# Crate Training



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Ok I know Peyton is a new puppy and I need to be patient with her but I need to figure out something to get her to stop crying when I first put her in her kennel at night! Last night after she woke me up at 1 am to go potty (which is perfectly fine by me), she just would not settle back down to sleep. I finally had to move the divider back and put poor Penny in there with her to sleep with her! Penny was very indignant about the whole ordeal but eventually Peyton did calm down around 1:40 am and let me sleep in until 7 am. 

I tried praising her calmly the second she quieted down at any point but she'd just immediately start throwing a fit again. I want this to be an enjoyable experience for both of us and not have my roommates plot my death because my puppy is crying all night long (though I plot their deaths for leaving lights on in the hallway all night long ugh). 

Anyway, any advice is appreciated, I haven't had a puppy in 8 years.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Is the crate in your room? If not I would definitely do that.

You will have to "condition" the kennel throughout the day, getting her used to being in there. That way she isn't just being put in there and left alone without being shown it's a great place to be. If you can squeeze into the kennel with her, I would to show her that it's a place that you "spend time." I tell a lot of people who ask about crate training to put the kennel in a place you can watch tv or a movie and do just that while snuggling your puppy. That way she will fall asleep in there and as soon as she does get up and move, but don't leave her alone. Be where she can see you if she wakes up. After she gets the hang of falling asleep in there she will realize that it is a safe comfy place to be. Eventually you can get to the point where she will choose to be in there at any given point. 

During the day give her treats or even her meals in there if you have to, but take the bedding out if so.

Sometimes putting a blanket over the kennel can make it like a "den" which is a natural thing for a dog to take to when at a young age.


----------



## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I remember Ania would cry and cry at night in her crate. Unfortunately, I think this is a somewhat normal sort of thing. :frown:

Peyton is still in a new place. Nothing about it is very familiar to her except you. I think it may take some time for her to completely settle in.

It sounds like you have her in a pretty big crate, and that you are using the devider to make it smaller. That is good. Puppies like tight quarters for sleeping. 

You always want the association with the crate to be a good one. We would do short little training sessisons with Ania where she would go in the crate, and we'd give her a treat. When we asked her to come out, we would give her a treat. When she would stay calmly in the crate, we would drop treats in. Another thing that we did was leave her alone when she was in the crate. This let her know that her crate was here safe place. When she got sick of her mom's Lenny Syndrome, she could go in her crate, and I would begrudgingly leave her alone. :frown:

I'm picturing Penny being woken up and told "get in there with that little thing!". Sorta cracks me up!

Richelle


----------



## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I think you are forgetting something real obvious. She is a baby! Babies cry. It's one of the things they do. Don't worry a lot about it. It's gonna happen and seems worse at night. It doesn't last forever but the more you do to try to keep her from crying, the more she is going to expect later.

I'm pretty sure she is sleeping in your room. Just make sure she goes outside when she cries and after that, I would pretty much just let her be. Believe it or not if you just leave her alone she will cry herself to sleep soon. This is a phase that does go away in a few weeks. :smile: The less you do, the quicker she will outgrow it.


----------



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah the crate is right next to my bed. You're right, I do need to start working on her with it during the day. I'd try the blanket thing but Dobes are such velcro dogs I don't know if it would upset her more that she couldn't see me in the bed next to her if I covered the crate. I'll try it though, I'll try anything!

I've also heard it's good to put them in the crate, leave the room for a few minutes and let her cry but as soon as she calms down to come back in and praise her and let her out so she learns that when she calms down, she gets rewarded. What do you think of that method?


----------



## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Again, this is just a baby. Just put her in the crate when she needs to be and forget her. As young as she is, it will soon just become a way of life for her and she won't question it. She will accept it as a part of living. There is no need to make a big deal out of it and do a lot of training, etc.

If she were an adult dog, it would be a different story but babies accept what they are shown very quickly. All this has to do with the 16 week socialization window. For the first 16 weeks of a puppy's life, they are learning all about the world and what is expected of them. Use the crate with her at that age, and its easy. She won't be so accepting of new things after 16 weeks.

Belive me, I've been through this with hundreds of puppies. :smile:


----------



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Well she cried herself to sleep for her/our nap this afternoon so that was promising :smile: I could tell she was exhausted though (as was I). 

I think the real key will be to just completely and totally wear her out before putting her to bed. I'll let you know how that goes!


----------



## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Not sure I can add anything more; but here goes.
When she is crying and you know she doesn't have to go potty, try just putting your hand in front of the door. Even if the crate is in the room, make sure she can actually see you. Well, relatively speaking. I found that when I put the crate as close to the side of my bed as possible, it was much better than say being at the foot of your bed.
I would also condition her during the day. Throw some treats in and let her go in and don't even close the door. She'll think she hit the jackpot! :biggrin:
I would also put her in for a few minutes and close the door. If she cries wait until she stops and let her out right away. I wholeheartedly agree with RFD, she is still a baby. Just don't give in to every whimper and cry. I know the sleepless nights can be awful; but if you give in to her when you know she doesn't need to potty, she will have you wrapped around her little paw in no time flat!! LOL! Believe me, none of us need any more help in that dept!
Besides, Sleep is HIGHLY overrated!!


----------



## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

Like I think RFD was getting at, there is no need to praise her for being quiet at night when you are trying to sleep. If she has calmed down and hears your voice again it could just be making the process longer.

