Crate Training

Too often I hear all the reasons why people do not want to crate train their dogs. I see where they might be coming from, but please see it from my perspective.
As if our family hasn't had enough drama the last two weeks, Saturday night we had to take Nigel (my Skinny Brown Dog) to the emergency room. He couldn't urinate and was frantically running around trying only to produce a few drops. We were afraid he might have a blockage so off we went to the ER. It turns out that he did in fact have bladder stones and one ended up lodged in his urethra. They put a catheter in him and he had to stay at the vet overnight and wait to have surgery.
Nigel started his crate training when he was 10 weeks old. He was in his crate when left unattended until he was about 18 months old (he is now five years old). Over the years I have randomly put him in his crate just to keep up with his training. All of this work paid off for us this weekend. Nigel had never spent the night at the vet and he was totally stressed out by everything that was going on. Thankfully, he is crate trained so he went right into his cage at the vet and laid down and got comfortable. Imagine if Nigel was NOT crate trained? Imagine if this traumatic experience was compounded with him being put in a cage for the first time? Why would ANYONE want that for their dog? Not to mention the stress of having to be confined to a crate at home for the week(s) of recovery.
I always always always stress the importance of crate training. It not only keeps your puppy safe while they are learning what's appropriate to chew on and help with potty training, it helps if and when your dog might have to stay overnight at the vet's office.
Nigel is home safe (in his crate) recovering from his bladder surgery and the only thing stressing him out is that darn Elizabethan collar.

Update

The reaction from friends, family, co workers and random strangers has been interesting to say the least. I am shocked at how many people basically called me stupid for getting involved in a dog fight or don't understand how I "let this happen". If they only truly understood the situation, that I was completely trapped, scared and helpless, they might have a little more sympathy but apparently dog trainers are expected to be perfect and have perfect dogs. Maybe they should take into consideration that I have only lived with these Saint Bernards for one year and in that year I spent nearly four of those months in a relapse with my MS plus had to have two rounds of Solumedrol infusions which have their own set of side effects. We also planned our wedding, got married and I got a new job. All of these things are exhausting for a person with MS which leaves no extra energy for training dogs. Yes, I have Multiple Sclerosis. No, I don't use it as an excuse but it is the reason that I can no longer walk dogs or teach obedience classes.
This event was extremely traumatic for me. It has changed me and broken my confidence a bit. If you want to sit back and judge me for having imperfect dogs or for doing my best to stop a horrific, unexpected incident, so be it. To the people who have been sending kind words, prayers, love and cookies (thank you Tammy!), we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are not only dealing with me trying to heal my body and spirit, but we are facing what could be a very difficult decision with our beloved pet.

Proof of Bite Inhibition

***WARNING***GRAPHIC PICTURES BELOW***

This morning as I was getting ready for work, two of our dogs got into a fight while coming in from the backyard. My American Pit Bull Terrier Enzo and one of my husband's Saint Bernards. I heard a couple of low growls and then it was on. It happened so fast and in the hallway that they go through all the time. The Big Blending Project has been going very well and this was the worst fight yet (we've had a few squabbles, but no real fights). As you may or may not know, I have Multiple Sclerosis and am not very strong and my husband was already out of the house. I have broken up probably a hundred dog fights through my various dog jobs so I'm pretty experienced and confident (and I've never been injured in the process). The problem with the Saints is that they are litter mates so when one gets into trouble, the other comes to help. Well, Rufus and Enzo were going at it (lots of noise, very little contact) and Bruno comes to help and is pushing his way through Rufus so I have 275lbs of Saint pushing toward a 60lb APBT (all in a narrow hallway so I have no option as to how to go at them and they have me pinned against the wall/corner). I was screaming and pushing them back but they would not stop. In the process, Enzo bit my arm and while I continued to try to pull them apart, Rufus escalated and bit my arm as well. The bite from Rufus sunk into me deep and it burned like fire. I finally got them to stop, separated them and surveyed the damage to my body. I had a huge chunk out of my forearm (I was actually missing some flesh), a puncture on the bottom side of my forearm and two punctures in my left leg (I was wearing my robe while all of this was happening so I was quite vulnerable). I immediately called my husband who hurried home, helped me get dressed and took me to the hospital.
I am always always always talking about Bite Inhibition to anyone who owns a dog. Most "civilians" don't know the term or have any idea how to teach it. Dr. Ian Dunbar always says you don't know if a dog has bite inhibition until it bites you which is why I try to make dogs bite me when I assess them for the rescues I volunteer with. Yes, I am a little crazy, but one of the main reasons that I adopted Enzo as an adult was because I was 90% sure he had great bite inhibition. Today I learned that I was correct in my assessment. In the heat of the moment, in the worst fight I have ever seen my dog in, he bit me and barely left a scratch. This first picture is of where Enzo bit me (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them):

If you can see the red dot on my wrist, that's where his tooth hit me and nicked the skin. It feels like I may end up having a bruise there, but no major damage.
The pictures that follow are of my arm and leg where Rufus bit me.

This is right after it happened:


This is my inner left thigh where Rufus bit me (the lower puncture is super deep):


This is at the hospital after they cleaned up my arm a little:


The under side of my arm:


They managed to pull the skin together and stitch closed the worst one and I got one stitch in my leg. They used tape/glue on the under side of my arm because I was not handling being stitched up very well. The only thing that I have experienced that was more horrible than receiving these stitches was having a spinal tap.


And it all happened in this narrow hallway (so my options were limited as to what I could do):




BITE INHIBITION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN EVER TEACH YOUR DOG!!!!! There is a small window when dogs are puppies to teach them so DO IT!! It is nearly impossible to change their bite inhibition when they are adults. Get Dr. Dunbar's book "After You Get Your Puppy" to learn more about teaching Bite Inhibition. Click the link to download the book for free. It's FREE so read it and share it with others. Bite Inhibition should be a term known by all dog owners. Learn it and teach it to others.