreciated.
Smitty

how old is he? I think it is probably fear based. Fight or Flight. He can;t get away and being forced to do something he doesn't want to do. He has no control he is being forced and is afraid.

Have you tried to get him to go up with treats and praise? You should make your leaving as pleasant as possible. His crate should be a safe place not a place to go that has started bad (being forced). He will associate the crate with something bad if he is being forced. By using trerat and a huge amount of praise. he will soon feel going to his crate when you leave has a HUGE payoff...he get treats and loving. after a while you can stop the treats and just use praise.

Hi,
Polo is 7 months old. Yes, I've praised him, and I give him treats to go up the steps which he won't eat, and then when we get to the crate I give him treats and tell him what a good boy he is. I think in his other home the crate was a bad thing, and even going outside he's skittish about coming back in and again he gets treats and praise and petting. It's only been about a month since we've had him, probably not enough time to undo the damage someone else has done. Otherwise he's a great dog, I was just really surprised when he growled at me, hopefully he won't try that again.
Smitty

It is difficult with adopted or rescued dogs. Because you have no knowledge of their past it is hard to know what triggers them.

It may have been an isolated incident, but it seems you handled it well. He needs to know you are the boss, so when he does itagain ( if he does ) a firm HEY or NO should work.

Good luck!!

putting him in the crate, at OTHER times now and then may help.

You do have maintain "alpha" status in your house. If you coddle this dog too much, he will try to become alpha and may be afraid of being so. Growling, biting/nipping, and excessive barking, and even attacking visitors may result, when a non-alpha dog assumes alpha position in the home.

If you get NatGeo channel on TV, Cesar Milan has many shows on there that address adopted dogs, who become "alpha" because loving owners "baby" them too much based on the adoption from prior abuse. He contends that the dog lives in the "now" most of the time, and the past fades for the most part. (The Dog Whisperer).

Cesar contends that giving praise or treats at the "wrong" time also creates problems. So I would not give treats so much. Making a trail to the crate is perhaps too much?

The dog needs to learn that the crate is a safe place. By putting him in there at other times randomly, he will learn you are not always leaving and associate the crate with abandonment.

Mrs D has good advice. I too have a dog with fear issues. We adopted Rudy at age 2 and he had been beaten and dumped at a shelter. If you picked up the vacuum wand, he'd cower and run away because he was sure you were gonna use it on him.


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We did learn a lot from Dog Whisperer, what we were doing wrong, what we were doing right.

Do not say "It's okay" and pet, love, give treats at any time when a dog is not doing what you want - especially when they are afraid. Doing so only tells the dog you want him to be afraid.

I know it's hard and goes against our nurturing nature, but when they are afraid, we have to "Sh!" and not allow that behavior.

Do the "Sh!" when he growls.

You will need him to get used to the crate in your home - he will forget what that meant elsewhere. Now, it is a safe and happy place. Picture in your mind a dog who loves the crate and runs right in.

Half of dog training is seeing in your mind exactly what you want from your dog. I swear, they are psychic. They see what you imagine and wanting so badly to please you, they do it.

But they need first to know YOU are in charge. So project that you are the pack leader, you are never frustrated or mad, but you will have your way. You are not asking him to do something, you are telling, and you know he will do it.


The first time either of my boys had been on leash, they tangled and tripped me for 5 mins.

I put a picture in my head of the three of us walking perfectly, like a scene from a movie. Suddenly, they heeled like show dogs on slack leashes like they'd been doing in for years. Amazing. People stop and ask me how I do that.


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ITA with using treats and putting him in his crate at times OTHER when you're leaving. He associates the crate with you leaving. Not good.

Here's a suggestion--try putting him in his crate with the door open and give him his food in there--hand feed him piece by piece. Do this every time you feed him for a while so he gets the idea that the crate's associated with a nice thing. And if he doesn't, then put his food in the crate all the way in the back. Let him eat in there with the door open if he won't eat from your hand. Tempt him if you have to with that doggie gravy stuff or even a little broth over his food--you just want to make him go in there to eat. I use Natural Balance food in a roll--it's semi-moist--cut up in very small pieces to help train my dogs. You might want to see if he responds to that well without putting that in the crate and then trying it in the crate. If he adores the food, you might want to make a small piece of that his "special treat" (see below).

Also, give him only ONE special treat or kind of treat when you put him in his crate to go away. Make sure it's something he absolutely LOVES. Give him a Kong filled with peanut butter and treats, cheese and treats, or anything he adores but ONLY use it for when he goes in the crate.

My one dog has separation anxiety but he goes right in his crate for me. I give him Waggin Trails chicken filet treats, which are 100% chicken. He adores them and can't wait to get his treat. But I try not to give him them unless he's going in the crate. He sees me go for the bag and he starts for the steps. LOL (Geez.... wish men were as easy to train.
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) N.B.--he won't eat anything else in the crate--it goes uneaten the rest of the day if I put anything else in there. He won't chew on bones or Kongs or anything. So you may have to work at it to find what he'll go for.

It may take time, but if you have patience and work at it you should succeeed. Don't yell or scold him. I don't mean that if he growls at you you don't do something to let him know that's not acceptable. Let him see/smell the food bowl and just calmly take his food upstairs to the crate and put it down inside the crate. Then leave the crate alone and wait for him to get hungry enough to eat.

Dogs are food driven, praise driven or toy driven generally. So you need to find out which he is. Then use THAT to help you to get him to do what you want. He only gets what he loves if he does what you ask him to do. It's his reward for doing well. I know it's bribery, but it does help train. Some people, however, don't believe in that type of training. I've always found that people and dogs react well to what motivates them.
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Eventually you don't have to keep using the reward thing if you don't want to, but I see no harm in putting a special treat in the crate with your pup during the day if you're going to be away. JMO

Good luck!

P.S. You might want to try reading The Other End of the Leash. It's a very good book on body language and dog behavior.
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