My dogs are crated when I am not home. They love their crates and do not fight going in them. I have had a young puppy grab the end of a toilet paper roll and then run through the house
Sachi goes in her crate but more than a couple of hours in it becomes destructive on it. Locked in a dig friendly room she hasn't done anything other than accidentally strip my cell charging wire. It got caught.
I work an 8.5 hour day and she is fine no noise complaints or destruction out of crate (but I have an atypical case) crated she does a coyote yip 5 min in will start howling around the 5-6 hour mark and will whine when hearing any unseeable noise. My former roommates were so kind to inform me every time it happened.
I left mine at boarding last week, and Mika at the lady's couch. It's a goner. Mika also swallowed a bottle of Rimadyl and had to get her stomach pumped. I usually crate her.
Koda has always been left out of a crate. He's just a darn good dog, and the Prince would never have destroyed anything. He got my trust really quick and deserved it.
Did your guys's dogs that are destructive when bored or when left alone show a destructive tendency when they were pups and did the ones that are well behaved now not show a destructive side to them when they were pups?
One time, we found Hana had shredded my receipts, and a couple times Hana was happily shredding paper towels/tissue paper while we were all chilling on the couch. Generally, we don't crate her unless she's REALLY stressed from outside noise. I work 8 hours, but my commute makes it about 10 hours away from home. My husband is usually home, but sometimes he has to go out for work, and is usually home early. Sometimes if he's out working late, we coordinate so I can go home a little earlier so she's home alone for only 8 hours, but for that time, we let her wander around in the living room, and as long as there are no papers to shred, she is fine.
@AndrewT1993 Wanting to be with you and having separation anxiety are very different things. Our Kai does better about us leaving than our Shikoku does. We leave them (when we're gone) for about 5-6 hours.
Mika only shreds little things at our house, like toilet paper a dvd once, shoes, etc. Your typical puppy stuff, and she's pretty much out of that phase at 8 1/2 mos. old.
It's when she's at other homes that she does the serious stuff. It's kind've like she just wants to have fun and doesn't think there are any rules there like at home.
We have crate trained our Kai as well, and Mirra was too as a pup to appr 2yrs of age. I highly recommend the crate training. It eases so much stress on dog and owner.
When we are all gone from the house we crate the Kai and Mirra gets the run of the house - actually just the other day (my husband works graves so sleeps during day) I forgot to open the bedroom door and left to go get our daughter from preschool - I don't crate them if he's home sleeping - anyway, I guess they thought they were alone with the door shut and all and took one of my hiking shoes and gently chewed on the pull tab on back. That was all though. Nothing else had been touched - I think it was a hint... lol Otherwise, they didn't do the naughties I would normally expect - Oh! I better not forget to mention that socks are never safe in our house... so those will fall prey to our Kai if not taken care of.. lol I've lost 3 socks so far to the great outdoors only to find them being the center of a tug-o-war battle!!! For some reason they LOOOVE our socks!!!
Our Kai have been really good at letting US know when they are ready to be trusted outside the crate, starting with night times. I think just because of their value to us and where we live that we will probably always crate them if we are all gone from the home.
I've only ever had separation anxiety from dogs we adopted that were older. The pups seem to have our (crazy) routine down pretty good and go with it. They always get a treat for going in the kennel when we leave, no matter how old they are, Mirra still gets a treat too even though not in a kennel, and they always get a good "hello" with pets and hugs and let outside right away when we return. It's part of life, we expect that they should go with it, we don't make a big deal of it... I think they pick up on that as well.
I think that sums up (for the most part) how we deal with leaving home... )
Absolutely agree with @cdenney - I don't think they are more prone than any other breed that I've had - but our dogs get plenty of exercise as well as mental stimuli.
Kitora seems to get a little more bored than any of our other dogs, she is also more drivey and has a higher prey instinct. If she starts gnawing on a chew toy intently - we take that as a key that what we've done today wasn't enough and we go play fetch or do an individual training session with her - "something" for a bit, that usually takes care of it for her.
Our dynamics in our pack are really great - we love how at the end of the day everyone is ready to rack out (typically 7-8pm) no one is interested in playtime anymore, everyone just wants to find their spot and chill.
I read somewhere that the Kai was bred to be a hunter and also a companion, because of the environment where they were developed. Inside they are very good dogs, loving, affectionate etc etc... but outside they are ready to work and are ready to DO something! We find that true with our two.
