We have a 4 ½ month old Kelpie who normally sleeps in a shed/kennel – he usually settles down once the lights are off and is fine until morning. Last night he jumped the gate, so we put him on a chain, still in the shed but able to go out through the door as well. He barked continuously and started again at first light this morning, he also didn’t eat the food that was there for him. He has been on a chain before in the backyard (when there have been people around) and he has been fine. Any suggestions on calming him down or getting used to being on the chain at night?
Well I see you’ve had 13 views and no replies so I’ll give you a short one. May I ask why this dog lives outside? Is it a working dog? I think chaining the poor puppy is going to feel like a punishment to him. He probably didn’t eat because he’s unhappy. I would also suggest feeding him 3 or 4 times a day and not always leave food out for him. Could you fence an area so you don’t have to resort to the chain or maybe improve the shed/kennel so he can’t escape? If he’s not a working dog could you let him sleep inside? He’s obviously not happy about something if he’s barking so much
Thanks! Yes, he is a working dog. He's fed morning and night, there's not food always out. He has free run and/or a fenced area during the day. The shed/kennel can be improved to make it escape proof, however would like him to get used to the chain if he's got to be tied up or staying elsewhere at any stage.
The dogs I have now I have never cabled (that’s what I’ve used in the past) but my previous dog was occasionally cabled and he was mostly ok with it but I don’t remember how I got him accustom to it.. perhaps shorter periods of time than all night and reward him for being good (quiet) and extend the length over time.
Hi Emma I have just read the previous comments and I see Marc has given you some great advice I must say, I don’t understand your circumstances completely, but, I felt sad for your puppy ! In his world, he is lonely and scared, at that age they don’t have any confidence, it’s your job to make he feel good about himself, once that has been achieved he will be more susceptible to small changes done over time. His barking is because he is unhappy and maybe separation anxiety Can I ask, did he live previously in the house with you ? Just another point, chaining a dog for long periods of time will give it a strong guarding instinct, which then brings other problems you may not foresee. As Marc suggests limit the “ chained “ time and build it up slowly Before he is chained be sure he is well exercised, some training has taken place ( that will mentally stimulate him ) feed him before being chained and that should go some way to calming him Does he also have some toys to entertain himself with. Offer toys in rotation rather than just being left on the floor all the time, he will soon get bored of them and in time will ignore them completely Please let us know what you decide to do Philippa
Hi Philippa Thanks for your response. No he has not previously slept inside, he sleeps in the shed where he was tied up. He is well exercised during the day and we generally do some training before bed. He is only tied up/kennelled at night. Will try for shorter periods of time and work up to longer time.
Emma - your pup is still a baby. How old was he when you got him and was he always kept in an outdoor shed when you got him? Working dog or not, he was, and still is, a baby. And to now chain him? I am not going to comment on that. When I had my Griffons, way back in another life [and country] I had a large back and side yard, totally enclosed in 6' paneled fencing - a lot of grass to keep clean and mowed. During the day they were indoors or outside as they wanted, and one of the rooms in the house was for them at night. Since I have been here, the three dogs I have had, since young puppies, have lived in bungalows with yards that cannot be fenced, so always wore 12 metre lightweight cord tethers, fixed inside the door [only front door - back and sides inaccessible], clipped onto their harnesses. As they got a bit bigger so the cord was changed for lightweight rope. My door, in this bungalow, is open from when I get up to when Tikva asks to go to bed. She can go out, come in, get through most of the bungalow [except in my bedroom, where she sleeps at night in a crate], doze on the couch [which she thinks is hers] so her 12m of tether, which is also fixed just inside my front door, gives her 12m outside and 12m inside. She actually has 24m outside when she runs from one side of the yard to the other, but she can not reach the pavement/sidewalk, for her safety. Again the yards here can not be fenced, and there is no access to the back and sides. Not that they could be fenced. But my small dogs here have been companion dogs, although Pereg and now Tikva act as self-taught hearing-assist dogs, and Tikva will follow me through the bungalow as if she is checking on me. Also, from the differing sounds of their barks, they would let me know if someone is coming down the path and whether it was a friend or "I do not like the look of that person". They were/are not chained - lightweight long rope tether clipped on a harness is not chaining/cabling, and of course it is always unclipped when it is bedtime. Tikki is currently sprawled outside as [hopefully] it is a bit cooler, but she will come in when it is too hot for her. My avatar shows my beloved epi Pereg, flonked down and looking outside at the world going by. Tikva does the same except she either stands or sits. But she still wants to look outside at the world going by. And Tikki is the only one who slept on my bed, unless she joins me for a nanny nap. For her, her crate is her bed, and she feels very secure in it.
