Kennel "Cujo" Syndrome

[Cheryl T]

Our 2.5 year old male nutered doxie has been giving us some grief when we return home from work. He has been kennel trained since he was 4 months old and never had any problems until about a month ago. We can go out during the day time for any period of time and he goes in the kennel and will come out with no problems. It's when we work at night (2-3 nights a week) he usually is in there from 8:00 pm - 2:00 am, when we come home and open the door to his kennel to let him go outside to do his thing he has been going "Cujo" with growling, showing his front teeth and refusing to come out. He always sleeps with us on our bed, and if he comes out he gets timid and shakes and if you try to pick him up he squirts pee all over. I don't know if he's "******" at us for when we go to work or if this is some sort of mental game he is playing. This has only started in the last month. We have a 5 year doxie who is also kennel trained and we have no problems with him, he loves his "house" as we call it.
thanks for any help.

Cheryl T.:angry: :flush:

[blazeman]

Hey Cheryl T!

First... Welcome to the DBB!

Second... sounds like he is doing some submissive stuff if he has to go into his house at night. Do you let him out right away when you get home?

There will be many other members who can help! That is what we are here for!

[Mark]

Hi Cheryl, Cujo :D (?) and other pupper :waving: As Bob says, Welcome to DBB! :wave:

I guess we have more questions than answers right now. Have there been any changes. I mean ANY changes . . . schedule, location of crates, direction the crate faces, furniture arrangement, number of people/animals in the house, difference in routine, difference in the way he is greeted, . . . you get the idea. All these things can result in a Dachsie behaving differently. The peeing *may* be submissive . . . if so, ignoring him for a while once home will be helpful . . . as well as, no sing-songy baby talk greetings (which we all do) . . . :D

Anyway . . . enjoy DBB . . . feel free to :jacks: jump :jacks: in anywhere and you'll soon be another important DBB family member. :)

[Cheryl T]

His name is actually Dexter(we just nicknamed him Cujo) and our 5 yr old is Buster. We moved in February but he was fine for a while when we moved to this house. Nothing has really changed that I can think of in the last month except that he went to the vet. He was fine at the vet though, a little scared, as expected, but I don't think that would have anything to do with being in his house at night.

I think maybe he wants attention when we come home or he needs to be disciplined. He has never been spanked and I think he thinks he owns the house? I would like to discipline him but when you go to touch him he lets off a stream of pee. I could leave him in the kennel and just go to bed but he wakes up in the morning and cries and then I get up and let him out and he is fine. I don't know what is going through his little head. But he's so cute!!!!

Cheryl T

[Mark]

Unless there are alpha problems, not easily detected . . . we're stumped. You might try opening the crate and walking away to let him come out on his own without the growling or being touched.

Hopefully one of the members have some better insight in to this problem. In any case . . . good luck and please keep us posted on any progress or developmemnts. :)

[LisaH]

I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but I certainly wouldn't call it a discipline problem. The peeing, as others have said, is a sign of submissiveness. He sounds frightened of something. It's possible something happened (a strange noise, for example) during one of your work nights that got him freaked out. Whatever you do, though, don't hit him. If he's frightened already, this will only make it much worse.

I think it's best to avoid a confrontation over his behavior. I would suggest offering him a nice treat when you let him out of the crate at 2 a.m., so he'll associate your coming home and letting him out with something pleasant. Maybe you could try playing talk radio near his crate when he's in there so that he hears a nice low murmur of voices. It may make him feel more secure and mask any other noises he's hearing.

LisaH and Annie

[doxunzX3]

Welcome to our little doxie groupies!!! :D

Gee I wish I could tell you what to do. :book: I don't know were to check in any books or maybe some behavioral trainers. I agree with Lisa that im might be a problem with sounds or something he isn't familiar with. Also I agree with maybe changing your behavior when you walk into the room and let him out. Your body language or voice can be giving him some signals or :afraid: reasons why he is afraid. It might not even be anything that is an on going situation. Dogs remember something happen once and then they don't realise it isn't going to happen again.
I had a dog that we ended up putting his crate right at the back door. When we walked in the room, we didn't talk to him directly or do any eye contact. Just opened the back door so he could go right outside. I did talk to the other dogs, he eventually forgot about being afraid and ended up adjusting to my household. He was a rescue std. Poodle. He was afraid of alot of things but he also had someone that hated him that was left alone aolt to take charge of his care. Thank God that the wife got smart and was willing to give up the dog. Lucky for me too! He was such a great dog.
Hopefully someone else can have more insight or suggestions. Good Luck!

[Heide]

the Best doxie board ever!:bounce:
We are all family here.
I agree with Lisa.
I would ignore him and make no eye contact for a little bit when you first come in. Just open the crate door. It seems as if something has happened somewhere that has the baby spooked.:eek:
It may of happened when you all were not home.
Its not a discipline problem.. something is wrong.
Hope it gets better soon
Heide

[dutchman]

I haven't posted before because I'm not really sure what to suggest. I would consider looking for a behaviorist in your area. If you can't locate one on your own try asking your vet or contacting a local kennel club for ideas. If no behavorist are available in your area a good trainer would be another option.

Good luck,

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner and Dexter)

[willsana]

Has there been any severe weather while you were away? My two males (not doxies) are terrrified of thunder. ( the little doxie girl couldn't care less!) One of the males has a terrible time with it. If he even THINKS it might thunder her gets all worked up.

Good luck with the little guy. I feel bad he is having such a rough time with....something. -willsana

PS - Keep us posted.

[Otto'sMom]

Hello and welcome too.

Did you have anyone take care of your pups when you went to work at night? I read in one of my many behavior books about a woman who couldn't figure out why her little Yorkie was so terrified in her kennel. Turned out the housekeeper HATED the dog and would smack the kennel every time she went past it. Maybe that vet=kennel=bad crabby memory at night.
Maybe he's ticked that you woke him up at 2 AM.
Maybe you're a little scary coming in late at night. Usually night intrusion is a bad thing for the dog. I know my Dolly girl freaks a little bit when startled.
Maybe your pup is bitter at being in the kennel at night when he is supposed to be protecting the house.
Maybe I'm projecting human attributes onto your pups.....sorry. I'm just used to looking at my dogs as little fur people, except better than people.
I think the suggestions of just opening the kennel and ignoring him would work the best. No fussing just open and step away from the kennel. Heck, even take the kennel out in the back yard for pottying purposes, unless your yard isn't fenced in.
Please keep us updated.