ROUND HOLES AND SQUARE PEGS

A few nights ago, to the horror of professional dog trainers I’m sure, I aborted the crate training exercise of making Molly stay in the crate overnight. It had been almost three weeks and still Molly was screaming her head off and thrashing around in the crate. I did everything by the book. I left her to scream.

Then a few nights ago I woke to her screaming. It was so clear to me that these screams were not those of a spoiled puppy but the primal screams of an incredibly distressed being. I thought I had heard this distress before but people I thought should know kept telling me I was doing the right thing by making her stay in the crate and letting her whine. As I rose from the bed I said to myself “That’s it. We’re going to find another way. Screw the so called experts.”

When I entered the room I was bowled over by the fecal smell. I thought “Oh no! She’s pooped the crate again.” That would make it the third time in 19 nights. When I let her out there was no fecal matter present. We hurried outside and the little girl let fly. She had worked herself into such a frenzy she had given herself diarrhea and somehow held it. What I smelled was her gas.

I created a little corral beside my bed by blocking it off at the end of the bed and the wall. Molly slept there the rest of the night without making a peep. It was the best night’s rest either of us had had.

Molly is sleeping in her corral. I am sleeping in my bed. Molly gets up, moves around and paws the barrier if she needs to go out. No more whining. No more screaming. She seems happier and more trusting all the way round. I know I am. Also, worthy of note, she hasn’t had an accident in the house since she started sleeping with me outside the crate.

We haven’t given up on the crate. We have little exercises throughout the day where she goes in, puts in five quiet minutes and gets to come out. We are building up time gradually. I really have no reason to have her stay in the crate in the house but we are going to master it anyway. I have no idea why Molly has such a manic reaction to the crate in the house. She rides in the crate in the car without protest.

I have always thought of myself as a square peg in a round hole world. My thought process and method of learning has always been very different from most people’s. Because of this I thought I was useless and stupid. I couldn’t get anything. I was a misfit. In high school I was suicidal because of it. It probably didn’t help that my father constantly referred to me as a “dumb bastard.” It turned out that I had an IQ of 149. No genius but certainly not stupid. My mind and reasoning is just different from most people. Unfortunately, ours is a society that is only comfortable with conformity.

It seems to me things are not much different for dogs. The so-called experts say this is the way it’s done and you’ll ruin your dog if you don’t follow the “rules.” I think you have to take professional trainer advice with a grain of salt and do your own thinking. Just like people, all dogs are not round pegs. I think this is especially true of the more intelligent breeds. Australian Shepards are one such breed.

Molly and I will just muddle along, two square pegs together. We are a perfect fit.

©Kinsey Barnard

ONE STEP FORWARD TWO BACK

I really thought I had things working in the crate department apparently I was only kidding myself.  After my one successful night it has been all down hill. Molly started whining again so loudly that I moved out to the living room couch. Every time she stopped I went back to my bed and every time she started up again I left. All to no avail.

She would stop for and hour and a half or so and start up again. I was afraid she needed to go out, so I would take her. Sometimes she would go, sometimes she would not. I didn't know which was which so I was taking her out four times a night. Soon I was spending most of the night on the couch so I could get a little sleep. Molly just kept yelping her little head off.

Yesterday, I decided I should reclaim my bedroom and put Molly and her crate in the guest room. I needed sleep. I also concluded that I was just aiding and abetting bad behavior by letting her out so often when she cried for it. I discussed it with Kelly, the breeder. We agreed I was being played. I needed to leave Molly in the crate for at least four hours no matter how much she complained. Which is exactly what I did.

I got up at two thirty and took her out. She made three water spots and we came back in. I never dreamed she might have some pooping to do. I also might have been a little quick on the draw because it was 28 and snowing. Her dinner is at 4:00pm. At 5:00pm we had romped in the woods. At 10:00, my bedtime, we had gone out on call. How could she possibly have any poop left in her? By 2:45am I was back in bed and Molly was tuning up her vocal cords. But, I was tough. I just let he whine.

At 6:30am I got up and went to Molly's room. I was nearly knocked over by the nasty smell. Molly had pooped and peed in the crate. Normally, dogs won't do this because their instinct is not to soil their den. Not so my little girl. I've been doing a lot of research on puppy raising and they say some puppies poop less than thirty minutes after eating. Again, not so my Molly. I'm starting to think that for Molly it's more like three hours. Anyway, I took her out but, of course by now there wasn't anything to do. She looked at me as though I were a leper and should stay the heck away. I put down her breakfast and she walked away from that too.

