Crate training

[Cecilie1200]

And, needless to say, if she's not spayed, do so asap.

Nice thing about shelter adoptions is that the animal is spayed or neutered before he ever comes home, for a very reasonable cost.

 

[Iceweasel]

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

My observation is that dogs see the world differently and pooping and peeing is part of claiming their turf. The back yard was his turf but now he has none except for the apartment. I think he will adapt in time, but it's a big transition.

 

[Cecilie1200]

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

My observation is that dogs see the world differently and pooping and peeing is part of claiming their turf. The back yard was his turf but now he has none except for the apartment. I think he will adapt in time, but it's a big transition.

Excellent point. So how do I go about helping him adapt so that he can be out of the crate?

 

[Iceweasel]

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

My observation is that dogs see the world differently and pooping and peeing is part of claiming their turf. The back yard was his turf but now he has none except for the apartment. I think he will adapt in time, but it's a big transition.

Excellent point. So how do I go about helping him adapt so that he can be out of the crate?

Well, I for one am not above negative training. Some dog people freak out if you teach them the word no. I screamed bloody murder and let them know the top dog doesn't allow that kind of behavior. Didn't have to do it much, they caught on real quick.

Maybe if he had a favorite spot outside, a place to mark as his own? And like I said praising him when doing it outside. The get the point, master angry/master happy.

 

[koshergrl]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

Time to call Caesar Milan.

Yeah Cesar is my bestest friend. I should have a degree in CM

 

[koshergrl]

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I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

It's a weird problem to have and difficult for me to relate to. Both of mine have the run of the house all the time. I leave sometimes for 8 or 9 hours and nothing has moved except occasionally a pillow has shifted. Is Mylo socialized with other dogs?

She's socialized to a point, but I can't leave her alone with snoop. They're ok when they're being monitored but he gets rough with her when they're left alone. She was fine with the saint....she didn't annoy him and he loved her. He'd play as long as she wanted to, and didn't wig out on her when she challenged him. Snoop isn't as tolerant. He has the run of the house when I'm out and Mylo is in my room. She doesn't mind that. If snoop is shut up he tears up carpet and floors and destroys doors. Plus the kids are in and out and if I'm not there mylo gets out and that's never good. Snoop doesn't take off running to attack whatever he can find when he gets out.

 

[Coyote]

View attachment 54030 View attachment 54031

I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

Having her own space, like a crate will also make her feel a bit "safer" - she wont' feel she'll need to react so much. A lot of times, aggression is linked with fear. She's cute! She has that sweet old lady face

 

[Coyote]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

What was her background before you got her?

 

[Coyote]

It also will mean I can leave my bedroom door open and move around the house without constantly keeping tabs on her. She's not the sort of dog you can just relax around if there are kids or other digs in the vicinity. You have to monitor her, or someone will get bit.

Have you also tried baby gates? I have two females that need close monitoring when out so I rotate them and have one either crated or baby-gated in my office. For a while, I had double gates with several feet in between just incase there was fence fighting, but ended up not really needing it. They're happy to avoid each other when given the opportunity.

 

[Coyote]

View attachment 54030 View attachment 54031

I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

 

[Cecilie1200]

View attachment 54030 View attachment 54031

I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

Nope, poop and pee both. Think it depends on what he actually has available at the moment.

He's about two. We've had him for six months-ish, and while he was housetrained, it wasn't as strong as I would have liked before we moved. His previous owners apparently stuck him in the yard and ignored him.

 

[Coyote]

View attachment 54030 View attachment 54031

I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

Nope, poop and pee both. Think it depends on what he actually has available at the moment.

He's about two. We've had him for six months-ish, and while he was housetrained, it wasn't as strong as I would have liked before we moved. His previous owners apparently stuck him in the yard and ignored him.

Could be the whole drastic change to going on leash and no yard. You might go back to treating him like a puppy and limiting his freedom. Sometimes, they are so distracted when outside they don't do everything - if he doesn't poo, for example, and you know he should have - crate him again, and take him out in 20 minutes. Maybe go back to rewarding the doing it outside too?

 

[koshergrl]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

What was her background before you got her?

She belonged to a single guy who had a farm. He paid a lot for her, he had papers and she is well bred. He loved her, but he kept her tied up I think. He got married to a woman with kids and dogs and she didn't work well with them.

She's smart, loyal, fierce...and very dominant. She patrols continually, it's not obsessive it's just who she is. She kills, or tries to kill, anything smaller than her. She is bred to hunt foxes...carnivores. If she gets offleash, she goes hunting.

