YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

Sweetums · 02-16-2007, 10:37 PM

Why don't you try and give him some Rescue Remedy at night to lower his anxiety level while he gets used to the crate? People often think that using some sort of anti-anxiety supplement or even medication is only covering symptoms, but I'm here to tell you it's not. My brother in law is a psychotherapist and recommends using an anti-depressant now and then (for his human patients) because it helps your brain burn new neurological pathways so that the anxiety is no longer the default mode for your brain whenever certain triggers pop up. So I say, use what's available until your furbaby stops stressing. There are a lot of stress triggers for your dog right now. And Yorkies are stubborn. They like things the way they like them.

In the book, "Don't Shoot The Dog" the author, a renown animal trainer and researcher, points out that in order to train any mammal, regardless of type, you must reward behavior that even comes close to the behavior you want to encourage. So when she trained llamas for instance to come to them, and llams being extremely leary of humans, she had to reward even one little step towards her, until the llamas were walking right up to her. And it is extremely important to do so immediately. So my suggestion would be to first reward your dog for even voluntarily going towards the crate, regardless of time of day. Then reward the dog for going up to the crate, then reward for going into the crate, then reward for staying in the crate, then reward for staying in the crate while you walk away (not stay away at first but just walk away and then come back), then reward for walking away and staying away 30 seconds, then reward for staying in the crate while you walk away and stay away for a few minutes, the reward for staying in the crate while you walk away and stay away for 5, then 10, then 15 minutes and so on.

It sounds tedious, but terriers are smart and they learn quickly, so it won't take you that long. You may be able to train your dog in a couple of days with this method.

And when you get to thinking it's too overwhelming, read "Don't Shoot The Dog". You'll find it very encouraging reading and her methods are simple but very effective.

02-16-2007, 10:37 PM	#68
Sweetums Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kirkland WA Posts: 431	Why don't you try and give him some Rescue Remedy at night to lower his anxiety level while he gets used to the crate? People often think that using some sort of anti-anxiety supplement or even medication is only covering symptoms, but I'm here to tell you it's not. My brother in law is a psychotherapist and recommends using an anti-depressant now and then (for his human patients) because it helps your brain burn new neurological pathways so that the anxiety is no longer the default mode for your brain whenever certain triggers pop up. So I say, use what's available until your furbaby stops stressing. There are a lot of stress triggers for your dog right now. And Yorkies are stubborn. They like things the way they like them. In the book, "Don't Shoot The Dog" the author, a renown animal trainer and researcher, points out that in order to train any mammal, regardless of type, you must reward behavior that even comes close to the behavior you want to encourage. So when she trained llamas for instance to come to them, and llams being extremely leary of humans, she had to reward even one little step towards her, until the llamas were walking right up to her. And it is extremely important to do so immediately. So my suggestion would be to first reward your dog for even voluntarily going towards the crate, regardless of time of day. Then reward the dog for going up to the crate, then reward for going into the crate, then reward for staying in the crate, then reward for staying in the crate while you walk away (not stay away at first but just walk away and then come back), then reward for walking away and staying away 30 seconds, then reward for staying in the crate while you walk away and stay away for a few minutes, the reward for staying in the crate while you walk away and stay away for 5, then 10, then 15 minutes and so on. It sounds tedious, but terriers are smart and they learn quickly, so it won't take you that long. You may be able to train your dog in a couple of days with this method. And when you get to thinking it's too overwhelming, read "Don't Shoot The Dog". You'll find it very encouraging reading and her methods are simple but very effective.