For middle of the night bathroom breaks I would say nothing to her other than a praise after doing her business outside. Straight back the the crate and lights off. End of story. Then let her work it out until she goes back to sleep.

Covering her crate with a blanket is a good idea too. You can leave one side open if you think she'd rather see you. It makes it feel more like a den and muffles the noise too! :biggrin: I lived in a duplex when I got Felix as a puppy so, though I knew that I was supposed to let him cry in the crate without letting him out- sometimes I was just too worried about upsetting the neighbors. The blanket (a large comforter) definitely helps.
Just be careful that she doesn't start pulling the blanket through the bars and chewing them. Felix started this so I switched to an area rug that was too stiff to pull through the bars.


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Since I have now become 'Grandma' to a 12 week old Chihuahua, I can understand where you are coming from with the puppy. They bring the little baby over whenever they want me to babysit it and I don't give it a choice about crate training. When she needs a nap or I need to eat lunch and don't want to worry about watching her, in the crate she goes. She also goes in the crate when I need to vacuum or I don't want to worry about her getting stepped on when the big dogs are wrestling. The crate can be moved to different rooms so she can be with us. 

We've had her a month now and at 12 weeks old she is really good about the crate. When I had lunch the other day I popped her in Rocky's crate (because my son forgot to leave hers) and closed the door and she just whimpered once or twice and then curled up and went to sleep with his bunny rabbit. Sometimes I give her a little bully stick to play with when I put her in the crate and she'll tire herself out chewing that and then fall asleep. 

Your puppy will learn to love her crate. Just like RFD says, treat her like a baby. Put her in there and tell her its bedtime or naptime, or Mamma needs a break time! Then thats the end of it. If she has a toy and a bed, she'll be fine. There won't be any long term mental damage done. I even put my real kids in a playpen once in awhile when I needed a break from them and they learned to be quiet and turned out fine!


----------



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Yesterday after her nap, I left the door open on the crate (like I always do) and she actually wandered in and out of it a few times. I took her on a walk before we went to bed and when I put her in the crate she cried a little bit but settle down pretty quickly and didn't need to go out until a little after 5 am! Of course after that it wasn't quite as easy to convince her to go back to bed but I did manage to get another two hours of sleep out of her after that.


----------



## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Yay, progress is good!
And you're so lucky she's not keeping you up all night long. Sleep is golden with a new puppy.


----------



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

I remember crate training my pups...the nights were long and miserable. I didn't really do much to help them get used to it either, but after a while, they learned that the crate wasn't so bad. I mean, Ryou's been sleeping in his for the last two hours now, and the door is wide open. He's the one I worked with less on it, and the one that gets more time outs to calm down in it, and the one that took longer to not scream and cry in it.

Don't put the other dog in with her, though, because that could do more damage than good, because Peyton is going to learn that she can cry and scream and get her way. Never let a dog that is crying or screaming out of the crate until they've calmed down, as well. Then they'll never stop screaming when you put them in there.

My dogs still cry and moan in their crates, but only when I put them in there prematurely when about to leave or when I get home and they won't shut up to be let out. It doesn't happen as often anymore, and it's usually only Ryou, but he's sloooowly learning that screaming and crying isn't going to get him a ticket out.

Also, feed her in the crate, give her lots of treats, give her familiar toys that she enjoys. I have started to feed Amaya and Ryou in their crates, and they'll go RIGHT in, turn around, and look at me going "Do I get my food now?" I also give them biscuits sometimes when I put them in there, which also goes to the same effect, so now, when I say "Go to bed," and point, they'll head for their crates.


----------



## Beans. (May 14, 2010)

I know this is an old post.. But, I agree with everything above. Also, instead of mouthing "good girl" to her at night if you just put your fingers down by the front of the cage and let her sniff/lick them, it's gives her a sense of security. This is especially good for if she can't see you because of the blanket over the crate.


----------



## SuriLove (Mar 28, 2010)

The crate must be a way of life. It is great for setting boundrys and potty training! Mine ALL whined a bit. 

We kept all their crates in the living room, NOT our bedroom. We would put them up with a treat while we watched TV with them- then off to bed, they might wimper a bit and then quiet down. If it would get bad - I would tap the cage and say quiet - and walk away quickly - not allowing too much attention. They caught on to this.

When crate and potty training they must spend time in there. However, I DID treat my dogs during the day from time to time in the beginning. When they went a while w/out wimpering I walked by them and treated and walked away quickly, if you hang around doing to much praise - they will fall backwords in the training. They are pups any attention is good to them. 

I think it is also best to relate a word with going in the crate - our is so simple "in" lol. With in weeks our dog were fully crate trained and house broken. I have 2 poms I did this with - they are very very hard to house break and they did well with this method. I am a firm believer in crating.


----------



## StdPoo Dad (Jun 7, 2009)

I"m also a huge believer in crate training. It's funny reading all the posts..I mean People..it's not Rocket Science! 
Best thing is make sure they're exhausted when they go in the crate. 
My phrase is "go to your room"...

Joe



SuriLove said:


> The crate must be a way of life. It is great for setting boundrys and potty training! Mine ALL whined a bit.
> 
> We kept all their crates in the living room, NOT our bedroom. We would put them up with a treat while we watched TV with them- then off to bed, they might wimper a bit and then quiet down. If it would get bad - I would tap the cage and say quiet - and walk away quickly - not allowing too much attention. They caught on to this.
> 
> ...


----------

