i owe responses || doggy separation anxiety /sigh. - Comments

I've got a pup and I'm crate training him, and he's doing rather well What I do is always put him in there to sleep, whether it's a nap or for the night. I also put a towel over it, so he knows it's time to go to sleep. And I always have the crate where I am (i.e. bedroom, lounge) so it's not a punishment. Never make crating a punishment, and always give treats and reward her for being (quietly) in there.

I would try, if I were you, putting her in, shutting the door, and leaving the room. After a minute I'd go back (only if she's not whining/barking) and reward her with a treat and let her out. And repeat daily, and over a week or so I'd slowly increase the time I'm away for. This may not be possible if you have to leave for an hour or two to run errands, so give her a good treat for when she's in there, such as her favourite chew toy or a pig's ear, something that will keep her occupied the whole time. As long as the crate is the right size and comfortable, I don't see why she won't warm up to it again with a bit of encouragement

I just read up a bit on crating a dog. I just found the concept really odd because I've never heard of it before. Where I live, at least, dogs are only in crates if they're in a pet store/breeder's place or at the pound.

Maybe this will help?

Our dog wouldn't take a crate well at all. She has major trouble walking about certain parts of the house and has to walk certain ways and directions to get to the places that she's comfortable in. There's nothing in the world that would change that. I think she'd starve to death if her food was past the invisible lines she won't cross. It's just a thing she has.

I think it depends a lot on the breed and on the individual dog as to whether they'll get too clingy. I mean, my dog barely knows what "sit" means and she barks too damn much and we let her sleep on the couch and such, things we shouldn't let a dog do, but she's okay. When we're out she doesn't bark or chew and such because she's just not that kind of dog. When we get back, she can get excited. But that's not 'bad' behaviour for us.
I wouldn't worry about it unless a behaviour is starting to occur that you don't like. Then, stamp it out quick.

@ Join the Masquerade
I haven't been putting her in a crate really at all; that's my problem, actually. She's used to being crated; she used to love her crate. That changed after the trauma of being shipped cross-country, which I get.

I don't want to crate her often, just when I'm away, so she doesn't get into things she shouldn't, or, more importantly right now: run or jump or do anything to pull her stitches. But yeah, I only want her to be crated for the times when I'm in classes or out running errands.

And thanks for the advise. Yeah, she's definitely not going to be treated like my baby or anything. She's Schutzhund trained and we are definitely going to continue doing training, she just can't do it right now, and I'm worried about her getting her job in the family confused because of that... If that makes sense?

I don't understand. Why are you putting your dog in a crate so often?

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Also, how do you make sure you don't let your dog get over attached to you?

I've done some reading up on this recently because my sister wants to get a little toy dog and I don't want it to be yapping every time she leaves the house. Everywhere I read just explained to simply treat your dog like it is a dog. It's not a baby. It's not a child. It's not the leader of a pack of humans. You have to have boundaries and stick to them. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a cuddle every now and then :3