Crate Question

[Animelover955]

Ok well this might be more for Gabby, but anyones welcome to chime in...

I heard back from the lady at Sirius and she wanted me to answer a few questions and we're talking over everything through e-mail as of right now...

Ok so now that I'm officially headed towards agility classes and trialing(maybe next year) I have a zillion questions I want/need to ask. My first is crate related.

I'm planning on buying a soft crate at some point before classes start as it'd be tons easier than setting up her wire crate, plus that's temporarily being used by some family friend for their new puppy. So won't work very well.

Anyway my question isn't about what crate to buy, but...

For classes they want our dogs to be able to stay quietly in their crates at certain times when we are learning. Abby's fine with her crate, but I've noticed that say when we put her in her crate when people arrive she barks and barks to get out. So I'm worried that in the class enviorment where there are new sights and new smells she'll be over stimulated and just bark her head off. I know she probably won't be the only dog barking, but still would there be anyway to make sure she stays calm and doesn't go crazy?

My friend brought up a valid point that it is a beginners class so the instructor should be expecting the dogs to bark, but still I'm curious

I was thinking maybe brining along something like a kong to keep her occupied, but not sure if I can and even if I do there' a high chance she'll ignore it because she does that whenever I give her one and walk out the room

I plan to also bring it up when the lady e-mails me back and ask her about it  

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

Practice - at home, at a park, even in a parking lot (near the store entrance but far enough away that you won't be in the way).

Especially if you can go somewhere there'll be other dogs, as well.

Give her little treats as she waits quiety, but the big reward will be when you let her out (practice having her come out calmly).  

[Azusanga]

I was thinking some calming hormones the first few times to help keep her calm until she gets more used to the noises and sounds. See if you can bring her in before you start training, so she'll get used to some faces and people and the facility before the time comes.  

[Animelover955]

Thanks for the advice. I think it will be a bit hard shaping the silence because she only ever seems to bark when we put her in there when people come over and say she's frustrated when no one pays attention and that's when the barking starts up.but I'll still try and see what I can do...

I'll look into the calming aids. I know I've been planning to buy something like rescue remedy for her Storm issues etc, but if I can afford it I may go ahead and pick some up before classes. And I'll talk with the Facility instructor and maybe we can sit in on one of their current classes