I don't know how productive it is to spend much time trying to piece together her past. I just want her to not crap and pee on my carpet ten times a day, and I would like to be able to leave a door open once in a while without panicking or having to des with pissed off neighbors or random passersby....

 

[koshergrl]

View attachment 54030 View attachment 54031

I have had Mylo for about nine years, and she was two when I got her. She is very dominant and a tad aggressive so we spend a lot of energy keeping her and everybody else as safe as possible. She also poops and pees indiscriminately the minute she is alone.

She has always been so terrible about crating that I just never utilize it. She starts barking, scratching, whining, peeing, biting at the cage the minute she goes in and does not stop.

It never occurred to me to just crate train her. Instead of thinking she needed trained, I assumed it wouldn't work, or had been tried and failed.

I feel like an idiot!!! I've been dealing with her foibles for years and it never occurred to me to just train her.

I started yesterday...life is already easier. She went in on her own this am. I left her in while I did little things like make coffee and run laundry. I hope that soon I can crate her when I'm out if the house, when we travel to visit family, or when we have company. What that will mean for Mylo is her level of isolation will decrease. If she's crated she can at least be in the same room with everybody. Now she has to be put away because she bites and fights.

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

Nope, poop and pee both. Think it depends on what he actually has available at the moment.

He's about two. We've had him for six months-ish, and while he was housetrained, it wasn't as strong as I would have liked before we moved. His previous owners apparently stuck him in the yard and ignored him.

He's marking. Same thing mylo dies. Snoop dies too but only outside thank god.

 

[Cecilie1200]

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

Nope, poop and pee both. Think it depends on what he actually has available at the moment.

He's about two. We've had him for six months-ish, and while he was housetrained, it wasn't as strong as I would have liked before we moved. His previous owners apparently stuck him in the yard and ignored him.

Could be the whole drastic change to going on leash and no yard. You might go back to treating him like a puppy and limiting his freedom. Sometimes, they are so distracted when outside they don't do everything - if he doesn't poo, for example, and you know he should have - crate him again, and take him out in 20 minutes. Maybe go back to rewarding the doing it outside too?

Yeah, that's where we are right now. I hate having him in the kennel all the time, but he stays there unless he's eating or being walked. We had pork roast the other night, and saved all the bones for him. My son carries one along in a Ziploc every time they go out, and if he poops, he gets the bone. Peeing outside gets excessive petting and ear scratching. We try to take him out 30-60 minutes after he eats, when his food should have digested enough to be demanding relief.

 

[koshergrl]

Does. Not dies.

 

[Cecilie1200]

We're having to re-train our Golden Retriever, Malcolm. No idea what his actual problem is, but ever since we moved to this apartment, he's gotten it into his head that he needs to poop and pee in the house. I think it's because he's used to being let out into the backyard to run free while doing his business, and now he has to be walked on a leash.

He's driving me crazy. We take him out of the crate, and he'll try to relieve himself right there while we're clipping the leash on. We walk him, he does his business all over the designated area, and then as soon as he comes back inside, he'll go right there in the entry hall. It's like he's saving some of it up for when he comes back inside.

That's so weird...I have a friend dealing with that issue...they have a young dog that pees whenever they leash, pet or bend over him. His is a submissive thing. Mylos is dominance. She gets out plenty. After nine years I'm done, I don't like it when I find myself fantasizing about her death.

Well, Malcolm doesn't have submission issues. He likes his leash, because he knows it means he's going to be taken along to wherever his people are going, and he loves being with his people. It's specifically the apartment that's triggering the behavior.

Is it just urine? How old is he?

Nope, poop and pee both. Think it depends on what he actually has available at the moment.

He's about two. We've had him for six months-ish, and while he was housetrained, it wasn't as strong as I would have liked before we moved. His previous owners apparently stuck him in the yard and ignored him.

He's marking. Same thing mylo dies. Snoop dies too but only outside thank god.

Maybe if I put a cloth in his kennel for a couple of days, and then rubbed it around the floors and corners so the apartment smells like him to him? He doesn't have a lot of smell to the human nose, so it wouldn't bother us any.

 

[Coyote]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

What was her background before you got her?

She belonged to a single guy who had a farm. He paid a lot for her, he had papers and she is well bred. He loved her, but he kept her tied up I think. He got married to a woman with kids and dogs and she didn't work well with them.

She's smart, loyal, fierce...and very dominant. She patrols continually, it's not obsessive it's just who she is. She kills, or tries to kill, anything smaller than her. She is bred to hunt foxes...carnivores. If she gets offleash, she goes hunting.

