Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcconv  I appreciate the advice, but I'm not willing to crate Roxie for 9 hours a day. She was crate trained when she was younger and after she turned 2 we stopped using it. She likes to wander around the house and find sunny spots and look out of the windows while I am at work. I think that crating her now after not for 6 years would be more stressful for her. That may make me a bad dog owner, but I don't really care - I like her to be able to entertain herself. I know that this is a temporary problem while she gets used to the new house, which is why I'm okay with trying medication, especially if it's short term. I take full responsibility for "making" her this way. I was never allowed to have pets until my parents gave in and let me get her at 15. She is the cutest, sweetest thing ever and maybe I've loved her too much. But she has stayed home by herself while I've been at school/work before, and she will do it again.
Roxie can walk for miles and act tired but then spring up and get super energetic when she is afraid that I am leaving. We haven't even been in the new house a week, so I am seeing what the vet has to say. Although I am not the biggest fan of medicating for everything, medication was created for a reason and there are some dogs (and people) that benefit from its use. |
Totally agree.
Crating/caging/confinement isn't a natural state for most living creatures, and certainly not for dogs. Confinement can make many creatures (incl us) absolutely crazy and can cause serious long term issues. Some will tell you that a dog's crate is its "den"...well, it's not when it's closed. A wolf den is *not* a trap, or a cage - it's an
elective place for a wolf to go. In addition, we have to always remember that while our dogs are descended from wolves and are genetically almost exactly alike, they are *not* alike in terms of domestication...and domestication means they are conditioned to WANT to be w/ US...not confined to a very small place. (All that said, some dogs (not all) do later become very attached to their crates, and go in them electively to lay down, but that usually comes AFTER being forced into the crate for a period of time)
And yup -- medication can be a tremendous help! It can mean the difference btwn one thing and another and if/when that's the case, it's worth it. Like I said earlier, meds can enable the dog to have the "mental space" needed in order for new learning to take place.
You are doing a great job with trying to help her
!