Crate Training Puppies

[FFR]

So under the advice of some people on here and some friends, we have decided to crate train our puppy. We got her last night and followed some of the steps that were given to us. Obviously we know it's not going to click in one night but we had some questions we were hoping could be answered....

Whenever we put her in the crate and she's awake, she whines and whines forever. Obviously she doesn't like it....or isn't comfortable with it. How long can we expect the whining to continue? Or is there anything we can do to stop it.

Should we just leave her in there when she whines? We've been leaving here for a couple of minutes at a time when she whines and making sure only to take her out when she is being quiet.

During the night when she is sleeping she doesn't mind being shut in the crate but she only sleeps for about an hour and a half at a time so out sleep isn't so great either.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

[SaprykinPWNSjoo]

put a blanket over the crate so the puppy knows its black out and its bed time. This will help calm it down and sleep for longer. Also it took about 4-5 days before my pup stopped whining the whole time he was in his crate. Now he may bark a couple times when u go to put him in but after 2-3 mins hes good

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

I have two dogs, one of whom resisted the crate while the other one took to it like it was hard candy. Even now she loves closed-in, kennel-like spaces.

I wouldn't try to just stick her in there if she's awake and you're home. Instead, make the crate a fun place where you play with her. Teach her to go inside and lie down--then she gets a treat and gets to come out. Hide treats inside the crate, praise her effusively when she goes in. Then try telling her to "stay" inside for a while without shutting the door.

Does she bark for more than 5 minutes if you put her in there and then leave the house?

[FFR]

She will willingly go in if she's tired. She wants to sleep in the crate and so that part's been easy. If she's awake she'll go in to get her toys and will play with her toys but as soon as the gate is shut she starts chewing on the metal gate and whining.

We'll do some more work today...I'll try the treat thing. She loves to eat!

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

Your puppy will whine at first because they don't like to be left alone. Dogs are den animals and the kennel or crate will become a place they feel comfortable.

If you let the dog out when it whines, it won't take long for the dog to catch on to that behaviour. A lot of people cave in to their dog when it whines because they feel sorry or guilty for their pet. Pretty soon, the dog is the one in control.

[ricoFlame]

start with the crate near your bed so that the pup can smell you near and you can even put your hand near or on the cage if necessary. the pup will calm quickly and go to sleep. slowly over about a week or so, move the crate further from the bedroom and closer to where you would like to have it in your home. this is a pretty standard practice in crate training. helps the pup to feel safe and comfortable in it's crate.

crate training is very important and can keep a pup safe when alone.

[FFR]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy McGillicuddy

Your puppy will whine at first because they don't like to be left alone. Dogs are den animals and the kennel or crate will become a place they feel comfortable.

If you let the dog out when it whines, it won't take long for the dog to catch on to that behaviour. A lot of people cave in to their dog when it whines because they feel sorry or guilty for their pet. Pretty soon, the dog is the one in control.

My question is...when can we let her out. If she is whining will she eventually stop and then we can take her out? Is there a point in time where it would be too long to leave her in there whining?

I appreciate all the help. I've never owned a puppy before. My husband has had dogs all his life, but I'm just trying to learn everything I can.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by FFR

My question is...when can we let her out. If she is whining will she eventually stop and then we can take her out? Is there a point in time where it would be too long to leave her in there whining?

I appreciate all the help. I've never owned a puppy before. My husband has had dogs all his life, but I'm just trying to learn everything I can.

are you talking about at night? if so, leave her in there all night. she has to learn what night time means.

[FFR]

^^Well both kind of. At night I know we want to leave her there but a lot of the things I read said that she would have to go to the washroom in the middle of the night so I wonder if she is whining about that.

As for the day, that's my biggest question. When she is learning to be in the crate, how long do I let her whine? Or do I wait until she has stopped to let her out?

[Kybosh]

I went through a similar experience with my dog. My advice is tough love. For the first week or so I left the kennel in my room covered in a blanket. My dog whined constantly but you just have to try to ignore it. At most, slide your fingers through the crate under the blanket so the dog doesn't see you but knows you're around. I also found putting some old t-shirts of mine in the kennel at bed time helped the dog adjust. You have to understand that the pup has, up till now, spent every night sleeping in a warm pile of other puppies so being alone is very strange for it.

Every pup is different though, some have no problem sleeping alone all night long. In my case it was a long and painful process just getting the dog to sleep for 7 or 8 hours straight (Took about two months after bringing her home). Try your best to ignore the whining and eventually they will get over it.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by FFR

As for the day, that's my biggest question. When she is learning to be in the crate, how long do I let her whine? Or do I wait until she has stopped to let her out?

