Hi

A useful post from Moboyd, would be interested to know where it was from, however, it must be something about dogs called Harry!!! When I had Harriet, from a rescue, she was about 12 weeks old and had been in kennels for several weeks. A terrier X, she would scream if left at all. She would also scream in the car, even next to me, honestly you would have thought I had strangled her.

However, she too was happy to go into her crate, but I had to be with her, or the screaming would start - at night too. I started off in the evenings, when we had had a game, a walk etc., and I wanted to watch TV, to put the crate right next to my legs, my leg touching the crate, gradually she would settle down, either with a Kong or not. After a few days, I moved it slilghtly further away and then started sitting in another chair slightly accross the room, she now started to relax, but still needed to be in the same room with me.

I also did this beside my bed and eventually moved her to the door, out on the landing and to the bottom of the stairs. From day one if she made a fuss, I would just say, 'OK, settle' and nothing else, I never went back to her until she was relaxed. Once or twice I took it back a stage because she started stressing again.

Eventually in the evenings, I had it so she was in the hallway and then in the kitchen, whilst I was in the living room, until the crate stayed in the kitchen all the time, mostly with the door open. It sounds like I kept her in the crate all the time, I didn't of course, but she would lean against my leg if she was next to me, so I would move it, I wouldn't let her on my lap when she wanted, but if she had settled down nearby, I would pick her up and give her a cuddle (after all I needed the cuddle too!).

In the car I did the same, crate next to me on the front seat, then into the back and then into the boot area.

As time progressed she relaxed and by the time she was 6 months old, was happy to be left in her crate and at 8 months I did away with it all together.

I thought it took bloomin ages, but I did all the stuff textbook and it really worked.

When I look back now, it was a good learning curve and taught me an awful lot!

Kate

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