Crate training a puppy - Help PLEASE!

[We_love_WDW]

We got a 4 month old english bulldog puppy 2 days ago. We are trying to crate train him at night and if we leave the house. At night he has been barking for HOURS and pooping and peeing in his cage. We are taking him out in the middle of the night. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. How long (weeks/days) can we expect him to bark in his cage?

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Put some pennies in a tin can and shake it sharply (out of the dog's view) when he barks in the crate. You have to be firm and he will learn quickly. If you soften and give in you are in for a really long haul.

good luck!!

 

[IDoDis]

Are you also keeping him in the crate when you are awake and nearby? He's probably sad and lonely if your family members are in their bedrooms. Also, the crate needs to be small. If it's too big, he will find an area in the crate to do his business.

Make sure to crate him during the day when you are home, too. When you let him out, take him out right away and use the same words each time like "Go potty." Then when he goes praise him right away. You'll have to stand outside and watch though. He'll start to understand what you want him to do. He really doesn't want to go in his crate, but doesn't know the routine yet. Just be consistent.

The pennies in the can worked for our dogs for a couple of days, but then they got used to it. Some dogs it works fine, with but our Shelties are just talkers by nature.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We got a 4 month old english bulldog puppy 2 days ago. We are trying to crate train him at night and if we leave the house. At night he has been barking for HOURS and pooping and peeing in his cage. We are taking him out in the middle of the night. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. How long (weeks/days) can we expect him to bark in his cage?

It has only been 2 days. The puppy is scared and lonely. Just be consistent all the time and just like kids, puppy will get used to how things are run your home.

Plus he is a bulldog and generally they are a dominant breed so he will try and "bully" you.

 

[robinb]

Where is the crate? For a brand-new puppy I would recommend that the crate be in your bedroom so he can hear and smell you. Start it off right next to your bed and move it about 8-12 inches every night. You'll be able to move it out of your room in a week or two.

The other problem of pooping and peeing in the crate may be because the crate is too big. You want the dog to *barely* have enough room to stand up and turn around. Any more room gives him a place to walk away from his sleeping place to do his business.

Good luck! I *hate* potty training.

 

[MinnieFan]

You can purchase a divider for the crate to temporarily make it smaller (the crate we bought for our puppy came with the divider). You want the puppy to have enough room to turn around and lay down comfortably, but dogs are naturally clean and do not want to poop where they sleep. When the puppy grows and gets the idea of training, you can remove the divider.

Our breeder suggested feeding the puppy in his crate, but this did not work for us. We did use a stuffed toy that he loved to cuddle in his crate, though. The pp's recommendations of keeping the crate in your room at night and crating the puppy at different times during the day are good.

Hang in there and be patient - this will eventually! Dogs are den animals and like to have their own little space. Our puppy is over a year old now, and has the run of the house, but when he is tired he goes straight to his crate and curls up for a nap.

Good luck!

 

[Agri]

Do you have a small room you could close him up in?

In my personal experience, some dogs just do not take to being crated up. Some love it, others just simply dislike being in such close quarters. My dog absolutely hated being in a crate and would act out all sorts of ways. I tried closing her up in the bathroom instead and no more accidents and she slept most of the time I was gone. I wasn't about to put her back in a crate she really hated for whatever reason. (She was absolutely a completely different dog when she was in a crate - clearly stressed out.)

She has always slept in my room so she could let me know when she needed to go out, so I'm not help there. I guess I don't really see the point of keeping a dog in a crate when you're at home, especially a new puppy. If you work long hours, you're spending so little time with the dog and he's feeling lonely and wondering why he's being caged.

 

[golfgal]

Make sure he is 'done" doing his duty outside before you put him in the crate. Dogs often go more than once at a time. Our dog used to pee 3 times before she was done. I finally figured that out and it helped tremendously. She she stopped sniffing the ground and started to want to play she was done. Also, when you take him out, CARRY him outside so the first thing he feels is where he should be going potty. Put him down and tell him to "go potty" or whatever, when he does go potty, praise him saying "good potty" or whatever so he knows THAT is where he should be going.

I also agree that the crate is too big if he is going in there. Clean it VERY well, stick a piece of wood in there to section it off and try again.