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Old November 15th, 2009, 10:20 PM
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Bailey_ Bailey_ is offline
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Location: Edmonton, Alberta
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Quote:
He doesn't like to be confined..
Exactly. This is why the OP needs to re-train him to understand the crate is a safe and acceptable place.

Quote:
it's being argued because you keep stating that the exercise will help..This is a dog who has had free run and hasn't been destructive in 4 years..He is put in the crate and is now stressing out and will eventually hurt himself..The crate is the problem here...
The crate is not the problem. A dog that has had four years of free-run will obviously not like being confined anywhere - be it a room or a crate. (Which is why this dog broke down the baby gate before he was ever crated).

It's a matter of re-training and doing so in a way that will be much more relaxing and stress-free for the dog.

If we throw a dog into a crate without first fufilling it's desire for physical and mental stimuli, we're making it more difficult for the dog to relax in this situation.
Pent up energy is NEVER a good way to start any type of training with a dog, especially when we are teaching it to accept being in a small area for a period of time.

Again, I don't see how this could at all be a bad thing for the OP to start focusing on with her dog before crating him and don't understand why the suggestion is being argued against; so I'll just leave it at that.

Quote:
My sister has 2 Huskies (she just lost her third on the 4th) they are far from high energy..My neice has 2 husky mixes(15 months), they are far from high energy also..I have co-workers with Labs not high energy.When was the last time you saw a seeing eye dog with high energy? They are so layed back....See where I'm getting at? Not every dog of these breeds are high energy..And to me it seems like claires dog is pretty good with no other issues.
That's great that you know huskys and labs that aren't high energy. I know many that aren't as well, and many that are. (Actually, the majority I do know are high energy, very sensitive to their surroundings.)

As for a seeing eye dog not being high energy - you've essentially just proven my point without realizing it - seeing eye dogs are put to work ALL DAY long. They are incredibly stimulated, which in effect, is giving a dog a lot to focus on and a job, every minute of the day. Thus, the reason you would usually see a very calm and capable service dog.
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