# Can I install an off-switch?



## Kristi Molina (Oct 1, 2012)

Ok not really, but I need help teaching my dog to settle in the house. 

Background info: almost 6 month old female GSD 
Pedigree: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/dog.html?id=1871983

Yes I know there is major inbreeding- didn't know when I got her. Just found out Mara was Gordon's daughter about a month ago. I was told the breeding was accidental. Anyways...

I have upped her mental exercises. She loves games like find it, hide n seek with my daughter and I am starting some beginning tracking and of course training (so far positive only.) When we are done she is panting. I also take her for normal exercise. Lots of off leash play, balls, short bike rides in front of my house when she wants to really run. I never push her, once she's panting and wants to lay down we stop. But I can't get her to settle down in the house. There is zero cuddle sessions going on here. Even when we are just hanging out watching tv. She does settle in her crate just fine, but outside of her crate she is ALWAYS looking for something to do, specifically to chew. It is like her mind never shuts off. A lot of what I hear says this is genetic, but can I teach her to settle down in the house? I have stopped any play inside, except search games. No fetch, no tug. Calm activities only. I have tried tethering her to something with a chew toy/bone. She starts digging at the carpet, chewing it, trying to chew the table etc. When I come by her to pet her she wants to eat my hands. What else should I be doing?


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Time!!!! I found they settle a lot after a year and two years even more. She is just a curious young pup. Wear her out and much a possible.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

If she knows sit and down you got a lot to work with. Even if she doesn't, then start it now. Feed her from inside the house and reward the behavior you want (if you need to, start by rewarding her when she looks at you). You will find yourself tripping over that dog in short order because she'll start offering settled behaviors on her own in anticipation of the reward.

This starts off as simple as sitting on the couch with a bowl of food. If she's roaming around, call her name, she looks, mark and reward. Eventually, like in 2-3 minutes or less you will probably find her sitting right in front of you waiting...

I've done this and it works. As far as I am concerned my house belongs to me not the dog therefore I control what happens when the dog is inside.


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## Dave Colborn (Mar 25, 2009)

Nicole Stark said:


> If she knows sit and down you got a lot to work with. Even if she doesn't, then start it now. Feed her from inside the house and reward the behavior you want (if you need to, start by rewarding her when she looks at you). You will find yourself tripping over that dog in short order because she'll start offering settled behaviors on her own in anticipation of the reward.
> 
> This starts off as simple as sitting on the couch with a bowl of food. If she's roaming around, call her name, she looks, mark and reward. Eventually, like in 2-3 minutes or less you will probably find her sitting right in front of you waiting...
> 
> I've done this and it works. As far as I am concerned my house belongs to me not the dog therefore I control what happens when the dog is inside.


when you aren't actively training, initially, use the crate. Start working on a place command along with what nicole said. get a carunda bed if she chews everything. then you only have to monitor whether she moves or not, off the bed. put it in such a place where she can't chew. 

you can research airedales on here and also find a way to scare the dog into not doing anything.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Feeling a bit fractious tonight Dave?


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## Dave Colborn (Mar 25, 2009)

Nicole Stark said:


> Feeling a bit fractious tonight Dave?


Not at all. :grin:

Actually, Don had a bit of advice to follow. Don't let the dog make the mistake in the first place, which I agree with. Always harder to counter a behavior than to not let it go on in the first place. Crates are cool.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Yep........


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

_"Don't let the dog make the mistake in the first place."_ :!: 

I wish I had discovered tethering the dog to my belt (or jeans-loop, whatever) decades before I did.

It may feel awkward at first, but it's worth it. I don't even mean just young pups, either. I do this with any dog new to my house.

Bonding; huge jump on any potty issues that may have come along with the dog; no chewing electrical cords in private; reduced crate time; and more.



_"Don't let the dog make the mistake in the first place."_ :!: 

This boils down to management, management, management.


