The relationships I have with my Icelandic Sheepdogs are complicated. We exhibit a wide range of perfectly legitimate feelings towards one another but we are, for the most part, living together in balanced and happy and peaceful symbiotic relationships.
Having Icelandic Sheepdog puppies, which I normally do once a year, complicates things for all of us here. It throws the balance off.
Dogs and humans are both social pack animals and that explains, perhaps, why we get on so well together and have done so for maybe 35,000 - 40,000 years according to the latest scientific studies. We get them, we understand them; and they get us. They read us and we read them.
Two committed humans living together almost certainly have mutually beneficial lives most of the time or we wouldn't do it. The same thing can be said of our relationships with our pets.
Once we have bonded with another human or with our canine companions, and vice versa, the bonds are strong. We accept one another warts and all.
From the moment, literally, that my puppies are born, my endorphins bond me to them. I watch them grow and become increasingly independent. I learn to recognize them as individuals each with his or her own temperament (personality).
One is a little more assertive; another more shy. One is eagerly exploring his environment, another needs me for security and comfort before she feels more sure of her self and safer. One does not play with toys, another cannot get enough of them. One will almost from the beginning do a 'fetch' and bring the objects back to me. Another full sibling will run out to the tossed toy and turn around and stare at me wondering what to do next. One will show incipient herding behaviors and another will just not ever get it. They are like children born to the same two parents, similar in some ways but different, unique in others.
I love them all rather unconditionally, I'm afraid, and that is why it is hard for me to let them go. But go they must.
I try to prepare them for their new lives with their new families. I want them not to suffer from separation anxiety when they leave the comfort of familiar surroundings. I urge and, quite honestly, plead with the new families to give their puppies the best possible start in their new lives only because I know what they are each capable of becoming. I talk about the importance of diet, some exercise, schooling, exploring their environments, vet visits, etc. and hope.
I find the very best families I can for my puppies and I know, I really know they all end up in great homes or I would not send them out into the world. I know, it's inevitable, that I will hear less and less about my pups as they get older and that's almost surely a good thing. It means they and their new families are doing well.
But I do have separation anxiety, as do the pups, and I also recognize that that is a good thing as well. (The puppy mills that keep their adult dogs in cages like rabbits and breed puppies for pet stores every time a female comes into season almost certainly do not have feelings for their adults nor for their puppies. Enough said.)
Puppies have separation anxiety. The puppies that leave my home were members of a pack here. They, as they got older, had more and more supervised contact with the other dogs in my home. Their mother was teaching them dog lessons as they got older. With one another, they play-fought, at first rather roughly and later, as they learned the canine rules of engagement, with more control and less aggression. They learned to moderate their behavior.
Their new homes are different from what they were used to.
I know because my new owners tell me, that the pups are doing extremely well. They are all very intelligent; they learn things quickly. They are all wonderful ambassadors for the breed; they love meeting people, dogs, and other animals. They are captivating.
However, there are also times when the puppies are alone. Because they are pack animals; because their earliest days were in a pack of adult dogs; because they got lots of human contact (with freshly cleaned hands) from the very beginning; because they had litter siblings that they had to learn to get along with; because they were adopted by an extended family that included more than one human and other animals; they have rarely been alone, truly alone.
However, they must learn that there will be times when they will have to be alone. You cannot be with them 24/7.
My puppies leave their birth home knowing that a crate is a safe place to be. It can be a retreat from the annoying play-time of siblings with slightly different sleep/wake schedules. Years ago one of my buyers told me that she expected the puppy she bought from me at eight weeks to be crate trained. Really? At eight weeks? She expected to be able to leave her puppy all day long in a crate by herself? At eight weeks? Silly and outrageous! I took that puppy back the very next weekend and found a better, more understanding home in Florida for that puppy.
A crate, in my opinion, should always be a safe place for a puppy or an adult dog.
Here's Kata in a crate in my bedroom watching me type. There is no screen in the door of this crate.
When I travel in my car with a dog, it is in its crate to protect it in case of an accident. Accidents are not done on purpose; you never know when one could happen. (Please do not text and drive. I don't even like to see people talking on phones when they drive.) If you are involved in an accident and are disoriented or unconscious, a rescuer may open your door to help you. Your unprotected dog, having survived the accident, may rush out into traffic terrorized by the experience and be killed or injured by another vehicle. Please be proactive with your dog; protect it.
