# Toby hates his crate



## nums (Aug 25, 2011)

We have always crated Toby at night and more and more he is not wanting to go in. He sometimes even refuses to come in from the garden when we have let him out for a bedtime wee. He never goes in voluntarily and we have to pick him up and put him in.

Help!

It is in a quiet corner and it's got his bed in it. He is 6 months old now and I can see he is getting more and more stubborn about going in.

The strange thing is - we have another smaller crate in the car, which he seems fine in.

Any advice?

Thanks x


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## Laura(L)Izzie (Sep 9, 2011)

My girls also hated the crate.
Is there any particular reason you still want him to sleep in there?

We decided once Izzie was older that we'd remove the crate & just leave the bed, then decided we had no problem with her sleeping on a blanket on the floor in our bedrooms.

Poppy (4.5 months old now) HATED the crate when she came home, she would howl for hours during the night (although we assumed this was partly to do with Izzie being with us & her being downstairs in the kitchen) however the only reason we wanted her in there was because she wouldn't have bene toilet trained. However after about 2 weeks of her howling through the night & messing in her crate (both wees & poos) we decided to let her upstairs with us. Since then she's been absolutely perfect!

Tbh it's down to the individual dog & what you as owners want your dog to do. You could always try removing the crate & just letting him sleep in his bed in the kitchen with out it? Move anything from the floor that you wouldn't want him to have & he may feel more comfortable?

Just an idea, I hope you figure something out, it's awful to thik your dog is stressed or doesn't like doing certain things. x


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Lady was never good with her crate...but we have just gotten her a larger wire one and now when I offer her a treat to go in she flys in!


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## Kirsty (Sep 9, 2011)

Cara hated the crate.

We moved it onto our bedroom about 1 month ago and she got in for a couple of weeks. I took it down a week ago and left her soft mat on the floor. She now flits from snuggling in with us, sleeping on her bed or on the carpet at the bottom of the bed.

Less stressful for all especially now I believe she's house trained xx


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## francesjl (Mar 24, 2011)

I never crated either of mine ! Had good intentions and borrowed one from a friend, got Rascal and put him in it night one and came down early next morning to find him out of it !
Rather strange, checked with my teenagers thinking one of them had let him out but no Rascal was a houdini and had managed to wriggle through between the bottom bar and the base!
Wouldn't have believed it until the next time I put him in and then watched him make his escape, after that I thought it rather pointless so at night I used to put a puppy pad down a little way from his bed and that's how it went on.
When we got Scamp the following year, I did the same thing, altho they weren't together at night until Scamp was 14 wks ( when he was house trained ) as I thought poor Rascal could do with a break from his puppy half brother !


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

All great advice .. so no need for a crate unless you really want to use one... 

I like the idea of a crate when they are very young and still toilet training .. 

But really its just personal choice  

However all mine have loved the crate .. and it is more of a struggle for me when to get rid of it ha ha ha ...


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## JulesB (Mar 6, 2011)

francesjl said:


> I never crated either of mine ! Had good intentions and borrowed one from a friend, got Rascal and put him in it night one and came down early next morning to find him out of it !
> Rather strange, checked with my teenagers thinking one of them had let him out but no Rascal was a houdini and had managed to wriggle through between the bottom bar and the base!
> Wouldn't have believed it until the next time I put him in and then watched him make his escape, after that I thought it rather pointless so at night I used to put a puppy pad down a little way from his bed and that's how it went on.
> When we got Scamp the following year, I did the same thing, altho they weren't together at night until Scamp was 14 wks ( when he was house trained ) as I thought poor Rascal could do with a break from his puppy half brother !


Sounds like Betty who escaped from her pen!! In the end i put her bed next to mine with a puppy pad next to it and stacked up some cushions so she couldn't get out and thats where she stayed. As soon as i put her in my room she slept all night and no toilet issues, i don't even remember her using the puppy pad.

You have to do what works best for you.

Good luck!!!


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## Soo (Dec 16, 2011)

Mine love their crate but I have used it for weeks before ever shutting the door. I do use bribery to get them in to it and reward them for going in. I also used high value treats to settle them in it, something that takes a whille to eat. If you try to make sure you give him a good play before bedtime too so he is tired and ready to settle into his comfy bed.

If you need to then use a line or extendalead on him for a wee while for his nightime wee so that he does not have a chance to refuse to come back in and reward him first for coming into the house and then for going into the crate. If you can let him out about 15 mins before bed time and maybe have a short playtime game in the house he should start to want to come in If poss as has already been suggested have the crate in a safe area that it can be left open overnight but its the most comfy place to be so he gets to like it.

Hope he soon changes his mind about it


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## Enneirda. (Mar 5, 2010)

My girl loves her crate. 

Shaping your dog to go into the crate gladly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUzF0g0PwY4

Shaping your dog to love the crate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Gb-TF9c9U

How to train your dog to be left alone- clicker training
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxhcb-itO4

Do all these pikopup vids annoy any of you? I won't wanna be a pain. But she is just so dog smart I can't help it.


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## cleo (Aug 31, 2011)

I would say just perserve. Pixel didn't like her crate to start with an would run and hide when she was due to go in. She would start to see the signs when it was bedtime. She would also not come in from the garden at nightime. She would rattle her cage when she was in it. This was a bit upsetting at the time but we just had to perserve, I think it was more that she knew she would be away from us when in her crate, rather than the crate.

Over the months she got better and better. Now she is 8 months old and will go in the crate on her own, sometimes when it's not even time to go in because she thinks it's bed time. We always make sure she has something soft on the floor and lots of her favourite toys in there. Just keep going and it will get better.


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## cleo (Aug 31, 2011)

ps. When she wouldn't come in from the garden we started taking her out on her lead. This works really well, especially in winter as she can't go on the lawn and get muddy paws.


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## Mogdog (Feb 6, 2011)

It depends how worthwhile you think it would be to have them sleeping in a crate. Mine didn't use a crate for long, particularly getting a second one - she just wanted to sleep with the first one!

I'm sure crates are helpful for night toilet training ... but only if the dog is happy. Also useful for going away. I felt it wasn't really worth it and they curl up happily together in my kitchen (with stairgate at door). If we go away they sleep in our bedroom .... when back home they are happy in the kitchen again as they know the routine. 

Just down to individual preference really.


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## mum2bobs (Jun 23, 2010)

Bobs sleeps in his crate at night now (used to sleep on my bed) and he runs into it automatically now after his last wee of the night.

The main reason he does that though is because he knows he is going to get a small handful of cooked chicken as a reward, and he is busy eating that when I shut him in and go to bed..

Maybe go back to basics with him and get him to go in his cage for a minute or two and give him a decent reward and then slowly increase the time.


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