Help - Dog Behavior Change After I Started Working

[seekingthelord34]

Hello! I have a 9 month old German Shepherd mix. As soon as his was able, we got hot and heavy with dog training and attended a class (that has since been cut short because of the apocalypse).

So for 2 months, I had no job and I was spending practically every moment of every day with my dog. We got even harder into training at home and he would immediately walk to the kennel when told to (with treats). He was great!

I started working again on Tuesday and the first day was terrible as he was barking a storm so loud it woke people in my building up. Feeling guilty, I purchased an ultrasonic anti-barking thing. I was able to leave him in the bedroom and he wouldn't bark at all. After 2 days of this, he blatantly refuses to go into the bedroom before I leave for work. His kennel is located in the bedroom, so he refuses to respond to the "kennel" command.

He has a punishment crate that is located outside on the balcony. I only put him in there when he does something bad and needs to be put in "timeout". Today, before I left for work and attempted to call him into the bedroom, he refused and ran to the punishment crate... I was very confused.

I want him to be able to stay in the bedroom where he has more room to play and is more comfortable while I'm not home.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[akilah]

@seekingthelord34 Your dog is protesting his schedule change. He is also an adolescent and they are be quite rebellious at this age.

Instead of letting commands fail set him up for sucess. Use a leash. Walk him to his crate, treat him, and leave. Your dog is protesting the change and responding to his training by trying to change the situation to different outcomes. Simply go back to basics, use a leash if he is ignoring commands, and he will settle down in a few days.

My youngest only rejected her crate when I was going to leave the house. She could tell and she'd run around the kitchen and in general be ridiculous. I simply herded her to the crate, rewarded her once in, over and over till she grew up a bit more. Dogs have wants but we cannot temper their wants with reasonable conversation about why this has to happen.

 

[seekingthelord34]

@akilah Very helpful information. Thanks!

 

[renob]

@seekingthelord34 You could go back to crate training, and sending him to the crate even when you aren’t working or leaving so he gets more used to that. On days off, you could give him some alone time in the crate each day even if you’re there to help him get used to it for shorter stints

 

[griswold]

@seekingthelord34 I have never heard of the use of a punishment crate and i am not sure thats a good idea - how is a dog to know one crate is a safe place and the other isnt? thats super confusing.

 

[seekingthelord34]

@griswold My dog trainer recommended it. My dog knows the difference between them. One is a den crate he knows as "kennel" and the other is a punishment crate he knows as "time out".

 

[griswold]

@seekingthelord34 if its separation anxiety i dont think a punishment crate is a good idea. Its boring and annoying but you may have to mock leave a bunch and then correct whenever he starts to bark. The bark collar is a good start but the dog might not know what the sensation means.