Crated Dog, Night One
Well, that didn't go so well.
He was okay for a while and started whimpering at 12:30. Roland who had gone to sleep in the guest (aka Andrew's) bedroom, couldn't take it and came and got the dog and put him in the guest room with him.
There the dog scratched on his door to get out. Roland let him out and the dog scratched on my door to get in.
Roland put a barrier in front of my door and locked the dog into the guest room. The dog whined.
Roland locked the dog out of the bedroom wing. The dog went into the back yard (we have a dog door) and barked and howled.
Roland locked the dog in the kitchen and the dog pooped.
Sigh.
On the other hand, I got a very nice sleep and woke up feeling pretty good. Of course, I was sleeping in new clean bedding and with a new furnace filter.
So...
I've lived with this dog for two years. My past pattern has been that as long as he is bathed regularly, the furnace filter is changed, and the house is kept fairly clean, I have been okay. I have even been able to help with the cleaning and dog bathing. It was a local event that affected every asthmatic in the area followed by the electricians that seemed to have pushed me to a new level of sensitivity. From September to January the dog slept in bed with me every night and did not give me any particular problems. I know that I could train him to sleep in the crate. It would just take a couple of tough nights. Maybe only one tough night. Roland is the one that is difficult.
So we are going to try letting the dog sleep in the bed and just keep everything clean (including the dog) and see how that goes.
If I have to crate train him maybe I can send Roland away for a while.
Now I need to get dressed and have breakfast.
You could train the dog to sleep on a specific blanket....that way he could be on your furniture or bed but you will have a way to keep it at a minimum. My dogs all have their own blankie and during the day where ever the blankie is is where they lay. At night you could put the blanket near your feet and hope that the dog lays there. If you want ideas on how to train that behavior, email me:)
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried the furminator? It has made a huge difference in my asthma and my reaction to the dog and cat during my peak allergy times.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you google it and watch the video . . . it works EXACTLY as it looks.
ReplyDeleteI suggested the Furminator yesterday, but Shih Tzu's don't shed, which I didn't realize.
ReplyDeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteplease email with the blanket training advice! I have a couple of Stacy's in my address book and I don't want to email the wrong one!
Maybe an allergy pill at night to help reduce your histamine load?
ReplyDeleteDogs are den-dwellers by nature. My dog loves her crate. We keep it closed during the day at when it's her bedtime, we announce that it's time for night-night and she races into the crate as if demons are chasing her.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that she likes being in the crate because it means she's "off duty." It's her private place where she can just hang out on her soft bed and chill. When she's not in the crate she feels that it's her job to guard the house and bark at strangers walking in the street and the UPS man. In the crate, she doesn't have any of those (self-created) responsibilities.
But dogs are also creatures of habit. They have an almost autistic love of routine and sameness. My dog has slept in a crate since she was a puppy. It would be unthinkable for her to sleep outside of her crate. Dogs who are not used to sleeping in a crate have a hard time feeling comfortable in one. You just have to create a routine by putting her in there at the same time every night (I swear my dog can tell time) and bringing her out he same time each morning. You could put the crate in a remote room from where you sleep in case she whimpers and barks. After a while, she'll bet used to it.