I got a beagle puppy and I would like to know some of your guys/gals secrets on how to start getting him used to the crate, any other new puppy problems, and a big one is how to get him to stop whinning when ever we're not with him?
I live in town now going to try to move into the county within 2 years. I'm looking to keep him outdoors 95% of the time. Some hunting would be involved possibly. Mostly friendship/watchdog duties, I'm not looking for him to be a pro hunter just need some good pointers for helping brake him in.
Not looking for smart ass answers but some good ideas on how to train him with as little stress to him/ us as possible.
We always used a windup ticking alarm clock in kennels to keep them quiet. Someone said it mimics a hearbeat so it soothes them. Its worked in the past but if they are pretty upset they will cry. Don't cater to them and come to them or they think that when they cry you wil always come back.
Biting or chewing stuff they aren't supposed to = bitter apple spray and not the cheap walmart knock off stuff. If you use it on your hands for biting just put it on one though. They will smell it and won't bite but when they don't smell it start biting again. Let them mess with the non sprayed hand and if they chomp down put a BA finger in their mouth.
I always wore an old shirt to bed for a few days to get my scent, and then wrapped it around a hot water bottle and put it in the crate - Each of my pups has liked that, as he could smell me, and feel warm. I also put a blanket over the crate, especially in the beginning, and let him rest in there with the door open while I was right outside, so he knew the crate was a good place and not a punishment. The important thing is for the crate to really feel like a nice, safe, dark, warm den with the right scents inside.
Clock and underwear. Sounds like her- smells like you.
As far as crating your dog goes, the crate should be no longer than needs be for the dog to lay down. If bigger than this the dog will mess in one end of the crate and lay in the other. To stop a dog from chewing, what ever he is chewing on such as furniture spray Listerine "brown colored" or generic substitute on furniture he is chewing and when you physically catch then in the act not 1 or 2 minutes later scold them but don't hurt them and put an alternative such as a nyla bone in there mouth. After a few sessions of this if they don't learn they're just too dumb.
all very good ideas. I have used them all...except the underware thing
Most importantly, when you do hunt your hound remember, when his or her nose is on the ground they go into their hunt mode and forget most of what they have learned. In other words they tend to not listen to basic commands.
Don't push the dog too fast to hunt. They make grest pet's and will almost always revert to instinct when it's time to find peter cottontail. Kill one rabbit in front of that dog and the rest is just plain fun!!
Make sure you don't use the crate only for times they associate with trauma (i.e. you leaving). I have a beagle/cocker spaniel that was abused when I got him and had really bad separation anxiety and he HATED the crate....until I started feeding him in there too. Now he has mellowed with love and time so he isn't crated when I leave anymore, but I still feed him in there. He goes in and lays down in there just because now.
Good luck!
Racer, here's a link to the AKC's site about kennel/crate training your pup.
LINK HERE
