I think crate training is as much about training the owner as it is about training the dog. It can be quite a challenge, especially if you have one that’s feeling sorry for itself while you’re trying to sleep. You definitely have to ignore your feelers (and your ears) a bit.
A few years back I watched a buddy’s Australian Shepherd for a weekend while he was out of town. I specifically asked if the dog was crate trained before I agreed to watch her - “Oh yeah, she’s been crated since she was a pup.”
Uh-huh, sure she was. Nobody at my house got any sleep that weekend. It was awful. lol
I hope Howard doesn’t do that. I can’t live without sleep. He’ll either be quiet and get to spend some cold winter nights indoors where it’s warm, or he’ll bark his fool head off and spend all of his nights in his dog box outdoors. Time will tell.
It’s always hard when they leave you. A few months after Pops lost his last dog I asked him when he was going to get another one. “Not getting another one.” I asked him why not. “I’ve buried enough dogs.”
I understood exactly what he meant.
“I understood exactly what he meant.”
Otto - Dachshund
Ginger - Mutt
(The first two were Family Pets of my Youth)
LONG GAP...Army Life
Cinder - Black Lab
Murphy - Black Lab
Miss Lucy - Yellow Lab
Rufus (Dog of my HEART; Basset Hound)
Pearl - Lady Basset
Belle - Lady Basset
Chief - Beagle
Dolly (Beagle) is going on 15. I’m not sure if I can take on another house dog but one more Basset Hound is SO tempting! I mean, really - I have literally NO stress or frustration in my life right now, so why not? LOL!
(Re: No stress! ‘Stew’ got out of his Luxury Stall today. NOT MY FAULT! I am NOT in charge of him right now! And I am NOT cleaning up the mess he made in the barn aisles! Grrrr!
I don’t want any more cats. I have NEVER bought a cat for myself - EVER! Of the dozens I’ve had thrust upon me, only ONE (Timothy Two-Tone) had ANY personality and charm. They’ve either been gifted to me, or just showed up on my farm. Beau LOVES cats. So, I guess we’ll always have indoor/outdoor cats. :(
I had buried 6 dogs before our Sammie, from being a child to adulthood.
We are on our last pet. He’s another rescue, a cat. He’s 15-1/2 years old, and his name is Watson. We adopted him and another cat (Crick) who had been dropped off at the shelter on the same day. They weren’t related, but they became bonded brothers when they were just 2 weeks old. Our daughter fostered them until they were big enough to be adopted. Guess who helped give them their meds when they were still little? That’s right. FF.
I think that was part of our daughter’s plan. She wanted to replace another rescued cat that was “hers”. Meeko was with us for 15 years, too, and she couldn’t see our living without more cats. So we took those two babies in. Fell in love right away. Sammie looked at us as though we were totally insane, yet she acquiesced to being their “foster mom”.
Unfortunately, we lost Crick to cancer a year ago. One of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. It was fast and unexpected. You might say we were blind-sided. Watson and I took months to even remotely get back on track after losing Crick. (Honestly, I always thought that Watson would go before Crick. I have no idea why I thought that.)
We named them after my favorite duo of scientists, Watson and Crick of DNA fame. I studied genetics when I got to college. (Didn’t keep up with it, but I do have degree in Biology).
When we lost Crick a year ago, we decided that was enough pets to bury. When Watson crosses over the Rainbow Bridge, that’s the last one either of us want. Ok, we say that now, but you never know. Watson is still holding his own nicely. I think we still have at least another year with him.