Oh dear....

[flick]

The day that she arrived, shortly before I went to bed I put Jodie on her bed in one of the store rooms, locked the door between there and the kitchen, and off we both went to sleep: not a peep out of her until she heard Mike moving around the next morning, although she'd obviously had a little bit of a scrabble at the outside door.

Last night, on the other hand....

I put her on her bed, and she followed me back to the kitchen. I put her back on her bed with a chew, and she followed me back a bit before stopping to have a drink. I went upstairs and was just getting undressed when the thudding noises started, as she threw herself against the door. They stopped after a couple of minutes, just about for long enough for her to check out all the space she had access to for alternate escape routes, then she started scratching. Then thudding. Then scratching....

I didn't want to come downstairs and let her out again, even to tell her off, because it seems like that gives her the attention she's after (even if it's negative attention). She didn't sleep in her bed at all last night, presumably she stayed in front of the door.

While we could move her bed to the spot she likes to lie in in the kitchen, it'll be far more visible if she also trashes the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house.

(Neither of us wants her sleeping in our bedroom at night, and we're trying -- with quite a bit of success -- to teach her that she's not allowed upstairs at all. I can't imagine that working once we're asleep and she can plonk herself down where she likes.)

Help! Do we just keep putting her in the same place and ignoring her, or do we give up? I am genuinely a little concerned about how long the door will hold up if she goes at it as much as she went at the frame last night.

Comments

[andrewducker]

Keep doing exactly what you're doing, for the next three days.

It's actually very likely that she'll learn this new habit, and be fine with it. And if she doesn't then you can try something else.

But dogs, like kids, learn new patterns relatively quickly, provided you're firm with them. The last thing you want to do is try one thing, and then change, and then change again.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Two options, 1: Get her a crate as a safe place to sleep in and encourage her to go into it whenever she needs time alone (Bren still goes into his crate when he understands that he's been naughty). Keep it in the store room, with the crate door open during the day and make it clear to her that it's Her Space (if you're very lucky she may already have been crate trained as a puppy and understand this.)

2: Put her in the spare room on her own during the day for increasingly longer periods (starting with two minutes), close the door and leave. She should eventually get the message that you've not Gone For Ever.

We have a spare crate that I think would fit her, if you need.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Also, put a child gate on the stairs - that'll keep her on the ground floor!

[bemused-leftist.livejournal.com]

Find her a home where she can be happier?

[daveon.livejournal.com]

Dogs sleep in their beds in our room. We rather failed at this bit.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Ina suggests you might try leaving a portable radio (voices, not music, so 5!Live or Radio4/World Service) on very low at night to keep her company.

[ang-grrr.livejournal.com]

A crate is a good idea. Something else you could try is some sort of comforter - the blankets I have around the house look like they are for cat hair but they are actually things that smell like me,

Whatever you do, don't give in. That way lies vomit on the duvet.

[con-girl.livejournal.com]

Didn't you say that she'd lived with another dog? Would a second dog help? Or maybe even a stuffed toy? Some dogs seem to find them very reassuring.

Is there a "job" she could have in the shed? My grandparents' dog was always on watch from "his" garage (they had a half gate made out of metal) and he watched the world go by. No barking unless someone entered the driveway. He also had lots of toys and it was a big space. Also, during the day people were in and out of the space a lot which might have helped create the notion that it was a good space. She might think she's being punished especially if there is a lot of sucking up afterwards. Maybe a special treat only given in the shed? Or a game you only play there? Something to make it an awesome space even without people present?

It's still early days yet.