I don't know how productive it is to spend much time trying to piece together her past. I just want her to not crap and pee on my carpet ten times a day, and I would like to be able to leave a door open once in a while without panicking or having to des with pissed off neighbors or random passersby....

I was just wondering because if she were a puppy mill dog, accustomed to peeing and crapping in her cage, it can make it much harder to housebreak. Is she a Jack Russel or a Rat Terrier? I wonder if giving her activities to do might redirect some of her annoying qualities? I have a 13 yr aussie with high prey drive, a reactive personality - over the years she's mellowed a bit, but I wouldn't wish her on anyone. I started doing nosework with her and she loves it - she gets to use her hunt drive, she gets lot's of food rewards for finding it - and it seems to be helping with some issues I've had with her. Someone else told me about Barn Hunt - where dogs, particularly terriers are trained to "hunt" using scent or, rats enclosed in safe cages.

 

[Asclepias]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

What was her background before you got her?

She belonged to a single guy who had a farm. He paid a lot for her, he had papers and she is well bred. He loved her, but he kept her tied up I think. He got married to a woman with kids and dogs and she didn't work well with them.

She's smart, loyal, fierce...and very dominant. She patrols continually, it's not obsessive it's just who she is. She kills, or tries to kill, anything smaller than her. She is bred to hunt foxes...carnivores. If she gets offleash, she goes hunting.

I don't know how productive it is to spend much time trying to piece together her past. I just want her to not crap and pee on my carpet ten times a day, and I would like to be able to leave a door open once in a while without panicking or having to des with pissed off neighbors or random passersby....

I was just wondering because if she were a puppy mill dog, accustomed to peeing and crapping in her cage, it can make it much harder to housebreak. Is she a Jack Russel or a Rat Terrier? I wonder if giving her activities to do might redirect some of her annoying qualities? I have a 13 yr aussie with high prey drive, a reactive personality - over the years she's mellowed a bit, but I wouldn't wish her on anyone. I started doing nosework with her and she loves it - she gets to use her hunt drive, she gets lot's of food rewards for finding it - and it seems to be helping with some issues I've had with her. Someone else told me about Barn Hunt - where dogs, particularly terriers are trained to "hunt" using scent or, rats enclosed in safe cages.

Nothing like letting a dog do what it was bred to do to correct behavioral problems.

 

[Coyote]

Mylo is a huge tangled ball of issues, most of which have to do with her breeding. Super intense prey drive, super dominant, moderately aggressive. Her reaction to the CRATE was anxiety driven, but we're dealing with that now. She could run all day...the more she exercises the higher her behavior amps up. Ultimately, she's a hard core hunting dog that doesn't hunt. Our lives will be improved if she can be crated. For one thing, I won't want to kill her because she craps on the carpet if she's left alone for two minutes (also a dominance based issue).

What was her background before you got her?

She belonged to a single guy who had a farm. He paid a lot for her, he had papers and she is well bred. He loved her, but he kept her tied up I think. He got married to a woman with kids and dogs and she didn't work well with them.

She's smart, loyal, fierce...and very dominant. She patrols continually, it's not obsessive it's just who she is. She kills, or tries to kill, anything smaller than her. She is bred to hunt foxes...carnivores. If she gets offleash, she goes hunting.

I don't know how productive it is to spend much time trying to piece together her past. I just want her to not crap and pee on my carpet ten times a day, and I would like to be able to leave a door open once in a while without panicking or having to des with pissed off neighbors or random passersby....

I was just wondering because if she were a puppy mill dog, accustomed to peeing and crapping in her cage, it can make it much harder to housebreak. Is she a Jack Russel or a Rat Terrier? I wonder if giving her activities to do might redirect some of her annoying qualities? I have a 13 yr aussie with high prey drive, a reactive personality - over the years she's mellowed a bit, but I wouldn't wish her on anyone. I started doing nosework with her and she loves it - she gets to use her hunt drive, she gets lot's of food rewards for finding it - and it seems to be helping with some issues I've had with her. Someone else told me about Barn Hunt - where dogs, particularly terriers are trained to "hunt" using scent or, rats enclosed in safe cages.

Nothing like letting a dog do what it was bred to do to correct behavioral problems.

It's tough with difficult dogs to find them appropriate outlets - if they are reactive with dogs or people, that limits what you do and where you can take them, and with an older dog, there's not always a lot you can change. Hazel loves Nosework and it gives her something to look forward to, plus tires her out - especially her overactive brain