The Crate Escape

Crate Training

Sometimes it is too much.  Sometimes he is crazy.  It's as simple as that.  He is a dog after all.  And, while realizing that he can't help it, sometimes I'm just not in the mood to put up with it.  The safety net:  The Crate Escape.

Today was rainy.  I had some audio editing to finish up.  I like editing, but it's tedious.  Buster is a good distraction requiring a break every 90 minutes or so...Unless I just need another twenty minutes to be done and HE can't wait.  

That's what happened to day.  I took a break and gave him a walk.  It was wet and we could not go far.  I brought him back to the office and played ball with him.  Then played rope.  Then did a little training.  He was still antsy as, what's the saying, "a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs".

I managed to get the last few minutes of work done - barely - between him pulling down my coat, nibbling on the cabinet, chair and three-hole punch.  I kept him occupied while I shut the computers down, packed up my stuff for the weekend and got ready to leave.

Maybe it's the weather that makes him crazy, maybe it's just the time of day.  He has been heeling decently most of the week, but with my arms full of camera and briefcase, trying to negotiate the puddles he was all over the place.  Heaven forbid a stick or leaf go un-sniffed.  Once in the truck - boom - out like a light. 

At home he is in the able paws of Rusty.  She is ready to play.  She doesn't like it when he grabs hold of her tail, but other than that they wear each other out.  You can see his tenacity when they are playing.

Then there is the crate.  Generally we just use it at night, but during  pleas of temporary insanity, we use it for time outs.  Sometimes he barks for awhile when we put him in there, but the result so far has been the same - Ranae, Rusty, the cats, and I feel this wonderful sense of calm.  When he gets too crazy it's Cool Hand Luke time.  I think it was Dub Taylor in the movie who I mimic by saying, "We're gonna get your mind right.  You bark once and it's 15 minutes in the hole.  You chase a cat and it's an hour."  He never says in there as long as the warden orders. He always gets out for good behavior.  Buster has never seen the movie.  We'll have to rent it for him one day.  Maybe it will help my impersonation.  Maybe it'll just help him get his mind right,