# help with crate trainning



## aevans (Mar 6, 2011)

we have just gotten our new puppy - he will be 14 weeks old tomorrow. we are having some problems with the crate ... he hates it ! the first day we had him i put him in there for just a few minutes and he seemed fine, but then when bed time came and i put him in it he barked forever ! need help in getting him to sleep in the crate. Ever since that first night he will not go back in it, as soon as i put him in he is fighting to get out. How do I get him more comfortable in it - how long do I let him bark once he is in it ? any help would be greatly appreciated, we have had some very long nights !


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## flounder_1 (May 12, 2011)

I'm no expert and I wouldn't say Lolly loves her crate (more tolerates it) but we had a few sleepless nights at first. our 5th night was the worst as she cried on and off all night! I happened to be visiting the vet the next day and she sold me a DAP spray which smells of lactating bitches apparently. I also found this forum that morning and gained some advice from here.
so on that 6th night we used the spray, kept her awake more in the evening before bedtime, all took turns wearing a t-shirt that we put into her bed with her, left the radio on - and she slept all night and has done ever since! (my dog trainer said she probably would have without all those things as dogs tend to have one last all out ditch attempt to get what they want!) We never went down to her in the night when she cried before the 6th night.
Now I use the crate when I go out and she no longer cries when I put her in it (she cried for a few weeks for no more than 10 minutes at first- my neighbour told me this) 
Lolly is 20 weeks now and we still feed her in her crate and occasionaly I find she has gone in for a nap on her own (usually when we have company strangely) so it can't be that bad in there!


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## flounder_1 (May 12, 2011)

aevans said:


> - how long do I let him bark once he is in it ? !


I would say never let him out while he is barking. Wait for a lull and then let him out. Otherwise he will learn that you let him out when he barks.
I also don't make a fuss of Lolly when I let her out. I pretty much ignore her (not easy when she is desperately round my legs looking for love ) and then give her strokes when she is a little calmer so that she doesn't associate coming out of her crate with being the best thing.


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## aevans (Mar 6, 2011)

i have given in when he has barked and let him out, more out of desperation for sleep for us ! so even if he barks all night, let him stay in there ? the longest I have let him bark was about 3-3-1/2 hours. He is a stubborn little thing ! His kennel is in our room, I had read that was better, but maybe I should move it ? thanks for all your help ! we have had dogs before but have never had problems like this with the crate, eventually they would settle down and go to sleep, but I guess this one has more of a stubborn streak then our others !


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

have you tried giving him a stuffed kong or a chew. do you put him in during the day, if not then try popping him in when you are pottering about the house. 


he has learnt that if he crys long enough you will come get him.


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## aevans (Mar 6, 2011)

i did put a stuffed kong right in front of the kennel door, so that he could get it without going all the way in, he would nibble at it and then dart off ! The breeder did not keep the puppies in kennels, but in an open pen so I know this is the first time that he has ever experienced it. i have tried to put him in it during the day, but he fights to get out as soon as I put him in it. I guess we are just going to have to tough it out for a while until he gets used to it ? I even tried to see if I could just put him in our utility room and block it off, since this was more what he was used to but he still barked.


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Oh dear i really feel for you,im not sure but maybe its because he's 14 weeks and never been crate trained that he's struggleing with it???
Prehaps it will just take him longer then a younger pup
Good luck hope you get some sleep tonight !


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## flounder_1 (May 12, 2011)

I'm afraid it sounds like you are just going to have to be firm and tough it out  We decided not to put the crate in our bedroom, it's in the living room. If your pup is crying even when in the same room as you then maybe you could try moving the crate out so he can't see you. You might be able to sleep through the noise a bit then too. 

I'm sure it harder for him as he's older as Donna says. Because you've already let him out when he's been crying I expect it will also be harder now. What do you do with him in the middle of the night when you let him out because he's crying? Does he go to sleep somewhere else, do you put him back in, does he get lots of attention? 

