my puppy is only concerned with her freedom
Hello all. I am a first time corgi owner and absolutely love my tri female Kara (as in supergirl) who will be turning 12 weeks this Wednesday. She is very smart and quite active. I have all the usual corgi issues but I'm not too worried and pretty sure that over time things will work out. I apologize in advanced for my question because I realize now when writing it that it is difficult to put into words. My main concern is that my puppy doesn't seem to be happy when I play with her in her play room (aka my room) and seems to only long for freedom.
I am crate training her and her crate is located in my bedroom which I have puppy proofed and made into her play room. I work full time but come back for "extended" lunch to let her out and play with her. Once I come home she is basically free in the playroom unless I suspect she needs to go potty soon. At that point I crate her because I want her to give me some indication that she needs to go (otherwise she'll just slink off to some corner where I can't see her and do her business). Once she finishes I let her have special access to the family room for 30 minutes or so (middle room between my bedroom and the door to go potty) where I move the table so that she can run like crazy. I have also recently cleaned up the garage where she has taken to using the treadmill (at very low speeds) because I sprinkle treat crumbs at the very front while she is walking.
She started off in the crate completely with special access to my bedroom but I have upgraded her freedom now that she is fairly reliable and because I felt guilty. Even when I first increased her mobility she almost immediately goes to the door, lays down, and looks sad and pathetic. It might be worth mentioning that she is not a cuddler and only has that happy look on her face when I play fetch with her. I keep her training positive and punish her by stopping play or I give her 1-2min timeouts in the bathroom if she is really bad. I am fairly strict about my rules but that's because I really dislike poorly behaved dogs. I wouldn't say I am overbearing, and play with her nonstop once I am home. Unfortunately I have some difficulty socializing her mainly because none of my friends have pets and most of them live a very nocturnal lifestyle which I have abandoned recently. I have signed her up for puppy kindergarten starting wednesday.
I have a very direct and logical personality and I am afraid that my stern personality is the cause of her unhappiness. For example, I have a very difficult time doing the happy cheery voice when I am proud of her. My praise is usually more like "good job puppy, you performed admirably." Any comments or suggestions would be very grateful. Thanks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I personally wouldn't crate her when you think she has to potty. That could almost be like punishment to her. She has to potty, play time ends, she goes in the crate. You want potty time to be happy (work on that happy voice!). I would just watch her very carefully and if you notice her start to circle, sniff or wander off take her outside immediately. She should not have so much freedom where she can wander off and potty without you noticing. You could try leashing her to your belt loop if you need to.
I'm not sure what you mean by "she started off in the crate completely". Did you keep her in the crate all the time...?
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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So glad you signed up for puppy class. It should help a lot. I also would not crate when you think she has to potty. Take her out and if she goes praise her like she just discovered the winning lottery ticket! I always use potty training as a time to teach a potty command. As soon as she begins to go say a command (I use "go Potty"). This will be very useful later when you are in a hurry or must change your schedule around. Just be sure to use it regularly. She is still a baby and you probably are worrying too much about what she thinks of you. Right now she is only thinking about herself! Try to remember that praise trains faster and more reliably than punishment. Try to cuddle when she is a little tired rather than when she is active. Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I wouldn't be concerned about her attaching a signal to needing to go out at this young an age. She can't hold it much at all, and like a toddler human, the time between when she realizes she needs to go and when she is actually not capable of holding it any more is so short, she might have accidents. Take her out on a regular schedule whether she's signalled or not. Much later, when she has the hang of it (maybe around 6 months or so) you can work on a signal if she doesn't have one of her own. Chances are she'll just go sit by the door or bark, though.
As far as sitting longingly near the door, how much time does she get out and about meeting new people and seeing new things? Her socialization window will close soon. If she's had two sets of shots, I'd be taking her to parks, big-box home stores, little league games, etc to meet lots of new people and lots of friendly, new, vaccinated dogs. Avoid dog parks and pet stores, and if there are lots of strays in the area carry her. Otherwise, let her get out and meet and greet. An undersocialized Corgi can be a bit of a nightmare; they tend towards the territorial, and can be suspicous of new things (it was part of their job as farm dogs). You want her to think of a very broad range of people and dogs as "normal" so she's not suspcious of everyone. Puppy kindergarten is a good start, but it is just a start.
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Permalink Reply by Solomon & Naomi's Page on
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RELAX!!!!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by david kim on
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Thanks for the responses. You are probably right in telling me to relax. To be honest, I've never really met a dog that wasn't always super happy and completely focused on me before but I guess that independent spirit is what makes corgis so appealing. I should clarify what I meant about crating when she needs to go. I wouldn't crate her if she was sniffing around. I would crate her after a certain period of time being left out depending on how much she ate. It was more of a "hmm she will probably be going to go potty within the next hour" sort of thing. The problem with my bedroom is that the door is just beyond sight behind my table where I need to lean over to see her. Unfortunately she is either at the door wanting to go out to the family room or very very quickly doing her business. Aside from that though, she has been very good about going potty when outside (except when it rains).
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Ahh yes, the rain is a great example of why pottying on command is great!
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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When she lays down at the door, has she recently gone outside? Perhaps laying at the door is her signal that she needs to go out. My Yuki doesn't bark, whine or go to the door. He tends to walk away from me a little ways and then places himself so that his whole side is up against the wall. It's kind of hard to explain, but he's done it ever since we got him at 12 weeks. If I don't pay attention to him after that then he comes over and puts his head on my lap with a pitiful look on his face.
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