My dogs thrive on a routine. They are use to be left alone Monday through Friday for up to 12 hours a day. They are left for 12 hours only if we are working overtime. All my dogs happily get in their crates in the morning. They are given special treats for going in their crates. They pretty much sleep while I am gone. My neighbors say the dogs are quiet all day unless there is any loud banging or noises. I also leave a radio playing softly so most minor noises the dogs do not hear. Once I get home we usually go for a nice long walk, or I take them for a bike ride. When Ritsu arrived he had some minor separation anxiety. Part of that was due to being in a new home. He quickly adjusted to the routine and is thriving now. I start all my dogs out with crate training. Each one has their own crate and bed. It is their "den" and they feel safe there. Tora and Kuma could easily be left loose all day, but they do not object to going in their crate. I think it almost takes the pressure off of them. No need to be on watch and protect the house while I am gone. Any destructive behavior has been from puppies and always during their adjustment period.
I prefer smaller crates. The dog should be able to stand up, turn around, get comfortable, lie down, and stretch out.... but not have loads of space above its head or enough room to pace around and make a ruckus. One of my dogs learned to pace back and forth dragging her collar ID tag against the bars and that was the end of that!
For my smaller Akita girls (Gojira and Mosura) we had 36" x 23" x 23" Intermediate crate. For the bigger dogs (Ghidora and Bijo) we have the 42" x 28" x 30" Large crate. And for my American Akita (Gryphon) we have the 48" x 30" x 33" Extra Large crate -- which is too big by my new standard but she's had it her whole life and never been obnoxious in it.
Ghidora CAN fit in the Intermediate crate and likes to crawl in there to sulk when its time for bed. Silly boy.
I got an adult one with Mika. I made the mistake of getting a smaller one for Koda, and it lasted a couple of months. It wasn't worth it. I find that Kais will not soil their crates, even if they are large. Just make sure that your breeder starts potty training.
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Koda has always been left out of a crate. He's just a darn good dog, and the Prince would never have destroyed anything. He got my trust really quick and deserved it.
It's when she's at other homes that she does the serious stuff. It's kind've like she just wants to have fun and doesn't think there are any rules there like at home.
I highly recommend the crate training. It eases so much stress on dog and owner.
When we are all gone from the house we crate the Kai and Mirra gets the run of the house - actually just the other day (my husband works graves so sleeps during day) I forgot to open the bedroom door and left to go get our daughter from preschool - I don't crate them if he's home sleeping - anyway, I guess they thought they were alone with the door shut and all and took one of my hiking shoes and gently chewed on the pull tab on back. That was all though. Nothing else had been touched - I think it was a hint... lol Otherwise, they didn't do the naughties I would normally expect - Oh! I better not forget to mention that socks are never safe in our house... so those will fall prey to our Kai if not taken care of.. lol I've lost 3 socks so far to the great outdoors only to find them being the center of a tug-o-war battle!!! For some reason they LOOOVE our socks!!!
Our Kai have been really good at letting US know when they are ready to be trusted outside the crate, starting with night times. I think just because of their value to us and where we live that we will probably always crate them if we are all gone from the home.
I've only ever had separation anxiety from dogs we adopted that were older. The pups seem to have our (crazy) routine down pretty good and go with it. They always get a treat for going in the kennel when we leave, no matter how old they are, Mirra still gets a treat too even though not in a kennel, and they always get a good "hello" with pets and hugs and let outside right away when we return. It's part of life, we expect that they should go with it, we don't make a big deal of it... I think they pick up on that as well.
I think that sums up (for the most part) how we deal with leaving home...
Kitora seems to get a little more bored than any of our other dogs, she is also more drivey and has a higher prey instinct. If she starts gnawing on a chew toy intently - we take that as a key that what we've done today wasn't enough and we go play fetch or do an individual training session with her - "something" for a bit, that usually takes care of it for her.
Our dynamics in our pack are really great - we love how at the end of the day everyone is ready to rack out (typically 7-8pm) no one is interested in playtime anymore, everyone just wants to find their spot and chill.
I read somewhere that the Kai was bred to be a hunter and also a companion, because of the environment where they were developed. Inside they are very good dogs, loving, affectionate etc etc... but outside they are ready to work and are ready to DO something! We find that true with our two.
For my smaller Akita girls (Gojira and Mosura) we had 36" x 23" x 23" Intermediate crate. For the bigger dogs (Ghidora and Bijo) we have the 42" x 28" x 30" Large crate. And for my American Akita (Gryphon) we have the 48" x 30" x 33" Extra Large crate -- which is too big by my new standard but she's had it her whole life and never been obnoxious in it.
Ghidora CAN fit in the Intermediate crate and likes to crawl in there to sulk when its time for bed. Silly boy.
http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Life-Stages-Dog-Crate/dp/B0002AT3M4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357776852&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+crate