More Problems!!

Oh that is a really good idea. I like that.

It really does work. I started doing it with Bear, many years ago, because he always looked so crestfallen when I left the house without him. Once he had a job to do, he was much more resigned to staying at home. When I tell Bimmer, I also tell the poor guy to try to keep the girls out of trouble. You should see the look he gives me. He's very plainly thinking that I'm giving him an impossible task (I am). But it appeals to his sense of responsibility and he doesn't howl for me.

LoL Renee, that's quite the story, i love the looks that dogs give you sometimes, when either steve or I are playing one of our instruments the dog just looks at us like "Turn that off, you stink" lol. We bought him a Kong with "Stuff'n" and there's a problem! Lol, it basically is peanut butter, just in a can and he looooves it, he'll lick it off the can, off my hand, off of my other dogs face, off the floor, but! when i put it on the little ball like kong thing, he'll only lick the surface. And i have to be holding it. If i put it on the floor and he licks it and it rolls he gives up!!! What am i going to do to build up his independance, we're taking him to obedience classes! We ran into a trainer from "Luv-a-K9" and she said she charges 95 dollars for a 6 week course which i didn't think was all that bad of a deal. so we're gonna call them up shortly and make a reservation! But what should i do about the kong? He doesn't like toys enough to get distracted by them

Something like the Stuf'n needs to be in a toy that he can hold onto with his paws; if it's something round, he'll have a really difficult time being able to hold it still and lick at the goodies and will just give up.

Also, different dogs will respond to different toys. Apollo might like a puzzle ball or chewing on an Orbee toy. Try taking him to the pet store with you and see what he goes for.

Been there, Tried that. I can only take him to pet stores cause 95% of the time he has to be with me or my mom will go insane. And we walk and stand for hours nad hours in both of the toy lanes and he just sniffs... he doesn't lick, he just sniffs and when we pick up whatever he's sniffing he runs away from it he just DOENS"T like toys, and as for that Stuffn' Stuff lol, it's like an octagonal ball. He could very easily hold onto it with his paws it doesn't roll like a normal ball. The only thing he likes to chew on are rawhides, and he eats them like patato chips so i try not to overdo it with the rawhides. We bought him a 6 dollar hambone nad it was gone in an hour....Normally, the minimum we are gone for is 2 hours. He does eventually lick the surface clean but when it comes into the little grooves of it, he'll just sniff it and walk away LOL he's lazy he doesn't wanna put out the energy tat is required to sink a big tooth of his into the groove to scoop out the rest. It's frustrating, it really is.

You know, I was thinking about this yesterday, because Dakota threw a fit when handed his leash to my neighbor and walked away.
Is Apollo well-versed in obedience? (sorry if he is.. My memory is terrible.) If he isn't at the intermediate/advanced level of obedience, then I would stop spending all this money on toys and remedies and invest in a training class. Sometimes an extra boost of confidence is all they need. I remember with Shiner, I would tell her "SHINER, STAY." before I left the house.

The deal with "Shiner, stay" was that when I told her to stay, I would walk out of sight, and return to her several minutes later. She'd grown to know that 'stay' meant to stay in one spot more or less, and that I would be coming back soon. That really, almost completely solved her SA.

Just a thought...

^ We are planning on taking him to a 6 week course here in K-town. Just for that extra confidence boost as well as to make sure he underSTANDS stay. he knows what it means, but he doesn't always stay for long lol

The crate is a great solution. He will stop crying after awhile. I did that with my lab when I first got him. He tore the house apart,so we set up a 8'x10' outdoor kennel in the laundry room. He had a bed in there,toys,t.v, and his food. He loved it. I would say kennel up every morning and he would go lay on his bed. After a year or so we slowly started getting him used to be out of his kennel during the day.We left the door open and thats where he wanted to be. He felt safe in his room. It worked out great for us.

Apollo's different, I think it might ahve to do with the fact that he was adopted, and was in a sort of crate like thing while he was at the shelter (although it was only for a day) He goes in their easy, lays down and sleeps ONLY when we're tehre but when we leave him he starts to cry, and he totally voided the whole positive comment tonight. ANd to avoid the stupid kong strange-ball from rolling i filled it with peanut butter and put it into his dog dish and he licked it and played a little while i was standing there closing the crate but when i turned to walk up the stairs he stopped again

I think you're probably right about the crate and his past experience. He's probably equating being left behind in the crate with being left in the cage in the shelter. Try covering the crate so it looks more like a cave and less like a cage and see what happens, and check his Kong ball in the morning to see if he's finished the peanut butter during the night.