I wouldn't let her out until she has stopped whining for 10 minutes at least. Just don't give in to what they want when you're training your pup otherwise you will have a belligerent animal on your hands. You are the boss, not them.

[ricoFlame]

i see. well, i she is whining continously, it's likely nothing to do with the bathroom, probably separation anxiety. obviuosly pups have to go to the washroom more often and a lot of that is simply getting to know your pup and patterns she has after eating/drinking. it comes with time, and you have to learn each other.

[Kybosh]

Another quick thing that I will suggest is to let your pup get lots of running and play time just before bed. Try to get them absolutely exhausted before bedtime and this will help. A tired puppy is a good puppy and that's a fact.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I wouldn't let her out until she has stopped whining for 10 minutes at least. Just don't give in to what they want when you're training your pup otherwise you will have a belligerent animal on your hands. You are the boss, not them.

Disagree on the time, otherwise good advice in this thread mostly. You don't have to wait more than a minute after whining stops to open the door. The rules of operant conditioning dictate that anything over a few seconds is unlikely to create an association. In fact the cessation of whining rather than the whining itself could easily become a trigger if you let a dog out within a few seconds of it stopping. Then you'll get an intermittent whiner that stops and starts until that association has been extinguished. But if you wait a minute, that is a non-issue.

As far as nightime bathroom habits, put your pup on a schedule. Take her out every copule hours for the first week or two whether she's whining or not, then reduce it over the course of the next couple of months. As long as you do it on your schedule and not hers, it will not reinforce any whining behaviour.

[STAMPEDRED]

What we found that helped was to put the dog in the crate once in a while during the day. You're best to leave the room and let them howl for a bit. When they stop howling and settle down for a minute or two go back and really praise the dog for being quiet because that is the behavior you expect from the puppy. Soon the dog will learn when its in the crate it will just go to sleep. It also learns that whining gets it nowhere but being quiet gets it what it wants.

Another go thing to do is every time the pup goes the bathroom (outside where you want it to go!) use a command to associate with the action. We use "get to it" to go pee and "hurry up" to go poo. Works quite well on command. It also helps to always praise the dog after so that it realizes this is a good thing that pleases you which the dog ultimately wants to do.

Lastly for a pup, they are old enough to hold it through the night by the time you brought him home at 2 months of age. Mind you, in the morning when they get out they have got to go!

[FFR]

Wow. Thanks a lot everyone! That's really great. We'll keep working with her!

And thanks for the tip about the night time schedule onetwo_threefour....That will really help us I think!

[sclitheroe]

I'll plug the book Let The Dog Decide. It's written by a Canadian, and its an excellent book, not so much about training specific behaviors, but more understanding how behaviors come about through interacting with your dog. The man, Dale Stavroff, has some really keen insight that is different than a lot of the other stuff out there, but not crazy out there like some books I've seen.

[Calgaryborn]

We got puppy this spring and I didn't have too much trouble with crating him. A little whining the first couple nights was all. Maybe I got lucky. I don't know if it was mentioned but, it is a good idea to put an old cot or something else you've wore in the bottom of the crate. It will comfort him/her.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I went through a similar experience with my dog. My advice is tough love. For the first week or so I left the kennel in my room covered in a blanket. My dog whined constantly but you just have to try to ignore it. At most, slide your fingers through the crate under the blanket so the dog doesn't see you but knows you're around. I also found putting some old t-shirts of mine in the kennel at bed time helped the dog adjust. You have to understand that the pup has, up till now, spent every night sleeping in a warm pile of other puppies so being alone is very strange for it.

Every pup is different though, some have no problem sleeping alone all night long. In my case it was a long and painful process just getting the dog to sleep for 7 or 8 hours straight (Took about two months after bringing her home). Try your best to ignore the whining and eventually they will get over it.

Cue Eff Tee

It may suck hearing the dog cry in the night, but it will soon adjust to its new pack. Its always good to remember the hierarchy of a "pack" and keep it in mind when training.

A slight difference in opinion here: we taught our dog that if she whined that was a signal for us to let her out side to go to the bathroom. If she didn't do anything with-in 1 minute, back in the crate she went. (keep in mind outside at night means pee/poo time, not play time) You don't get alot of sleep for the first little while, but they get the hang of it soon. Any book by Stanley Coren is amazing on dog training.