I have a 17 week old Tibetan terrier who has been described by her puppy school teacher as 'challenging' and a 'baptism of fire'. 🤣She is our first dog so it's been very difficult but the last 3 weeks have definitely been better.
She is extremely clever. She is trainable, but when there is something she doesn't want to do she simply won't do it, no matter how much she adores the treat, praise etc.
Her behaviour in general is improving, the biting is getting less hard, she is super sociable and confident, and she is even starting to settle in the evenings (not the day!!). She also enjoys a good cuddle and belly rub occasionally. We have plenty to work on eg loose lead walking and recall, and over stimulation, but that's fine and I am confident it will improve.
However there are two areas that are really worrying me / getting me down, because I have the sinking feeling that I've messed up for good, that they won't improve and that it is affecting her feelings for me.
- The car. We currently use a carrier with meshed sides, it's big enough for her to turn around, stretch out etc. It goes in the front seat. She absolutely HATES getting in, but confusingly she also hates getting out. We have to throw in lots of food when putting her in but she pushes her head out while she are trying to zip it up and bites. And then when we try to get her out she barks and bites, it's a nightmare - we have to drag her out. We can't transport her in the boot because my son's wheelchair needs to go there. And there's absolutely no way she'd sit safely in a bucket seat thingy. I did try to introduce her to the car in a slow way with lots of treats, but I know I didn't put in enough effort. Is it too late to start from scratch somehow? Or might she always hate the car 😥. I hate the physical struggle and don't want to make her unhappy.
- The crate. She has to be crated on school runs for safety in the home in her crate downstairs. She is so good at jumping that a play pen wouldn't work. I nearly always time it so she is ready for a nap. She sleeps happily in her crate upstairs all night, no problems.
Once I get her in to the daytime crate before the school run, she nearly always settles down and naps straightaway. But she doesn't like getting in. Luring with treats doesn't work, she knows exactly what I'm doing. As soon as she senses I need to get her in, she paces around, avoiding me, then nips when I finally manage to pick her up.
She doesn't get massively distressed in the crate, but I feel like twice a day every day we have this moment where she doesn't trust me at all, and I don't like it, I worry that it is affecting our bonding. Also there's no way she'd be comfortable inside the crate if she was not tired. No way - not for a kong, toys, amazing treats, anything. And obviously in future I may have to put her in her crate sometimes when awake. Do you think she will magically start to like it one day? I've tried 'starting again' with crate games, feeding her inside etc but it hasn't seemed to make a difference.
Thanks and sorry for the long ramble!