Advice on getting Mao to listen to my son
Once again I come to you for advice on sheepdog behavior. Mao will be 14 months in a day or so and, Altough I was scared by reading somewhere that a sheepdog is not recommended for first time dog owners, I do not regret one single second the choice we made. Your advice on crates,and other issue has been more than helpful and helped us create a balanced atmosphere where the dog and the rest of the family all benefit from the relationship. Today I am seeking advice on how to help my children gain more control over the dog, more specifically how to get him into his crate as easily as me and my wife can do it. Let me begin by saying that me and my wife work during the day and our two kids (13 and 15 years old) go to school. Mao will stay in his crate 2 out of 5 days from 9:00 till 16:00 and the 3 other days spend maybe 4 hours max in his crate when one of us starts later or finishes early. We practiced a lot with treats and praise and now when my wife or myself are the last to leave we just need to say “Mao Crate” and he will go in his crate alone. The problem is that one day or so every two weeks, it is the kids who are the last to leave and need to crate Mao. It does not go well! Mao growls at them, and when my son ignored his warning Mao bit him. Not hard, no blood but enough to scare him. Same thing happened to my daughter but Mao seems to know he will not have his way with her so in the end she is able to get him (push him ) in. So I am looking for advice on what to do for the kids to have more control on the dog and the dog to listen more to them, at least for crating. What can we do? I have a feeling the solution is by getting the kids to be more involved with the dog training, walking, feeding etc.. Right now all they do with the dog is play. My son can’t even have a decent walk with the dog because Mao keeps pulling and biting his leash, a behavior he does not have with me or my wife. Other than that Mao is just a bundle of love, and never ever shows signs of aggressivity, even when a puppy tried to eat his food, he just pushed him away instead of eating his head. He gets along with everybody, from very young children to older folks, and most dogs, even the ones that do not usually get along with other dogs. I would not want Mao and my son to start hating each other and the situation degenerate into a real bite with blood and a loss of confidence in our dog. I tried practicing with my son, getting Mao in his crate, and the practice goes well. But when we are not around and it is for real, the growling starts and it is not a pleasant experience for My son. I would not want Mao to think he can rule my son, I want him to understand that we all love him but that he is a the bottom of the family food chain. I know this is temporary since one day we will not need to crate him anymore, in fact I think that perhaps that day has come, but that will in time most likely be the subject of my search within the board and maybe another advice request. Nevertheless, now the crate is the object that highlights the dog-children issue and who knows, after we do away with the crate, what will be next so I am looking to get the dog to respect the children as he does us before something bad happens. Thanks in advance Thierry |
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| One thing that may help the issue in addition to what you have already mentioned, is to use some incentive for Mao. A common way is to use some high-value (to the dog) item that they get only when they go in the crate. It needs to be something the dog really likes, and also some thing safe (indestructible, etc). I have good luck with the rubber Kong toys. They come in several grades of durability. There are softer puppy ones, the red are the average toughness, and they make a black one for super chewers. The Kongs are merely used as holder of yummy things...so what you put inside them can really vary from dog to dog. I'm not using mine now, but when I had new dogs and foster dogs, I used them nearly every day. If I was in a hurry I just packed them with whatever treats I had handy...but on planned days, I made a paste of yummy stuff - even bland leftover human food to make them quite irresistible.  It made my dogs literally fly into their crates! Then whoever gets home 1st and lets the dogs out picks up the Kongs.... and they reappear the next day - loaded and ready for crate time  It helps take the struggle and power plays out of forcing a dog into the crate. Some practice runs would be good, then Mao will be all primed when it is your son's real morning to crate him. I'm guessing there is a bit of stress coming from your son now since all this has happened - and dogs pick up on it in a heartbeat...this will help relax your son and he will feel more confident...and that will be noticed by Mao as well. Good luck! |
| We do the same thing. We stuff a Kong with kibble, then seal it shut with peanut butter. Then say 'crate time' and in she goes after the kong. But I make sure that I am ready to go out the door before I give her the kong in the crate. She is so busy licking the peanut butter she doesn't notice me leaving. And maybe sign up for a class with your kids. Our last class it was a family of four who attended and the instructor worked with the kids. You want Mao to understand that all the people in the house are to be respected, and training will really help with that. |
| I also use the kongs filled with yummy treats. Really the only time he gets a kong is in the crate--we use other toys and treats outside of the crate. He happily goes in when the kong goes first. |
| Like everyone has mentioned, treats work wonders when you're trying to get your dog into the crate. Especially if you're using one that they really like. Most dogs like peanut butter a lot. Once you've got some treat Mao really likes, have your kids practice putting him into the crate using that delicious treat. He should go right in. (: |
Mady wrote: We do the same thing. We stuff a Kong with kibble, then seal it shut with peanut butter. Then say 'crate time' and in she goes after the kong. But I make sure that I am ready to go out the door before I give her the kong in the crate. She is so busy licking the peanut butter she doesn't notice me leaving. And maybe sign up for a class with your kids. Our last class it was a family of four who attended and the instructor worked with the kids. You want Mao to understand that all the people in the house are to be respected, and training will really help with that. This is what worked for us. With both of them being involved in the class obedience training, I feel it helped establish that heirachy. Pru snapped (I use that term loosely) at my 4 yo in the beginning (when the 4 yo was pestering too much) and now...I have my 4yo put her in her crate every morning. She is a champ. Treats, toys, and lots of "good girls" ... And...I have noticed my 15yo was not near as patient in the beginning with the treat, toys, praise process - but when she saw how easy her little sister can do it...now Pru goes right to "bed" without any problems. Hope that helps some |
| Thanks again everyone for your precious advice. We will definitely go with the high value treat that he only gets from My son and only when he goes in his crate. My son is also ready to come to obedience training with Mao. In fact we had taken the puppy class which went really well but dropped out of the obedience training cause we tought Mao was to young then for that class, but now is the perfect motivation to go and follow though with obedience 1. Thanks again Thierry |
| Today is D day. Kong loaded and ready to fire. will let you know how it went when I talk to my son later today. Thierry |
ter4646 wrote: Today is D day. Kong loaded and ready to fire. will let you know how it went when I talk to my son later today. Thierry I hope it went well for him!!!  |
| Well, I am happy to say that things went even better than I expected. I forgot to mention that all of last week we intensified the practice of telling mao to go in his crate. but, I was a little skeptical that it would work when needed mostly because in previous tries Mao did well in practice but failed when it counted the most, alone with my son Cedric. So yestearday, Cedric had prepared the Kong loaded up with goodies, but, tried before, just to tell Mao to go in his crate, and......... it worked  . the kong went back in his bag.But before I yell victory, I will wait to see a couple of repeats, since my son told me that maybe Mao tought it was yet another practice and is now thinking that he will not be caught again. I thing we are on the right track, Patience and perseverance right? we are ready. thanks and se ya latter. Thierry |
| He should actually give him the kong - just to reinforce in a positive way. But I'm really happy things went well for him!! |
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