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## Kristi Molina (Oct 1, 2012)

Thanks for the tips. The only time she tried chew my stuff is when I tried to tether her to my table with a bone. And when she started to get crazy trying to chew I un tethered her and engaged in an activity. Otherwise she is always managed, whether that be in the kitchen with a baby gate, in her crate or actively training/engaging with me. When I have her out with me in the kitchen she looks for things to chew, but we have several Kongs and some raw hooves I offer and just make sure anything she can't have is out of her reach. She has yet to chew/destroy any of my belongings because I have always prevented it. But I would like to move toward less crate/kitchen time and more laying at my feet in the living room or with us on the couch or bed, in the evenings as we relax, if at all possible. I am going to try the bowl of food and reward for paying attention/sitting or laying near me tomorrow night, as I already fed her dinner. I like that idea. I did start training her place command, but not for duration yet, and she knows sit and down. She surprisingly does not chew her bed/blanket in her crate. Thanks again. I knew there was a way to work on it, I don't know why I didn't think of the treats for good behavior. I do it for everything else.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

_"The only time she tried chew my stuff is when I tried to tether her to my table with a bone."_


Right: I don't tether the dog, pup or adult, to furniture or anything else stationary. 

"Tethered" for me is "attached to me." 




BTW, sounds like the exercise (mental and physical) is going great.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

True, I figure with good timing, consistency, and a hungry dog there may not be a need for a tether. I don't like to create that kind of dependency/expectation and with certain dogs its easy to do almost to the point of creating an unnecessarily intrusive/overly dependent relationship with the handler. It's just a personal preference of mine... 

I'd rather just set some basic ground rules and build off that. Keep it simple. Not that a tether isn't ever warranted or justified but I'm less concerned about the dog following me around and more so with it behaving as I expect it to. 

The tether shouldn't change that but it does control the tendancy that pups have in creeping off to find something else to do. All that aside, it's my responsibility to supervise the dog and if I can't then I need to put the dog up. Tethering is convenient and does help to establish boundaries, I just don't want my own dogs thinking they need to follow me around every place I go.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Nicole Stark said:


> ... The tether shouldn't change that but it does control the tendancy that pups have in creeping off to find something else to do. All that aside, it's my responsibility to supervise the dog and if I can't then I need to put the dog up. Tethering is convenient and does help to establish boundaries, I just don't want my own dogs thinking they need to follow me around every place I go.


I agree with you. For me, it's much more of a way to have this: _"less crate/kitchen time and more laying at my feet in the living room" _than having the dog follow me from room to room.


That is, if I'm sitting working at my desk, the new-ish dog can be lying nearby without my having to check that s/he's still there. :lol: 

Same with watching TV, etc. .... a sometimes alternative to the crate for the dog who isn't quite at "free range" level.

I loved that new management tool when I finally read about it ....  .... very late in the game.

I probably spend more time sitting on my butt than you guys. :lol:


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I probably spend more time sitting on my butt than you guys. :lol:


Hmmm, I don't know about that. Certainly not with all the time I've been spending at work over the past few months... which is where I am right now :-?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Nicole Stark said:


> Hmmm, I don't know about that. Certainly not with all the time I've been spending at work over the past few months... *which is where I am right now* :-?


Me too. In my house, true ...... but still at work. :-({|=


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Me too. In my house, true ...... but still at work. :-({|=


I can relate, I took the laptop home last night and put in a 13 hr day. I'm working on 11+ hrs at the moment and have to get up and go back in at 3 am. Such is life. 

Anyway, to the OP I hope you follow up and let us know how things progress with your pup. I think you are going to find that young dogs and puppies are almost always hungry so you should be able to see returns on your investment of time in short order.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Nicole Stark said:


> I think you are going to find that young dogs and puppies are almost always hungry so you should be able to see returns on your investment of time in short order.


Food drive + marker training = a wonderful thing. :grin:


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

With some of the crazy little terriers I've had I just didn't let them play at all when in the house. It takes a bit but even the goofy ones will learn to settle. As others have said, it may take a bit.
I'm also a big believer in what Dave said about "not letting the dog make a mistake in the first place". I've always expressed this as "training a dog is simple. Breaking bad habits sucks"!


