I have a few pictures that I've been too lazy to upload from my memory card.. Halloween was really fun this year, I haven't had so much fun celebrating the holiday in a long time. Steph and Amy had a little halloween get together, and the rugby team also had a halloween smash, which was pretty fun. I think, though, my favorite part was just staying at home and handing out candy. There are so many kids in our neighborhood, they were so cute.
Em was Cupid, and I was a fairy.
Cupid in deep thought.
Me and Herman, our back line assistant coach.
So... let's talk dog.
Sydney. She's having issues...some sort of separation anxiety problem, we think. We've been crating her since we got her. Not for long periods of time, never longer than a few hours for while both of us are in class, or while we're at practice. I mean, she's only 1.5 yrs, she's still got some puppy in her. And that puppy in her makes her think it's fun to chew up a pillow or stuffed animal...I'm just not ready to let her have the run of the house while we're not here. A few weeks ago, she broke the mechanism on her crate that locks it. She pawed at it for so long that it broke.. so we bought her a new crate. The kind that's black wire, really strong, with two sort of dead bolt type locks. Well..the first time we left her in it, she "magically" got out... her crate looked untouched. So I'm not sure what happened, but the next day we tried again, and we used cable ties to lock the crate shut. When I got home from class, I ran upstairs and Syd was going NUTS in her crate. Then I saw the blood smeared on the walls next to where the lock is on her crate. Her paws were bloody, and her snout/nose was ALL TORN UP and bleeding. I let her out and was really upset because she is like my kid, I love her more than anything... So I called Em and when she got home, we took care of her.
The next day, we exercised her a lot before we had to go to class, in hopes that she'd just sleep for the two hours that I would be on campus. Unfortunately, she didn't sleep. When I got home, I found her... the bottom of the crate was torn to shreds, (its like 3/4 inch thick, plastic). Our carpet is kind of cheap, and she SHREDDED IT, she ripped it up, and it came up in long strips that lead right into the closet. The whole carpet in that room has to be replaced now. She bent the bottom wires of the crate up into a rainbow trying to get out. The crate is broken, and it only lasted for about 3 days. And let me tell you, it was over $100. So don't ever buy an "iCrate" from Petsmart. Or else it will look like this:
I'm at a complete loss.
Please help.
Love, Kristen.
2 comments:
i forgot to leave this on em's entry about syd - can you get a baby gate and gate her someplace? do you think she'd take to that better than being in a crate? just run her around beforehand and make sure she does her business and all that and make sure that there's nothing she can get into?
Kris,
I have thought and thought about this. While you are HOME, try crating her and then sitting in the same room as her so she doesn't associate the crate with separation? You have to remember, you are doing an injustice to Sydney if you treat her like a human. She needs discipline, so don't hesitate to show her that you are in charge if she starts tearing at the crate while you are with her. That's all I can think to do. Also, fill a coke can with pennies and then duct tape it shut. When she starts the bad behavior, don't let her see you do it, but toss the can so that it lands near her. Apparently (I heard this from a dog trainer) the loud noise stops the behavior and the dog believes that their environment is angry with them, not their owner. Hope it helps.
Post a Comment