I always have two or three crates in my home and often find one or more of my dogs sleeping in one of the open-doored crates - like Kata above.
People often ask how to get their puppy/dog used to being in a crate. What they may really be wondering about is how do I get the puppy used to being alone. That's a pretty existential question, isn't it? Someone once told me years ago that all of life is preparation for being alone. Deep, eh?
I have several suggestions, for your dog at least. Find a way that works for you.
First, your puppy came to you already somewhat familiar with the crate concept. To continue developing the crate as a cave or a safe haven is a good idea in the long run.
* - To further establish the crate as their safe place, try feeding all of their meals in their crate.
* - Use a word or phrase to direct your puppy into its crate. I say, "Get in your box." and, as always, immediately reward with a treat and praise repeating what your puppy has done, "Good get in your box!" Have the treat in your hand and ready before you say, "Get in your crate." so the reward can come immediately.
* - Always have a crate in your vehicle or ready to put in and always travel with the dog in its crate. Even if it's not necessary, make your dog "Wait!" before it exits the crate and car. That way it will not expect to get out as soon as you open the door. (Have the treat ready for a reward for the, "Wait!") Play a bit with its collar and leash even if it's not necessary before saying the release word, "OK!" Never let it out of the car without its leash on. That then becomes the 'safe' position.
* - Most of my dogs sleep with me. Tryggur, however, sleeps in his crate. Tryggur was returned to me after being gone a year and a half and he was used to sleeping in a crate. We just continued the practice. He is, simply put, more comfortable being in his crate.
* - I sometimes use a crate as a Time Out place. If a dog has misbehaved, I tell them to get into the crate, reward them for doing so, and keep them there for a short time. Never punish your dog in its crate. It's a safe place from other dogs and from you.
* - It may be useful to have a down time for your dog/puppy in the crate while you are nearby doing a relatively passive activity, reading a book, magazine, newspaper, working on your computer, even fixing a meal. That will get your pet used to the crate while you are nearby. Be sure to reward it once in a while by giving it a treat as long as it is quiet. Have the treats ready and occasionally without warning, go over to the crate and say, "Good Quiet!" and "Good get in your box!" and reward with the treat. Always reward for good behaviors. (Try to ignore bad ones.)
I also teach, "Be Quiet!" or "No Bark!" to prepare puppies for being alone. Their howl is a way to communicate to fellow pack members that they are not with them. Let them know you heard the message and then tell them, "No Bark!"
To teach "No Bark!" or "Be Quiet!" I pick a time when the puppy actually is being quiet. I hold its muzzle gently closed with one hand and say the phrase, "Be Quiet!" and/ or "No Bark!" and immediately reward with the ever present treat. Of course they are not going to understand to begin with, are they. But I persist. Sooner or later they are going to learn that "Be Quiet!" actually means if you keep your mouth closed, you will get a reward.
How long will that take? It will not happen as fast as you would like. Weeks, probably months.
Remember you adopted a puppy from a herding breed. Herding dogs are noisy dogs. The noises they make are inherited, are genetic. You can work on reducing this behavior for weeks before you see an improvement. Persistence and rewarding appropriate behavior will work - - eventually.
Huld, my first Icelandic used to bark at me when I gave her a command. The louder I said the command, the louder she would bark back at me. An instructor, John Kurpas, finally told me that when I 'barked' at her, she would bark back at me. So I started using hand signals and - - - - she stopped barking! It took probably three months. Yes, MONTHS. Herding dog!
I am constantly amazed by people. Many people adopt a Labrador Retriever, a Golden Retriever, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a Poodle, etc, that have all been bred to pick up things in their mouths and bring them back to their human. They hold things in their mouths. They explore things with their mouths. And people complain that their dog is always mouthing their hands, their arms, their furniture. Hello? That's what they were bred to do! Genes!!
The adjustment time (being alone without barking, whining, crying) for your puppy will vary. They are going to miss all the noise and activity they got used to in their birth home. There was almost always something happening. They will miss their siblings, their mom, their pack members, me, the visitors, etc. They will have some anxiety about the loss of all of that noise. They will try to get your attention, try to let you know that you left them behind. With time and reassurance, they will come to accept that their new home also has a routine and they will adjust to that routine. They will accept the new paradigm as normal.
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