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> With some of the crazy little terriers I've had I just didn't let them play at all when in the house. It takes a bit but even the goofy ones will learn to settle. As others have said, it may take a bit.
> I'm also a big believer in what Dave said about "not letting the dog make a mistake in the first place". I've always expressed this as "training a dog is simple. Breaking bad habits sucks"!


some advice..
dont train the dog to bark when it wants to go out..just let it stare at you or something..

dont train the dog to bring you its food bowl when it is hungry, just feed the dog when you want to.

dont train the dog to stand up on its hind legs against things and "spread em", and then give the dog a massage as a reward....just give the dog a massage on your own terms...

these things may seem somewhat practical or cute, but just trust me..dont do them...


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Oops Joby, you forgot one. Don't train a dog to lick and hump you when she's in heat. Knock some sense into her when she starts that and don't make yourself the dogs sex toy.

ha ha, can you tell I left work? No more being good for me.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Nicole Stark said:


> Oops Joby, you forgot one. Don't train a dog to lick and hump you when she's in heat. Knock some sense into her when she starts that and don't make yourself the dogs sex toy.
> 
> ha ha, can you tell I left work? No more being good for me.


got me there. but I wanted to get it on video..
man that sounded pretty bad didnt it...


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Aw sure, video is great for all kinds of things  I won't judge you for your dirty little secrets.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

its not a secret though, I posted it on youtube


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Joby Becker said:


> its not a secret though, I posted it on youtube


Seems to me I've found more than a few secrets on YouTube. Like that sex video that was on some guys page with the same last name as mine. I doubt he meant to make that public. Hell, now that I think about it maybe he did, there were other people in the room watching :-$


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

I have a go go drive one like the one mentioned. In the house, she is either tethered to me or in her crate. I wouldn't do the search game in the house--that's not an off switch. My go go drive is 16 months old and is just getting to the point of sitting or lying down when she is tethered on a 10-15 foot line. I'm not of the mindset of ever tiring them out or entertaining them. I think that just fuels the fire and expectation of constant activity. They have to learn to chill and control themselves. The crate and on a schedule helps with that. Nicole's place command is a good idea with marker training but it takes some time to stretch out duration. With Khyndra if she got noisy in her crate then I'd do obedience commands while she was in the crate. Even with it being obedience marked/rewarded, pretty soon she was quiet. Now the only time she gets noisy in her crate is if the cat goes zinging by. She's actually ready to start transitioning to loose time in one room with me. With the last go go drive dog, she was about 18 months old before the off switch finally kicked in.

T


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I never did get the thing about exercising them till they wear out. Your just going to build their endurance to the point that you fall over dead from exhaustion. 
HEY! I'm old ya know!


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> I never did get the thing about exercising them till they wear out. Your just going to build their endurance to the point that you fall over dead from exhaustion.
> *HEY! I'm old ya know!*


I agree bob


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> I never did get the thing about exercising them till they wear out. Your just going to build their endurance to the point that you fall over dead from exhaustion.
> HEY! I'm old ya know!


Yeah, Khyndra gets it from her mom, Shanty. Shanty's owner recently told me she paid some kid to run her for an hour before a herding trial before she ran HT. I did one trial at Whiskey Creek where I had her outi in Sandra's 9 acre pasture for over an hour. I was tired. At RottieEwe there is no place to run the dog. After getting up at 4 or 5 and driving 1.5 hours, the last thing I feel like doing is running a dog around. Going for a walk and throwing the toy a few times is fine but laps around the 9 acre pasture was a bit much. For the last trial weekend prep I was of the mindset that she is just going to have to cap herself. The only one tired with the tire out theory is me. Training now, we go into the arena and you work-----or I put you up if you have no self control. A couple of in and outs and she got it. I've raised Khyndra with her mom in mind. She has to control herself and learn that drive is for outside and chill is for inside. She goes out and she runs laps around the field and I wrestle and play with her and throw toys for her to retrieve. Back in the house--chill. 

