RoseOneall

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and thorough response. I feel much better knowing that I just need to continue the process and that you are just an note away. We make a break through on the down. She went from me having to wrestle her down to reward her to this in the last few days. I tried for days to reward her whenever she would lie down on her own too. Could not get it to click. Now suddenly it is coming together. Sit and down.MOV

Stella is napping and has settled in her kennel next to me with just a few more treats. Maybe I am trainable after all. Baby steps.

Good morning and thank you for your response. I was afraid that I was not going to get permission the kennel her as much as I am. Let me describe my morning so far with our Stella. I get up at around 6:15, get dressed and open the kennel door for Stella. She and I rush to the back yard where she does her business. I clean up the poop and sit outside with her for a few minutes with my coffee while she runs around and picks up bones and toys. We come in and we go to my study/craft room and I try to keep her busy while I check my email, etc. I give her a few kibbles for sitting and throw some in her kennel to try to get her to settle in there with one of her toys. That may or may not work. I lock her in her kennel while I grab her breakfast. It is plain kibble but she loves it as if it were steak. I put a handful of kibble in about 10 piles all over the yard. I let her out and she hunts for her breakfast. She goes back with me into my study and I give her a raw bone to chew while I try to concentrate on a project that I am working on. (I am making masks for friends and family). She finishes her bone and goes to the study door. I get up and take her for a short walk. I saw your notes to me so I placed her in our garage kennel so that I can have a few minutes to respond. My plan will be to get her out of the kennel at 10 for a short training session. The peeing thing is really two fold. One was while we were house training her. I had to make sure that she went out every time we changed activity. She slept much more then so when she would wake up, we go out, she would finish a bone or with a toy, we would go out, etc. But sometimes I would just have her on a leash after we had just gone out to go to the kitchen for a snack and she would pee on the floor in the kitchen. That was a change in activity that I was not really prepared for but she has me trained now and this rarely happens . The other problem I am having was with dog beds. I moved her kennel out of my study and replaced it with a dog bed. She would like down on the bed but then begin tearing it up. I would tell her to leave it. Next thing I know, she has peed on it. When that happened three times, I moved her kennel back in and stopped trying to let her have a dog bed. I feel like my study is puppy proofed as well as it can be for it to be functional for me. She will chew on a chair or the side of a container or a table leg. I would just like her to be able to chill with me while I do other things without me constantly giving her something else to do The raw bones that I use are organic, grass fed. Sometimes I will freeze and fill them up again with peanut butter and kibble but must I do this all of the time? It is like the only time I know she is able to settle and rest is when she is in her day kennel away from me. As a side note, I am not able to kennel her during the day in her sleep kennel. She will go into it and chew a bone. She sleeps in there from about 9 pm til morning. But during the day, she will not settle in there if I am in the house. I tried for days and finally gave up because it stressed out my husband too much with the barking and the whining. She won that battle. We have a kennel set up in our garage that we use when I kennel her during the day that she settles right down into. I know she is being a brat and I should try harder to extinguish that behavior but I am not the only one who lives here. I really thought this project would just be a few months and then I could find her another home. I have fostered dogs on and off for years but normally smaller breeds. Her breed is problematic. The last group that I fostered for, sends dogs up to Wisconsin after they are healthy and spayed/neutered. It now appears that even in places where there is a dog shortage, they do not want these adolescent bully dogs. Training will be her only salvation. I don't want to let he down. I keep her separate from our collie for now. Of course, that just makes Stella want to play with her more. Stella just bites and bullies Sarah without ceasing. Fortunately, Sarah has always been my husbands dog. He continues to walk and care for her. When I go back to work, he will be Stell's caregiver too. He is able to walk them both but Stella will need to be crated a good deal more when that occurs. Regarding the laying down, I begin with Stella in a sit. I place the lure in front of her, then slide it across the floor. If she cannot reach it with her nose, she will get up to try to get it instead of reaching out further and going down. I will grab her front legs before she gets up and drop her down and then release the treat but that has not clicked yet. I do appreciate your feedback. I guess that I would like to know if I can just give her a bone every time she just needs a new activity for now to keep her settled and with me? I have tried a few food stuffed toys and she has lost interest in them very fast.

She was found on April 15th in a parking lot at the Houston Intercontinental Airport. The only way that she could be there is if she was dropped off and abandoned. I am a flight attendant and responded to the plea to foster her because we are not working much right now and I wanted a project. She was 35 pounds, emaciated and full of worms and was with an 87 pound male. Both dogs were very good with all the people who they came into contact with. I took them both just to get them off of the airport property but I could only foster one dog. She was completely attached to the male to where she would cry if she could not see him. Fortunately, ( or unfortunately) that attachment transferred to me. She has been to the vet and is healthy but she does have some skin issues that are being addressed. She was spayed last week. I began using the Kholer method right away to train her (I apologize, it is what I know). I trained her to sit concurrently using treats. She is now 44 pound, walks well on a loose leash, passes people and pets well on our walks, will sit for a treat, love kids and all people. Sleeps quietly in a kennel all night; literally puts herself to bed. However, her training has come to a virtual stand still. She has now a good foundation to build on but her lack of socialization is causing me issues as I go forward. I have to put her in her kennel for at least 3 or 4 hours in the morning and in the afternoon because she requires constant supervision. I have tried leashing her to me but she will pee at my feet every time her activity changes, if I do not walk outside with her. She has begun barking at me when she wants to be doing something fun or get a treat. Like a toddler, she wants to chew everything. She will easily drop it but then she grabs the next thing. It is all day, all the time. It is exhausting. We have had to have x-rays and a vet consultant when a pin-cushion found its way into her kennel. She looses interest in toys that she cannot destroy and I just cannot keep giving her raw bones all day. She is completely inappropriate with my patient, 10 year old collie who cannot stop her from being her chew toy. I just will not allow Stella to bite on her anymore. I know she needs structure. My husband thinks I am kenneling her too much. I am feeling at a loss. She hates the heeling work and resists the "corrections" out of what seems to be stubbornness. She backtracking on the few things that she had learned well. The evenings are the worst, just like with young children. I know part of the problem is that she is feeling so good and strong. I have a neighbor who has offered to walk her more. We are her only hope in this city full of stray dogs. She is sweet but so powerful and nutty. I am attracted to your methods but I feel like I need more structure on what I can expect from her. Am I kenneling her too much? She gets a long walk every day and lots of time outside with me. Using your methods trying to get her to lie down has been a complete failure for me. What is your training routine on a young dog like this? stella1.MOV