Hi mysticcat. It may be difficult to move your dog, as he now thinks he sleeps with his 'pack', at night. Is he now house trained? You can move the crate to the new location and leave the door open. Put him in for short periods of time. For a while, you may have to drag it back to your room at night, until he is comfortable in the crate, in the new location. If he is house trained, he will be very happy to sleep in your room. If you don't want him in your room, the gradual move will be easier for him. He is used to the sounds of your breathing and moving and might feel lonely or afraid, when first moved to a new spot.

Thanks for the ideas. He is definitely housetrained, but he simply cannot be loose in the house unsupervised. There's simply no telling what he would eat or get into -- he's a mischievous thing who will always find something to get into. :D

Since the crate we're using is borrowed and we may have to return it at some point and get our own, I actually thought about having 2 crates for a while, letting him get used to the idea of the new one while the old one is still there and transitioning him over, but I didn't know if that would confuse more than help.

MC, we crate-trained our dog, moved her, changed her room, and we found that as long as she still had her crate, she was fine wherever we put her. Just keep her same blanket or whatever you have in there and once she's in and the door's closed, she'll adjust. (or he, sorry) If you're going to switch to a different crate altogether, maybe do that before you move him out of the bedroom. Get the new crate, let him sleep in it in your room like he's used to, then eventually move the new crate out of the room to wherever you want him to be. You could put the old crate in the other room where you want him to end up to try him out in there, but I would probably just get rid of it and only use the new crate in the bedroom to make sure he gets used to it. Once he knows that crate is 'his', he'll probably be fine wherever you put him (even if it takes a night or two, puppies usually adjust much more quickly than older dogs).

^^^ Thanks!

Too bad I can't take him on TAR with us! :D

LOL. Yeah, just think of all those cargo holds he'd have to travel in. :( But we could use him to jump on the competition and distract them or to eat their clues! ("but, but Phil, their dog ate my Detour!")

LOL. Casey would be more than happy to eat the competition's clues for us. And their socks for good measure. :D

Heartgard is ivermectin which has been used for a once a month heartworm prevention for decades. Heartgard Plus is ivermectin plus pyrantel. The pyrantel protects dogs from picking up new infestations of roundworms and hookworms, but some dogs are more sensitive to ivermectin than other dogs, which is why I wouldn't recommend Heartgard. Probably the best one to use would be Revolution. It's the most expensive of the heartworm/flea/tick combo meds, but it's less expensive than buying separate products to protect against heartworms, fleas and ticks. Another good thing about it is, it's applied to the dogs skin rather than given by mouth. It still has to be used once a month like the pills in order to prevent heartworm infestation though. Unfortunately Revolution does not kill deer ticks. Another good one to use is Sentinel, which is a flea growth regulator. It's like a flea birth control. It doesn't stop the biting or adult fleas, but it does prevent the eggs from developing into adult fleas.

I don't have pets but one of my roommates does and its possible for them to co exisist with cats. esp,if hes a puppy he doesn't know any better.

Her dog and cat get along. He just plays rough with everyone from time to time...

LOCK ALL OF YOUR GOOD SHOES AWAY.. OR VALUABLES FOR THAT MATTER. THEY CHEW when their teething.

reading the veterinary boards, it seems that some vets have noted failure of revolution to prevent heartworms in dogs (according to one vet it may be an absorption problem with dogs skin, seems to work ok in cats). I would use something else especially if you are in an area with lots of mosquitoes like Texas or Louisiana. The puppy in the picture does not look like a collie type so heartgard should be ok but again check with your veterinarian. If your dog is on revolution and gets heartworms, Pfizer should cover the treatment. If your vet wants to know my source of info tell he or she to look on VIN.

A very good piece of information! I have a boxer, she is now 8 years old, but as any other boxer owner can tell you, they still act like puppies until they die! She still has a shoe fetish! She loves to chew them up or just drag her them to her bed for toys. She also enjoys pairs of sunglasses; she will also carry these around with her. I swear I should have named her Carrie from Sex in the City instead of Faith!


As for the crate training, it is must for labs! A friend of mine trains them for a local service dog organization, and she insists on crate training them. The only other option besides coming home all the time is training them to go inside which is what we taught my dog. She HATED her crate, she cried all night as she likes to sleep with the family. We used to gate off part of the house and let her stay in there when we left and she would pee on some old newspapers we had set out if she had to. Much cheaper than doggie pads!

Exercise is a must for a big dog. Either like him run around and play with him in the yard for some time every day or make sure to walk him at least once a day.

Also, I have found the "Dog Whisper" on the National Geographic very helpful.

Hi Theatagirl 218. I think you are so on target concerning the 'Dog Whisperer'. I have attended training clinics and have been training dogs forever, but Ceasar Malon (sp?) seems to be very in touch with how the dog is feeling and the best way to help the dog understand what you are asking of him. I don't think anyone (ok, someone could, lol) could go wrong following the detailed instructions in his book.