T


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i use crates but have had a lot more luck teaching house manners by keeping the dog on lead 24/7 til they learn the "system" ... works great and doesn't create a velcro dog

for me a house should be like a big crate and only for chilling and relaxing; can't see how or why others play with their dogs inside (and i don't even have much of a yard)

my current house dog came without an "off" switch too ... big deal .... tiring out a dingo hybrid who could run all day long is impossible.....tiring his mind is pretty easy and gets the same results for me....glad they all have little brains ... so he killed two cats b4 i got him (i saw a pic of one) ... we have five in the house now and he ignores them and lets them do whatever they want including sleep next to him, so to me anything is possible if you put in the effort required
...yeah, it's just a brag, but nothing "magical" that anyone else couldn't do, so i have no patience with people who say it's "too hard" :-({|=


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## Jake Brandyberry (Jan 24, 2010)

Having an off switch is nothing but training. If you let thedog act like an ass in the house then guess what, that is how he is going to act. When I was a kid I couldn't run around the house acting like a maniac, that type of behavior was for outside. Why is it any different for a dog? Inside you are working/in control and outside is play time. My Mal knows that when we come inside he goes to his bed and stays there until I tell him to do something else. All training and the steps are easy.

Teach a down stay/place/bed/whatever you want to call it
Start with 100% supervision until the dog doesn't break once in a week
Start leaving the room but electronically supervise. The trick here is you have to be ready and catch them the first time they break. If you miss that first one the process is drastically longer.
When those short periods of absence are 100% for a week have the dog out overnight tethered.
Then leave for 10/15/30/45/1 hrs time.

If a dog can do an hour it can do 8. People seem to forget that what ever your dog does, you trained/allowed. Only one to blame is yourself.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Nicole Stark said:

Quote:

As far as I am concerned my house belongs to me not the dog therefore I control what happens when the dog is inside.

Unquote

This says it all. What more advice do people need?

How on earth do people drag up their offspring - are there no lessons to be learnt here???

If your children want to watch TV and it's their bedtime - do you switch off the TV and give marching orders or do you let the monsters get the better of you?

Authority works with children and pups / dogs but it has to be asserted,


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> I never did get the thing about exercising them till they wear out. Your just going to build their endurance to the point that you fall over dead from exhaustion.
> HEY! I'm old ya know!


I'm old but can still throw and ball or frisbee long enough to make a dog yell UNCLE.:smile:


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

rick smith said:


> i use crates but have had a lot more luck teaching house manners by keeping the dog on lead 24/7 til they learn the "system" ... works great and doesn't create a velcro dog ....


I almost forgot about drag lines. I usually make them out of old leashes, just cutting off the hand-loop.


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I almost forgot about drag lines. I usually make them out of old leashes, just cutting off the hand-loop.


 
I use 20-30 ft long lines. For the corgis, I basically just keep a foot on it. If I want them closer, I can use a 6 foot line but longer and they can move around the room.

T


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## Kristi Molina (Oct 1, 2012)

Thanks everyone! carrying food on me at all times and rewarding calm behavior helps. I will stop the "find it" in the house also. I am sure as sh matures, she'll naturally calm down a bit also.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

From the original post I would say you are overstimulating her.


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## Kristi Molina (Oct 1, 2012)

Matt Vandart said:


> From the original post I would say you are overstimulating her.


Interesting, I have thought that before also. I feel like she is easily over stimulated. Can you elaborate? What tends to overstimulate puppies? What do I need to do differently?


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

re: "What tends to overstimulate puppies? What do I need to do differently?"

maybe decrease duration of play sessions and add more simple OB in the sessions and mark/reinforce for holding positions ?? (aka : read the pups better b4 they overload)


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Indeed. Your dog NEEDS to kip, for health and learning.


