jillybean

My 4 year old beagle has always slept in a crate indoors, ever since she was a puppy. I usually lead her into her crate just before I go to bed, and she settles down for the night. In the past week she's been barking a lot as soon as I put her in there, or falling asleep for a short time and then waking up and barking a lot. It's never been like this before, and now she's barked every single night for the past week and it's driving me insane!! It's a loud agitated bark, like she wants to get out, and it doesn't stop no matter how much I yell at her, or try to ignore her. In the end I've been letting her out, and she's been sleeping on the floor of the lounge room on another mat - I don't mind her doing that, but I don't understand why all of a sudden sleeping in her crate has become an issue! I've checked out the room thoroughly, I've moved the crate around and flicked out the bedding to make sure there wasn't anything hiding, can't find a thing! Over the weekend I made sure she got plenty of exercise at the dog park to try to tire her out, yet she still wouldn't settle in her crate.

Any ideas or suggestions? I suppose it's okay to let her sleep in the lounge room but I'm still puzzled as to why the crate is suddenly such a scary place!

Thanks for all the suggestions! Think I'll have to get creative and see what I can set up

I recently purchased a new car, but have now realised the rear seat has headrests which are built into the back seat - ie. they don't sit above the level of the seat so I can't clip my old cover over it. I used to have a basic hammock style one which clipped around the front and rear headrests, but there's no way of attaching it.

I've had a quick look online but can't seem to find anything made for cars without headrests. I can use a regular car seat cover, but then it doesn't protect the back of the front seats.

Suggestions anyone?

Too funny. My dog doesn't eat cucumber, I've tried! She does steal strawberries out of the garden though

I also feed them frozen to slow my dog down! But still it only takes a few minutes

Chloe loves dried roos tails. She strips them of the meat and then takes the vertebrae apart and eats the intervertebral discs. Usually ends up with bits of bones all over the place!

I bought a heap of them from a DOLer once, if only I could remember who it was!

They're fine to feed, but probably just a little fatty to feed regularly.

I usually get the butcher to cut them into smaller pieces because although you can do it yourself at home it can be a little difficult to get through with a knife.

I wouldn't feed an entire lamb flap. Perhaps one third? Not sure how big the one you have is!

Yes it's just your puppy showing that they're being submissive. Some puppies also pee a little when they first meet other dogs.

Both behaviours will lessen once your puppy becomes more confident around other dogs.

I never cut off whiskers.

Imagine cutting off all the skin on your fingers, THAT is what it feels like for a dog if you do. I have Vizslas and they would run into stuff if I did that. They are all trained in the field.

These are also multiple BIS and BISS winning dogs and it never seemed to hinder them doing well in the ring.

The whiskers, or more properly, vibrissae, are important sensory mechanisms that the dog uses in several ways. Each individual whisker connects to a specific brain region, so that the dog can actually perceive movements of each whisker. About 40% of the part of the dog's brain that handles tactile information is devoted to the face, and a big piece of that to the region where the whiskers are located. Any time that much brain tissue is devoted to one thing, it's a sure sign that it's an important sensory mechanism.

They help the dog detect when something is near his face, and may help them detect whether a surface is rough or smooth, as well as the shapes of objects. They help dogs navigate in dim light. As the dog moves, the air currents stirred up by his movements bounce off walls and other objects, and the vibrissae are capable of detecting these and helping the dog avoid walls or other objects. Each hair is capable of being moved by small muscles, and a dog will actively move these back and forth across objects, as well as move his head to get information about the things near his face. Watch how your dog behaves when he brings his head near an object, of when you lightly touch one of his whiskers.

Stanley Coren writes about this in more detail in his book "How Dogs Think". He also described an experiment in which a blind Sheltie (?) had his whiskers cut...the Sheltie was much less able to navigate his surroundings and kept bumping into various things.

So personally I don't.

Tomas.

I've read that book and remember that theory too.

I wouldn't trim whiskers, they're not that obvious anyway

Fresh fish is fine if your dog likes them!