Good idea, i'll try that tonight Renee, we've got some running around to do as well which he is not aloud to join us becuase it's my mothers car lol. So i'll try the cave technique, nevereven thougt about it

EUREKA!!!!
I just left to go pick up steve from work and put Apollo in his newly covered cage (I used an old baby blanket but was too small only covered one side nad half the top so i used body pillows to shade in the rest and when i came home, an hour later, he was sound asleep!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH RENEE!!!!

I am so glad to hear that worked! Sometimes the answer's so simple that we overlook it.

^Couldn't have said it better, wow, it feels as if the weight of the world is off my shoulders it was such a relief to come back and see him sprawled out on his side with his head hanging over his bed upside down. and as soon as my foot hit the bottom stairs he jumped RIGHt up and to life and THen started whining in which i just walked away and not even a moment later he stopped and didn't do it again and when i went back out to let him out and say "hello" he was laying down again, wow... I can't thank all of you guys enough for the help and ideas you all gave me

Oh I am soooo glad he's doing better. Renee is right sometimes it is the simple things that work the best, and in all the confusion those are the things that get overlooked.
Congrats to Apollo on sleeping nicely in the crate and congrats to you on your new 'freedom'.

^Scratch that, didn't turn out as pleasantly as I thought.... We figured if we moved the crate into a familiar room, (Our bedroom which he's in all the time) then he would recognize it, and realise that he was still in his special room. But he didn't, he whined, and now he's managed to bark THROUGH the muzzle, which was guaranteed to prevent barking. Mom's still furious, and my blood pressure just took a super boost upwards. I may just have to consider the worst thing of all - Giving him away

yes i know how u feel. i have the same EXACT problems you do with Roxy. she just doesnt know i am trying to be responsible and train her. my mom gave in and on thanksgiving my aunt is coming down from CT to pick up roxy. my aunt and cousin has had experience with dogs so we must give her to them. i will be very very sad, crying everyday, crying myself to sleep. its just really hard when someone gives away youre BEST friend just because she is only a puppy and doesnt know better. nobody is perfect, so why must puppies be perfect? she is my only true friend right now, due to me not getting along with people. i love animals and i just dont get along with people. i dont know why, thats why i wanted a companion. so i really know what you mean, it will be hard to give her up but that does not mean you can just try. continue to try and never give up. maybe your dog will finally realize that youre are trying to be responsible.

Go back to putting the crate in the room it was in when he had the breakthrough and didn't go nuts after you covered it. That may be where he wants to stay when he's in his crate. Apollo sounds like he doesn't adapt to quick changes, so go back to what worked and give it another start. Good luck!

Crazydog, maybe your Aunt would help you pick out an adult dog at a shelter? That way you can avoid some of the problems you're facing with Roxy and it will give you a chance to have a companion and not drive your Mom crazy in the process. Or you might even consider adopting a house cat. They can be as loving companions as dogs, and they're quiet (well, mostly - I've had a few talkers - lol).

Crazydog, That was exactly the reason that I adopted apollo. i don't get along well with the people here, alot of the people MY age act as if they control the city and i just find it a little bit to overwhelming and a little bit disgusting. So i only have my fiance as my friend as well as Apollo. We also adopted him becuase we wanted to take on something new and exciting as well as have the loyalty and trust of a big furry friend

Renee - I will put him back in the other room tonight. Don't know why he's so fond of it, i thought maybe if we put it in a room that he's in all the time he might feel calmer, i guess not though. We are covering him with a blanket that we used during the summer a light blanket so it doesn't smother him with heat that has our scent on it (I figured that might be a half decent idea) We didn't normally let him sleep in the crate before, but we did last night sort of as a way of saying "It's your crate, you need to learn to like it, it's not going to kill you" and so forth. It's a rather large crate, i made a boo boo and bought one nearly 2 sizes too big, but atleast he has alot of space to move around in. I'm beginning to wonder if he likes the room the crate was origionally in because every dog 'ive ever had has gone to the bathroom there at least once or twice and in apollo's case 20 times. He must be attracted to the smell? Well i'll give it a try, it's almost coming time for the Obedience school thing, Will the obedience school actually work? what does it do for him again? i forget :S

My Super Special Miracle Cure - A Dino Bone hahahahha
Cost us quite a pretty penny for this huge freaking bone that is so heavy im not even sure apollo could lift it. But i figured it's a last chance before meds which i also got a priceon from the vets. I figured since he doesn't like toys, hates his kong, and will only chew beef flavored products i should buy him a bone that will not be destroyed so easily. So i bought the Dino Bone!!! I swear, the knots are bigger than his head and the girth of the bone itself is thicker than my wrist. It's hidden away right now as it will be when we come home. It's his special going away toy, something that he truly loves.
He even tried to bite through the packaging to get it opened. WIsh me luck! Today is our first test