he is a great dog, sits by the door when he wants to go out, and he even took a bath without a problem. Its just he is scared of the crate, and i cant seem to get him to go in it, i dont want to force him because i dont want him to be scared of it, or think its punnishment. he sleeps on my bed at night but he needs to go in the crate while im at school! got any tips? I know he might still be in shock because he was in the shelter for about a month, and his owners took him there, so he might think im trying to abandon him too, i dont know!
Answers:
You can try feeding him in there. Slowly putting the food next to it and then eventually inside of it so he can get used to it and start associating it with a happy place where good things happen. Give him treats and bones and put them in there for him. Also congrats on the new dog. We had a whippet from the shelter for over 14 years...best dog I ever had and I miss him every single day even now. Very loyal and eager to please type of dog. :-) You are so lucky! They LOVE to run! Mine was deathly afraid of the sound of fireworks.
At the shelter, he was probably contained in a run, or a ''crate'' type place.
Is there a way where you can just contain him in a room, while you are gone, instead of in the crate? Keep the crate open, and provide toys, a nice blanket, and some treats.
I hope you can run fast.
How cool, NICE RESCUE ! leave it open, dogs are "DEN" creatures, he'll eventually go in it, keep trying. Nice Dogs !
He maybe scared of the crate after being in something so similar at the shelter.
I suggest putting an old t-shirt or something like that you have worn for a while in the crate with a few toys. The T-shirt will hold your scent so as he will feel you are close. Place a few small treats in the back. Leave the door open so as he can go in and get the treats and leave when he wants to. Doing this for a couple of days and not leaving him in the crate too long at a time will soon get him used to it.
Congrats on your new friend.
It's most likely because he was caged at the shelter and that's just too reminiscent of the shelter for him.
What you can try is putting some extra yummy treats in there, and a couple of toys and coax him in. Leave the door open, and let him walk out as soon as he's done eating. That's ok at first, you want him to get the idea that this is his safe place, and that he can come out. Keep on repeating it, try and get him to stay in a little longer each time, but leave the door open and stay close to him.
It's going to take some time, and if this dog is really new to you, he's just starting to learn to trust you and getting used to his new home, so lots of patience is needed. All sighthounds are sensitive, meaning they don't do well with harsh treatment, so you need to be patient.
If he's reliably house trained, could you leave him loose in a room while you're working on crate training. Either that or do what I do, buy an exercise pen. They're 4 feet square so the dog doesn't feel so closed in - he might be more accepting of that. I put foster greyhounds in a pen rather than a crate, because they've been caged almost their entire lives before they're rescued and I won't put them in another one right away.
I suggest putting his food in there, and putting yummmmmy treats all around starting from the front, then move some to the back. Here is a very good video.
http://petvideo.com/play.cgi?showid=722...
Oh, poor baby. Whippets are sweet dogs.
How about if you just try baby gating him into a safe room in the house instead of crating him when you have to be away?
He might feel more secure that way.
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