I tried several times. I bought fresh sardines and fresh mackeral - too many of each really! Chloe just didn't know what to do with them - she carried them around, buried them, left them in the sun, chewed on them - everything except actually eat them!! End result: stinky rotting fish scattered around the yard!! Ergh

She will gobble up canned sardines though!

Awww beagle pup photos!

I think you're better off putting your puppy outdoors during the day. You'll find that he'll be extremely bored indoors especially if he's enclosed in such a small play pen. Beagles can be very destructive, especially as puppies when they're bored - he'll rip up all his toys and bedding that's in his pen, and wouldn't be surprised if he tried to eat the actually pen too to escape. You might also find that he'll start to bark and howl which can be pretty distressing for him and might upset the neighbours too.

You could try non medicated eye drops - the kind that are just for lubricating, eg. Refresh for dry eyes.

I've used these in the past to wash out Chloe's gunky eyes

Just put his car harness on first and then walk him to the car with the lead

That way he'll associate with harness with getting in the car & good things!

I've only found turkey necks at Woolies too. They come in a white bag, in the dog food/offal section.

Chloe used to throw up clear bile quite often when she was a puppy. It was usually something along the lines of drinking too much water too quickly after going for a run - then it would just come back up!

Don't stress over it, it's quite normal, and as long as they're still eating their food and drinking water they'll be fine.

Try dried kangaroo tails! They're quite large so you could cut them into smaller pieces or use it to substitute a meal for one day.

They take my beagle much longer to chew than a pigs ear

Chloe gets a bath usually once every fortnight, but it's going to be harder since it's getting colder!

I like her smelling nice and she usually rolls in mud at the dog park so needs a good wash.

Doesn't seem to be too much for her - her coat is always shiny!

You're on the right track, just have to stay strong and ignore the whining and squealing, she'll eventually settle and go to sleep. You might also want to throw a sheet/blanket over the top of the crate so that it's a little darker and more enclosed - seems to make them more comfortable.

Yay for beagle pups! Very cute pics

Ergh Kellyville Pets.. I've heard some not so nice things about that place, and have seen some not so nice dogs who have been bought from there. Plus it's seriously over priced. I would strongly, VERY STRONGLY, advise you to try Hills Kennel Club instead for your puppy training/obedience classes. It's at Castle Hill showground, so not very far from Kellyville. You'll pay a lot less and get a much better experience out of it!

Like others have suggested, stay away from dog parks will your puppy has had its full course of vaccinations and then a few more weeks for them to kick in completely. But that being said, there are a couple of off leash dog parks in Castle Hill and one in Cherrybrook too.

Haha yes very normal! Also lets you know she's happy

Every 2nd day seems a little often to me. Dogs need more red meat than sardines

I've tried feeding raw sardines, my dog wouldn't eat them. Left them out in the sun instead! She will gobble down canned ones though, strange eh?

I have a beagle and had this problem for many months whilst she was teething. Thankfully it's much better now, so hang in there, it will get better!!

She used to bite my wrists/forearms so much that I had red scratches all over them and one of my friends thought I was self harming myself! If I was wearing a jumper she'd bite my sleeves, if I was wearing a dress she'd bite the hem, same with jeans etc.

Things I tried included:

*Turning my back and saying no - this didn't really work, she just bit the back of my pants instead

*Squirting her in the face with water from a spray bottle

*Putting bitter spray all over my hands/arms before going to play with her

*Putting my thumb on the inside of her mouth and holding her tongue down

Goodluck!

My beagle is really destructive too. She chews up anything plastic/rubber, but the only toys she hasn't been able to completely destroy at the "Bad Cuz" squeaky balls and the rubber Leo toys. They have some small parts missing and plenty of teeth marks, but they're still in working order!

http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=1071

http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=1214

I was told it takes up to 10 days for the final vaccination to become effective, so yes I'd wait a little longer. Better safe than sorry!

There were a bunch of kids with a 12 week old pup at the dog park the other day. I gave them an ear full... especially the way they were babying the pup!