Sometimes it is touching to hear how much people go way out of their way to accommodate the likes and dislikes of their dogs.
From building tents so they can pee in comfort when it rains to making most elaborate arrangements when they vacuum to spare the dog being scared of the vacuum cleaner.
Those arrangements fall under the category of “managing” problems. Those are valid maneuvers but they do not solve problems, they avoid them. Often it is true that a dog starts to scream when he is first introduced to a crate and so the humans immediately seem to think: that is not going to work. Instead of investing a few minutes or even a couple of hours of “training” they rather face a lifetime of doggie peeing on their floors and carpets.
This grossly underestimates the capabilities of your dog and undermines your quality of life with the dog. If you constantly have to allow for this and that, “no he won’t touch this and he does not want that” kind of attitude you are not allowing the dog to gain self confidence and are condemning the dog to live with unnecessary fears and insecurities.
Most of the time I find that the “not liking” behavior can very easily be fixed! It is simply a fear of something unknown. A hesitation to explore. Very often a simple counter conditioning and desensitizing session can solve something that otherwise would haunt your dog for years unnecessarily and interferes with your relationship.
So, don’t give up! Think of how you can make your dog like something unfamiliar or loud…think rather: how can I make this work?
