Dog advice sought.

[sasha_feather]

Does anyone have advice for how to get my dog out of her crate? Treats are not working (turkey and cheese). Usually if I sit around and wait she comes out eventually, but she hasn't been out to do her business since last night!! This problem seems to have gotten worse since it got cold out. Climbing in and attaching her leash and then pulling on it doesn't really work and causes her to yelp. Singing her name/calling her hasn't worked today.

I am going to lay down for a bit: it seems like when I take a nap, that is when she whines to wake me up and wants to go out.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Huh, seems she has trained you to take naps when she's constipated :,)

I imagine there's a vicious cycle when she has held it for a long time: she doesn't want to mess her crate, so she holds it, so she's tenser holding on, and closer to messing her crate, so anxiety rockets.

Are you treating her continuously? That is, Come! treat, attach leash, treat, move a little, treat, move a little more, treat, step through the door, treat ... you get the picture. Are you completely dressed when it's time to take her out — I fail at this a lot, and Lucy gets exasperated with me and turns off her "outside mind."

[sasha_feather]

Yeah the nap thing seems to work best-- it's weird! She's not that treat-motivated which is weird for a dog. I think you are right about her being in an anxious loop in the crate.

Well, I start off being completely dressed, having just come in the house from the car, but then I get tired of waiting for her to get up and have to start taking things off. So, it's the opposite problem. Then I have to put them back on when she gets up.