If he is happy to go to sleep somewhere other than his crate when you let him out then maybe you have reached a crossroads where you either persevere and be *really* tough or you give up. My vet always likes to remind me how stubborn and intelegent poodles can be!! Maybe you've got a cockapoo with alot of poo in it!!! lol


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## aevans (Mar 6, 2011)

i hate to admit this - but when I let him out I have been sitting up with him in my lap. of course he goes right to sleep and then I can get a little sleep too. We have two kids too, which is part of the reason that I have not wanted to let him bark all night. They have been able to sleep through it for the most part and maybe if I move the kennel to another part of the house they would not be able to hear him at all. once he is house broken I won't make him sleep in the kennel, which is what we have always done with our others dogs. (when we leave we would just block off the utility room and leave the dogs in there - still wouldn't trust him to run free when we aren't home) Our others have always slept on the end of the bed and been just fine. guess we are in for some tough nights. thanks again for all the great advice ! (i think ours definitely has a lot of poo in it


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

start feeding him his dinner in his grate. get him playing fetch near the crate then trow it in the crat so he has to go fetch it. big fiss if he goes in. 

you need to make it a posotive exsperience. get treats out and only give them to him when he is in the crate. so pop him in and give him one, if he comes out let him sniff the treat and put him back in and give him the treat, then start leading him into the crate with the treats, he will eventualy work out where he needs to be to get the treat. 


put the kong in with him when he is in the crate at night so he has something to take his mind off whats going on.


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Good idea Kendal,why dont you just feed him all his kibble in his knog in his crate,this why he will see his crate as being a positive place plus it will keep him entertained all day (im going to try this method with my pup) Then when he's older you can go back to feeding from the bowl. dx


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## aevans (Mar 6, 2011)

thanks - I'll try it. i will try anything to get him to get him in his crate without all the fuss!


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I fed Dexter all his meals in his crate when he was little - I'm sure it helped.


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## Bini (Jul 4, 2011)

flounder_1 said:


> I would say never let him out while he is barking. Wait for a lull and then let him out. Otherwise he will learn that you let him out when he barks.
> I also don't make a fuss of Lolly when I let her out. I pretty much ignore her (not easy when she is desperately round my legs looking for love ) and then give her strokes when she is a little calmer so that she doesn't associate coming out of her crate with being the best thing.


yes, that's what we do as well. I open up when Cider is calm and I really take my time ( watching lots of dog whisperer shows help me taking time ) to open up, and we dont say anything either, so that he doesnt think he gets prays for actually COMING OUT of crate.
I sometimes put some treats in there in different places, so that he if going in himself finds them...might encourage to have a look again...and we used to feed him in there as well. The crate is open all day, so he can go in there anytime. And he chooses this place to sleep, when I am doing things in kitchen. Which makes me very happy  Keep making it a positive place and only close door on dog, when calm...if possible. Good luck, you get there! keep us updated


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

While i was researching soft crates for the car i came across a you tube video showing how to get you dog interested in going into the crate she kept throwing in a treat the dog got it came back out and she gave another treat she did this lots of times faster and faster until he would stay in the crate and just poke out his head for the treat then finally she gave him alot of treats inside the crate where he settled down and ate them,worth a try??


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

I sympathize. We have had Betty nearly a week and she has not been too bad going in her crate and night. The first couple of nights she was almost perfect and I thought -what a doddle.. then she had a really bad night and cried until about two thirty in the morning. I just let her howl and bark and finally she went to sleep. The rest of the week has been a little better, she will cry for about 15 mins when we first put her in and then will cry to come out in the morning at around 6am. This morning I had to let that cat out at 4am and it woke her up and she started barking so I took her out for a wee but
was pleasantly suprised when she went back to bed without to much fuss.
I can't however get her to go in her crate during the day - she fights like a made thing to get out. I have tried with treats and making it a positive experience but she is not having any of it - she just wants to be with me ALL the time and she never choses to go in the crate. If I go out , when I come back she will be sleeping ANYWHERE but in her crate. Sje also barks like mad when I leave or even shut her in the garden whilst I am mopping the kitchen floor ( she can even still seem me as I have a full length glass back door) -is
this seperation anxiety or just normal???


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