# Kennel troubles



## Kel (Feb 1, 2011)

Chloe has always slept in her kennel at night with few problems but the past month or so, things have changed and I can't figure out why. She sleeps in the tv room downstairs and I usually stay in the room with her for a bit to make sure she settles. Lately, she has started whining after she is put in the kennel. I know she does not need to go to the bathroom, so I just head upstairs and ignore her and she stops it. Last night (and this is not the first time) her whining got louder and louder and turned to barking. Everyone else has to get up for work or school, so I had to go down there and try to quiet her. To keep a long story short, at about 3 am, I finally let her out of the kennel, put the leash on her so she couldn't go far and I slept on the couch. She eventually did too. She really wanted to go upstairs and see everyone else (or maybe just my husband).

Has anybody had this trouble with their dog past the puppy stage? I am exhausted and really out of ideas. I took her out to the bathroom, then put her back in the kennel, gave her a drink of water in the kennel, tapped on the kennel when she whined, tried ignoring her... ugh,I am too old for this 

I would prefer to keep her in the kennel at night because I can't have her in my room (allergies) and I think if she isn't in her kennel, she will bark at noises in the night. Help!?!


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

I would think at her age she is trying it on and that ignoring the fuss is the only way to go, she should soon settle back down. Is she spayed, her change in behaviour may be down to approaching season? If she is spayed and therefore not breaking in season, then a couple of nights of pretending you can't hear her should do the trick, good luck x


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## Happyad (Oct 5, 2010)

She is trying it on. 
My newest pup was the same. 
First prep the family and yourself for a few nights of crying. 
Always put a tired pup to bed. 
Plan to get up and let the pup out for a wee break. 
The aim is not to reward bad behaviour!
Bad behaviour is crying, whining, barking and all that stuff. 
Reward is u appearing!!
Kennel/crate training is so worth it in the end. It really helps with housebreaking and removes the element of destruction when your not around. 
There are other things that can be involved in the training; ie crate training during the day too. 
Just google the Internet on the subject, find one set of training that suits you and share it with ur family.


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## Kel (Feb 1, 2011)

Waaah, I should be sleeping but instead I am on here bumping up this thread in case anybody else has any experience with this. I HAVE been ignoring her whining and barking (which is almost every night still) and most nights she has eventually stopped...or else I just slept through it. Tonight she was just too loud and persistant, so I had to come down here. She is still whining though she did stop for a bit.

She was spayed 6 months ago and has been put in her kennel every night for almost a year now. I can't figure out what is going wrong lately. Is it too dark for her? Is it separation anxiety? Does she need a bigger kennel or a softer bed in it? She still takes her stuffed bunny to bed and there is a ticking clock in the room, same as usual.

When she barks/whines, should I shush her, tap on the crate or what? Ignoring her just isn't working tonight. 

Ugh, she is getting louder now...:violin:


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

Does she show any other behaviour other than whining and barking?
How long does she do this before settling?

Dont bang on the crate and don't shush, just ignore. 

I have had a long process with Daisy going in her crate at night. My present routine is put her in the crate, give her a high value treat and then sit out of sight with the tv on for a short time. If she is completely quiet after ten minutes I go up to bed. If she is upset I wait until she has stopped whining/barking and then I wait ten minutes and then go to bed! Most nights now she is quiet without any barking at all, but sometimes we have a blip. I think somehow she just needs to know that I am there to reassure her when she first goes in. I am working towards not having to do this but for Daisy this is amazxing in itself! 

I would give her a really high value treat for going to bed and then walk away and do not return until morning!


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## flounder_1 (May 12, 2011)

I wonder if something spooked her at night and that's why she's unsettled. I think you just have persevere and have a bit of a battle of wills with her that you must win! I would try to avoid going back down to her as that may be seen as a reward to her and will encourage her to cry again to try to get you back to her. Have you tried putting an old t-shirt or sock etc that you've been wearing in her crate with her? Maybe leave the radio on downstairs. You could also try getting a DAP spray. 

Lolly cried for the first 5 nights in her crate and then went hell for leather on the 6th night when she was a puppy and I know you get to the stage where you're willing to try anything! Which we did. All the above in one night and it worked!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

You don't think she's telling you that she's ready to sleep in a dog bed and not in the crate do you? Just a thought.

I had a similar thing with Millie in her car dog basket. She made a great fuss and wouldn't go in, just lay half in half out. So I left her half in half out!. On the journey she happily went all the way into the basket and stayed there. She just didn't want to be locked in.


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