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

Try just leaving her alone and letting her deal instead of thinking in terms of tiring her out.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

I follow that same train of thought T. I can't speak for others but it seems to me that the idea of needing to have a tired dog in order for it to be happy or settled tends to bypass something pretty fundamental. Course, I've had one dog in my lifetime that anyone here might consider a working dog so it could be that I am missing something fairly obvious and instead just got lucky with the little snipe I got.


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## Daniel Lybbert (Nov 23, 2010)

This is a crazy topic. If I had a puppy and it DIDNT tear and wreck every thing in its path I would send the thing back to the breeder. Its a puppy that is supposed to be high drive and always ready to work. 
IF you want a snuggly dog to sit at your feet or sleep in bed get a pug. This is theh reason people are breeding half ways no good content dogs.
Crate it up train it up and crate it again.


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## Kristi Molina (Oct 1, 2012)

Daniel Lybbert said:


> This is a crazy topic. If I had a puppy and it DIDNT tear and wreck every thing in its path I would send the thing back to the breeder. Its a puppy that is supposed to be high drive and always ready to work.
> IF you want a snuggly dog to sit at your feet or sleep in bed get a pug. This is theh reason people are breeding half ways no good content dogs.
> Crate it up train it up and crate it again.


I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting your dog to be able to chill inside. I don't think it's healthy for a dog to always feel "on." Yes, Ready to work WHEN there is work to be done. High drive or not, she's still my pet and I want to be able to enjoy her in all the ways I can. And i want her to enjoy her life with us also, not spend all of it in a crate or kennel. Many people have very high drive/high energy dogs that can and do come home and lay at their feet for the evening.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Daniel Lybbert said:


> This is a crazy topic. If I had a puppy and it DIDNT tear and wreck every thing in its path I would send the thing back to the breeder. Its a puppy that is supposed to be high drive and always ready to work.
> IF you want a snuggly dog to sit at your feet or sleep in bed get a pug. This is theh reason people are breeding half ways no good content dogs.
> Crate it up train it up and crate it again.


Daniel, it must be weird to see things only one way but evidently it suits you. I had a friend like you who believed nothing other than what he knew, this meant that nothing else was possible or true outside of that world of his. People like that are best left alone.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

This is a crazy topic. If I had a puppy and it DIDNT tear and wreck every thing in its path I would send the thing back to the breeder. Its a puppy that is supposed to be high drive and always ready to work.

If I had a handler like you I wouldn't give it a pup. Why should a pup tear and wreck everything in its path? Channel it's energy and you won't have a pup that destructs the whole household!!


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## Daniel Lybbert (Nov 23, 2010)

Ok sorry I take it back. Different strokes for differnt folks. I thought Id just put another spin on it. I like crazy dogs. I like crated dogs too. Easy guys Im not asking for a dog either so you dont need to worry abut me wanting one.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Yeah I get it. It's just that not one size fits all. It doesn't need to. 

The dutch is a nut, I like her. But I think if someone else had her they'd knock her around a little bit. I like the way she is, even when she's naughty but there's limits to that and my house is one of those places she is expected be under control. Keep in mind, she isn't a house dog. I keep this in mind too. I know what motivates her and she doesn't seem any less "Wasabi" from the times she gets to come on in.

Just my take. It doesn't matter. I just meant that everyone has different needs, time changes those needs, priorities do too.


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## Terrasita Cuffie (Jun 8, 2008)

You do what you need to have control on the sport field. Why should the house be any different. Crating or tethering them like those e-collars is a part of the training process. I expect an adult trained dog to run loose and be involved in all sorts of family life and be stable and controlled in public. I made a decision early on that there would not be any kennels in my life. Too easy to feed, water, clean and that's it. As Nicole said, different strokes for different folks and there are variable needs. I'm best when mine live with me and around me and that means house manners and the ability to deal in a multi-dog pack. Its also where you start to demand balance in drives, impeccable temperament and character. Crazy isn't conducive to house or family living. 

T


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