Crate training puppy

monty-doggy

Hello

I've a 10 wk old pup who hates his crate. He cries and whimpers and gets so distressed each time I put him in it, it's relentless and he needs to get used to it.
I've bought a thunder shirt and am hoping that will work and I've got an Adaptil plug in on the way. Has anyone else had a similar experience and been able to deal with it?

Thank you

krlyr

He doesn't need to 'get used to it' but be taught to enjoy going in his crate. Fab video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Gb-TF9c9U

mossstitchmama

Hi, we have a 20 week old Jack Russell puppy. We bought the crate before we got her. When we went to pick her up, my daughter wore an old flannel shirt and made sure she handled all of her litter mates do the shirt got nice and covered in puppy smell.

The shirt then went into her crate. We encouraged her to go in by offering her treats but not shutting the door. We put her crate in the hall under the stairs so she feels safe but not out of the way. It took a couple of weeks, but now she will happily jump into her crate when we say "Go to bed Luna" and offer a treat.

She occasionally whines a bit. At the beginning I had to tell myself it was for her own safety. She now is quite happy with her crate and will sometimes stay asleep for ages even when I get up in a morning, open the door and put her food out. It does require perseverance but it helped my dog is a greedy pig who is motivated by food.

monty-doggy

As of mid next week he will be on his own for 3 hours a day. If he hates the crate I was wondering if perhaps he should be allowed in the kitchen instead. It's heartbreaking hearing him cry.

monty-doggy

krlyr wrote: »

He doesn't need to 'get used to it' but be taught to enjoy going in his crate. Fab video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Gb-TF9c9U

That's a great video! What does the clicker do? We might go get one tomorrow!

choogirl

Hi
Our puppy didn't settle well in his crate when we first got him, I think he was missing his litter mates, mum and his familiar surroundings.

When we brought him home we gave him all his meals in his crate, put toys, treats and chew sticks in there, basically everything nice he got was given in the crate so he associated nice things with been in there.
We've never used the crate as a punishment.

He gets a hot water bottle in there at night, a favourite toy, DH old jumper and a blanket over the crate to keep any draughts out. We now use the words in your bed at bedtime and he just trots in, waits to be tucked in under his fleecy blanket and settles down to sleep.

He now sleeps for at least 8 hours every night with no whining, yapping or barking.
Through the daytime he knows the routine when we are all getting ready to go out and puts himself in there quietly.

Just persevere with it, your pup will get there I never thought ours would but the change was literally overnight but it took about 5 weeks.

monty-doggy

We've had him almost 4 weeks, my worry is him being alone as of next week for a few hours. He cries when we leave him. I think he settles because we've been building up by leaving him half hour and now are up to two hours and when we come back sometimes he is silent, but if he hears us coming then he cries again. I hate the thought of him being sad!

choogirl

Clickers are used in training to make the dog aware that they have done something good and a reward should follow straight after they hear the sound.

krlyr

A clicker is a marker for a dog having done a good behaviour. You need to 'prime' a clicker, by clicking and giving a treat. The dog then associates the click to mean a treat is on its way.

It has some benefit over verbal recognition of behaviour because it never varies in tone, and can be a little quicker so mark the precise moment the dog did the right behaviour (e.g. the very second its rear touched the ground if you were teaching sit). Also, you often speak to a dog in general 'chitchat' and certain words can lose their meaning - for example, we probably tell our dog they're a good boy or good girl for so many various things, the precise meaning of it is probably so blurry to a dog. Whereas the clicker is only ever used for a marker cue, so is always recognisable to the dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wv1uvvqaSw
Kikopup/Emily Larlham probably explains it so much better - and definately check out her Youtube channel as it is chockablock full of fantastic training videos

JencParker

Are you taking him to puppy classes? A good puppy class/trainer would be able to take you through all these things as also show you how to use a clicker.

lee111s

You just need to make the crate somewhere he enjoys going. Most dogs don't actually hate the crate they just hate being isolated, they're social animals.

I have certain toys that my youngest only gets in his crate. Have you tried a kong in the crate.

Try tiring him out and putting him in there, he's much more likely to sleep in it when tired and will wake up in there thinking it's not all that bad.

I also cover mine with thick throws so that it's nice and dark (so he'll sleep) but also so that he can't see you're leaving the room.

Patience is key. My pup is 4 months now and he still gets a treat when he goes inside although not every time now. By not doing it every time make him think I'll go in as there's a chance something really good is going to happen!