Hi, I picked up my puppy yesterday - she's wonderful! My chi Benji died last year, but we adopted him so all this puppy stuff is new to me!
I've read all the books, lots of the threads on here etc etc, but I'm having a couple of problems that I'm not sure how to handle.
I'm crate training her, so have tried to put her stuffed chew toys in with her, but she still whines to come out. I've tried treats leading up to it and in it, but she just grabs the treats and runs back out, I've tried positive reinforcement if she so much as looks at the crate, but she seems to be having none of it! Any other ideas I can try?
She's doing well on potty training, only 1 accident inside when I wasn't sure if she was squatting or sitting!
I'm back at work on Monday, my boyfriend works from home, so he will be round and about to keep an eye on her every hour, but I wanted to get her used to her crate before I go back to work. Thanks, rachel.

My first question would be, how long are you crating for ?

Ideally they should not be left in the crate for longer than
3 or 4 hours.

Feeding in the crate will help them associate the crate
with something other than just a bad place. Not just
treats, actual meals.

__________________
Life is but a dream...



"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

Hi, She is only crated at night and for naps in the day.
So in the day - if i think shes tired, i put her in there for a nap and she howls the place down and gets so distressed, just hours spent crying. So i take her out when quiet, then she falls straight asleep on me. i put her back in and she will sleep, but when she wakes up and finds herself in there, the howling starts again!
At night, i tire her out with playtime till she is literally falling asleep standing up! i put her in the crate, she stays asleep for about an hour, then wakes up and again is howling. During the night, i get her out 2 times at 3 hourly intervals for pee/poo.
She wont have treats or proper food in the crate, she ignores them, no matter how long she is left in there. Maybe she just isnt a crate type of dog!

__________________

Nah. All puppies can be trained. If you want her to sleep in a crate, then she will learn to sleep in a crate. Yes, it's easier to just take her to bed with you! But make sure that you want to sleep with a dog for the next 15 years. If you want her to be comfortable in a crate, you just have to train her to accept it. Yes, she will cry and fuss. She may howl the house down. So what. Let her cry. She will learn eventually and then you have a dog you can take anywhere who is comfortable in a crate (vets, boarding, vacations, etc) and will think of it as her bedroom and refuge. Otherwise, you will raise a bratty spoiled chi who runs the house as she sees fit and hogs the covers all night long. Just my thoughts.

She is tiny, a baby. She just needs to be taught what is acceptable and what is not. Believe me, if you stick to your guns now, you will have a confident self assured little dog who can self soothe and doesn't have to be lying on your chest to go to sleep. It's up to you.

__________________

"Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way.....
but you can never say again that you did not know." William Wilberforce 1759-1833

Ok thanks for replying. I find it easier to ignore her crying in the night, but i still need to let her out twice a night so i have to go to her at least twice when shes crying.
In the day, should i feed her in her crate, shut the door and just wait? The if she doesnt eat it, take it up and try again at her next feed time, do i then let her out to play? Then when shes sleepy, put her in her crate and just wait again? Then what do i do when she wakes up and is crying? There literally isnt 5 seconds when i can go to her and reward her for being quiet. I have to let her out at some point and as shes never quiet, its always going to be when shes whining.
Sorry for all this - i thought i had it susses and had read all the books/info on here, but she just defy's the information i had!

__________________

If you WANT her to eat in her crate, then feed her in it. If she isn't comfortable in the crate yet though, she's not going to want to eat. And she may associate her food with the bad feelings and fright/insecurity she feels while in the crate. Personally, I wouldn't feed her in the crate. Treats, yeah, that's fine. But I'd want to establish good eating habits and want her to be comfortable when she's eating and she obviously isn't comfortable in the crate.

I wouldn't wait till she's sleepy. I'd just establish a ROUTINE. Dogs love routines. It helps them feel safe and secure.

I bet there's a few minutes during the night when she's quiet. An 8 week old puppy isn't going to have the strength to cry at the top of her lungs for hours and hours. Yeah, it may seem like it, but she will have to eventually take a break. When she does, then be there to let her out.

You might want to try a puppy pen set up instead of the crate. That way she isn't having to lie in a wet bed if she can't hold it and you can't get her outside fast enough. A play pen works or you can buy ex-pens. There are a lot of threads on this site about people's set ups. Have the open crate with comfy bedding inside, then an area of newspaper or potty pads. It's unrealistic to expect a baby puppy to hold it all night. I know you're taking her out, but it would give you a break if she could just walk over to the newspaper and go.

__________________

"Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way.....
but you can never say again that you did not know." William Wilberforce 1759-1833

My dogs don't sleep in crates, but I can sympathize with you. I tried to get Penny to sleep in a playpen, and she howled for 4 hours with only a few minutes of quiet. I gave up eventually, but I was going to have her sleep in the bed when she was older anyways.

However, they both do go in a crate when they are at agility classes. They would both whine and scratch to get out, but I just ignored it and they eventually moved on. They have crates in my room that always have the door open, and sometimes they go in there to nap.

Maybe you could try a playpen? You can put a potty pad and some water/food if she needs it. Then you wouldn't have to get up.

__________________


Thanks LS!

Thanks, i will try to get her in a routine - not wait until shes sleepy, just pop her in the crate after playtime with some chewtoys and hope that she settles herself!
I think her crate is big enough to fit all that in anyway, potty pad etc at one end and a little bed in the other, so i might try that! Thanks all.

__________________