I think it depends on the dog. It is funny, but yep the bear hug has worked with both Sayblee and Cara when they were into the wilds. (Arwen never gets wild in any way… far too dignified to be like that thank you!) If bear hugs escalates or they seriously try to bite you, then it isn't working. But most do hate being restrained enough that they get it. In fact I'd rather restrain than ever use a crate for PUNISHMENT. Now if you used the crate just to make him sleep in, yeah. But bad behavior then in crate sets up a bad connection. Hope things continue to go well.
Crate Training suggestions
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My wife and I have enjoyed the company of two B's over the last 3 years. They are perfectly crate trained to the point where they sleep in their crates with the doors open all night.
We've recently adopted a male foster B, and we are overjoyed at the new addtion to the family (the resident male B probably isn't at that point yet, though). However, we've noticed that our new B, a 10-month old, acts quite anxious in the crate. We suspect this stems from having been stuck at a Petland store in a display crate for more than 4 months before being purchased and consecutively owned by two previous families before coming to ours.
Any good tips on deconditioning the bad experiences of crating for our new B? We've got him going into the crate and sitting for a treat, but closing the door seems to make him frantic. We've left him in there for a few nights, but his constant anxious behavior has trained us to let him sleep with us. It's gotta end so when we travel, he'll be ready to sleep in a crate at night at the dogsitter's place.
TIA
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Check out our post on Miles: A Rescue – you might something useful.
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http://basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=921
Here's the link.
