staffie x crate training at 6 months

[oldie48]

Help urgently required. One of my daughters has a 6 month old Staffie x, she's a lovely dog, bright and trainable, very food orientated and generally a complete delight BUT has been allowed to rule the roost a bit when it comes to attention and sleeping quarters. If she's left alone she's destructive and will pee somewhere where she shouldn't , If she can't go to bed with my daughter she makes a complete fuss and there are domestic reasons why this is a real issue.I know what I'd do but tbh none of my dogs have behaved like this so I'd love to hear from you. I really want to help my daughter, her life isn't easy ATM!

 

[Sara1210]

If she was my dog I use a crate for a quick fix for right now.

If she isn’t used to being in one, make it comfortable with bedding and put her favourite toys etc in there and try and make it her go to place, cover it with a blanket to make it like a little den to calm her down but never put her in there as a punishment.

Then each day tell your daughter to just go out the front door and stand there for 5 minutes then come back in and ignore the dog until she calms down then she can fuss her but not until she is calm.

Do this each day and every few days if she isn’t doing anything wrong slowly increase the time she leaves her.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would never have a dog sleeping on the bed! Crate training sounds like the best way forward and if the dog is food oriented should be fairly easy. If the dog has been used to sleeping on the bed, daughter might want to put the crate in the bedroom, to start with, although I would only do that if the dog is likely to be noisy if shut downstairs

 

[Clodagh]

As a puppy really, all food and treats are fed in the crate. The others have given good advice and if she can't be left to howl or whine then the crate in the bedroom will be the way to start. Even in the sitting room whiule they are watching tv or whatever, just make it a nice place to be and not so she she thinks 'If I go in the crate everyone leaves'.
When ours are pups they go in the crate while we eat, and it is in the kitchen next to us, also every time they go to sleep we pop them in there.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We don't actually feed pups in the crate, we want to get a permanent routine established as soon as possible, but they get a treat every time they go in the crate. The 2x 9 week old pups we have atm know that is their bed where they go for quiet time, definitely while we are eating and when the big dog needs some peace to do her own thing. Although we start crate training from day 1, I wouldn't think that a 6 moth old is too old to get used to a crate pretty quickly, just don't leave her in their for long, at first but equally don't let her out until she has settled down, if she makes a fuss when she first goes in, or she will think she can always make a fuss and be let out. Feeding in the crate is probably a good way to start her off in there and then let her out immediately she has finished, increasing the length of time in there on each occasion.