I recognise that dogs may have to be restrained at times for their own safety, but can not agree with dogs - let alone baby dogs - being chained or tied to a shed. If this is to be a working dog, and has to live outdoors, could he not have some freedom to move naturally and play when he is inside the shed? I am assuming that this is a decent sized shed, not just a dog hut. I have owned a dedicated escape artist, and was forced to cable her for several weeks while in the garden was made escape-proof - 6 foot boarding, softened with shrubs. I found the plastic covered steel - usually called aircraft cable - was far better than chain, it has a little spring to it, and doesn't knot or wrap around the legs. You really need to put any restraint on your puppy for short periods at first, to allow him to get used to the feel of it. Please do get the shed and gate made dog-proof as soon as possible. A chain should never be used as a permanent attachment, and your puppy is trying to signal his distress by barking and refusing food.
I don’t agree with dogs being chained for many reasons. If he must live outside then he needs a decent kennel with warm cosy bedding with a proper door’ and run attached, and at night I would shut him in the kennel, (not tied up). Dogs have acute hearing and can hear things we can’t which could be causing him to bark, but he is still a baby and probably feels vulnerable.
You have said what I had wanted to say. I missed out a word on my previous post - Tikva is the only one who has not slept on my bed apart from nanny naps with me and for the first couple of nights after I brought her home as I thought she was far too young to sleep in a crate, although it was and still is in my bedroom. She accepted it [with two of Pereg's toys and a worn shirt of mine] a couple of nights later. My previous two did sleep on my bed but they were a few weeks older. Just at night though, during the day my bedroom was out of bounds. But being clipped onto a 12m soft rope is not being chained up.
I have to say that from the security point of view, I wouldn't recommend rope. The majority of dogs are quite capable of chewing through it to get themselves free. I have seen quite a few dogs running free with 18 inches of washing line, and even one with a length of Flexi line dangling from their collars.
Luckily I never had that problem. Lexi was not a chewer and even Pereg could not chew through her tether. Rather a small dog clipped onto a 12 metre soft rope and free to run around safe outside in the yard and inside the house, than a small dog not clipped onto a tether and within a metre from a road.
I wasn’t referring to your dog or the length, point I was making was that wither tied by chain/ rope or whatever, it is still tied up.
Thanks everyone for your input! Yes the shed is a decent size and he has room to run around in there, he is only in there at night. Being tied up, he still has access to the shed and is able to run around. Lightweight chain is 3m+. Rope can be chewed or worn, same with some cable. He was back shut in the shed last night, with no issues. Still needs to learn to be tied up, will do it with short stints and fo from there
How can three metres of chain give room for a puppa to run around? Most normal leashes are maximum three metres for large, adult dogs. Leashes for a puppa are usual 1.5 metres. So three metres cannot possibly be long enough to let a puppa run around. Yes, rope can be chewed and worn, although not at such a young age, but chain, however lightweight, can break teeth.
As I've mentioned before, tieing him up was only at night, so he can still move around the shed/area, which is more than can be done in a crate. He is not tied up during the day unless abolsutely necessary and then only for short periods of time. He is also at the puppy stage of chewing things, so I'm not going to risk him chewing through a rope. However rope or chain, it is still tethered.
I am not sure whether I understand your difference between chaining your puppa at night in a shed, or just putting him in a correct size crate. At night he should sleep, not be able to run in a shed, which is, basically, still just an oversized crate. You have a young puppa who needs his sleep. Please let him have it without being chained to such a small distance.