I was racked with guilt. I took her out for a walk and she wouldn't come back to me. It scared me a little so I headed back to the house. Once in the house she started retching great brown puddles. And what a foul odor they had. Turns out she had eaten her poop so as not to have to sleep in it. Mama Mia!

Am I ever glad I have a carpet that was in dire need of replacing before I got Molly because it is beyond awful now.

It is evening. Molly and I have made peace. All is well with our relationship. She is asleep at my feet. Tonight, I will give her more time to see if a poop is required. And, I will ignore her whining once again. I am confident we will get this right one of these days. But, good grief, I hope that day is soon.

BTW, last night we had the biggest snow we have had this winter. Raising a puppy in a Montana winter is so ..... refreshing. :)

How could such an adorable darling be such a handful?

This afternoon we were back to normal

Checking out the teepee

©Kinsey Barnard

NEW BEGINNINGS - CRATE TRAINING

The passing of Lakota Sunrise was the end of an era. The best era of my life so far to be sure. But, now there is Molly Montana and a new chapter begins. This blog will be turning into a journal chronicling Molly Montana and our life together. From a puppy to wherever and whatever life leads us.  Oh, I won't be able not to throw in a rant every now and again but this blog will mostly be stories about Molly Montana and the roads and trails we travel together.

I'm finding that I can't remember a lot of things about Koty's puppy days it was so long ago, either that or I've got early onset. I can't recall things like crate training and house training. My memory is that Koty didn't require any of that which I doubt is correct.

First let me just say, egads, I also forgot what a life changer having a puppy is.  She will require house training as well as crate training. Molly is a blank slate and the responsibility of raising her properly weighs. If a dog doesn't turn out right it isn't the dog's fault ninety-nine percent of the time.

It's hard to imagine but Molly has only been here four days and five nights. It's seems a lot longer. Especially, the nights. I've set up Koty's crate in the bedroom and Molly is barely a fly speck in the thing. Too big a crate is not productive for training as puppies are loathe to sleep in their own excrement. If the crate is too big the puppy can just move to the back to do it's thing and have room left with clean bedding. Molly certainly agrees with that theory.

The first night Molly went right in the crate. Once I closed the gate. She started howling and never stopped until I let her out the next morning. I am not a person that does well without at least eight hours of sleep. I hadn't slept Friday night because of the impending trip to Three Forks. Saturday night was spent in a strange place, no sleep there. Sunday night I spent with a howling banshee in my bedroom, no sleep there. I was wandering around in a fog. Have you ever been so tired you couldn't sleep? That's where I was. I tried taking my usual naps and nothing.

Koty's crate clearly needed a partition and I didn't get it in the crate until Tuesday. I cut a piece of plywood to size, drilled holes in the top corners and lashed it to the side of the crate. I used those zip tie things. I stuffed pillows behind the board to keep it stable. It worked like a charm as far as the soiling was concerned but the howling continued unabated. I read an internet article on crate training that suggested one salt the crate with treats and sure enough Molly went right in for those treats and she howled her head off as soon as the gate closed. Mama Mia that girl has lungs!

One thing is apparent, Molly and I had one thing in in common, we are food motivated. As far as I can tell Molly has never meet a treat she didn't like, me either! I began to think Molly was playing for treats. She wasn't focusing on the message.

I started looking for a new strategy and found it. This one played to her mind and emotion instead of her tummy. It made a lot of sense to me. I decided to give it a go. I put Molly in the crate and myself to bed. She immediately started whining. I let her go on for a few minutes. Then I told her "Enough!". When she kept on I got up and left the room soundly closing the door. I went to the living room couch and waited for her to stop.  When she did I slipped back into my bed. No sooner did my head meet the pillow than Molly began flexing her vocal chords. This went on half the night and finally I got up from the bed, and with no thought to puppy training experts who say use a stern voice, I simply said as sincerely as I knew how "Molly, I'm leaving this room and if I do I'm not coming back".  She immediately stopped. I slipped back into bed and we both slept until it was time to let her out. Crazy as it may sound that is exactly what happened.

Uh Oh! Busted!

©Kinsey Barnard