crate training a puppy HELP!

[BWVDenise]

She has been at it for an hour and I'm not supposed to let her out until she has been quiet for FIVE MINUTES. She wants out BAD! I need to have some place to keep her safe (and my carpets) when I do have to go out. But she just wants to be held. None of the techniques in the book I have are working. Any suggestions from successful crate trainers?

 

[disneynutt1225]

Goodness, I don't know what book you're reading, but I'd chuck it right away. IMO, crate training shouldn't be PAINFUL! You should be weaning your puppy into the crate, not waiting until she calms down for 5 minutes. How old is she? The crate is supposed to be a safe haven, and right now, she probably sees it as a terrible punishment. Please let her out and give her some cuddles.

ETA: When we crate trained Toby (our beagle) we'd give him a treat, make his space comfy, and let him go in for a minute or two. We'd gradually increase the time he spent in it until he was comfortable being in there completely. Recently (he's now 2), he started going in there all by himself and just hang out for HOURS at a time with the door open. He'd either sleep or just watch me when I was on the computer. He's such a goof!

 

[disneynutt1225]

BTW, I completely understand needing someplace safe for your baby when you're not around. Toby got himself into quite a bit of trouble pre-crate training. He ate a 5lb bag of potatoes and some sponges that were in my kitchen cabinets!!! I'm sure he had quite the tummy ache when he was done.

 

[mrsv98]

I humbly disagree. If you let her out, then it will only be worse. Make sure she doesn't have to pee, give her a treat and leave her in. The more you take her in and out, the harder it will be. I have two labs who are happy as clams in their crates and am about to get a third. The only way it has worked for us it to sufer through for the first day or two, then they settle down.

Good luck, it is hard at first, but well worth it in the end.

 

[BWVDenise]

ok. once she was quiet for 5 minutes, i took her out (she just wanted to be picked up), dh ckecked the crate & found she had puked *book doesn't cover this*. She just wants me to hold her, nothing more. She reminds me of a hampster, she is so little. As long as I'm holding her, she doesn't pee or poop. She just wants to be held. She has pooped twice outside but then waits until she comes back in to pee. She is just so loving and just wants to be picked up. I just want to successfully train her to not do anything in the house... my previous dog was SO good about it and he was pretty easy to train, even as a terrier. This baby doesn't want anything but to be held. I will hold her all I can, but there are times that I will have to go grocery shopping or to the school, and I want to know that she will be safe and so will the carpets!

 

[Daxx]

Don't know if this is much of a help ... but when we had our dog, we found that KONG filled w/peanut butter and carrot bits helped make crate training so easy! We'd fill a KONG with peanut butter and add carrot chunks. We'd throw it into the crate, the dog would go barrelling in and we'd close the crate and he'd be content. Even when he'd dig out all the pb&c, he'd be content to stay in the crate.

Put things in there that your puppy will love ... then she'll find it her home.

 

[BWVDenise]

problem is, that she doesn't responde to treats. I tried to reward her for going poop outside with a treat and all she wanted was to be picked up. She didn't give a hoot about the treat. I couldn't get her to eat dinner tonight either. I hope she eats breakfast tomorrow!

 

[Zoiebear]

I can definitely relate to the beagle dilema, I have been there done that twice now. It was the separation anxiety that was the hardest, the whining, crying and howling. The crate thing, well let the pup get a little use to its surroundings. Crate training is a huge success, it is important for the baby to respect the crate as a private lil space for them. It is also important not to leave the puppy in the crate with barf or pee or poop for too long. As for the peeing outside, stay outside with her until she goes, probably approx 20 minutes after a meal and drink.
Dont shoot the dog is a great resource, it is a book.

Also someone mentioned the Kong, that is a great resouce, I have also found the "triple crown" everlasting treat ball is great. I have 2 beagles and that keeds them entertained for a hours.

Also looking for a resource guide on the net, where you can post and get replies from other dog people, Doggiedoor used to be a great info site.
Stacie

 

[Aimeedyan]

Just takes time... and lots of patience.

My Shih Tzu threw a fit at the crate and DH gave in after night 2 of nonstop thrashing against the crate door and screaming. He's been in our bed since BUT he was crated when we left the house until trustworthy. We never got him to chill when we were in the house.

Winston, my Heinz 57 baby, on the other hand loved his crate and was quite content in it. I think part of this was because he was a pound puppy all alone and had grown used to sleeping alone. Harley came straight from the litter to us.

I am a big supporter of the crate BUT if you want to not crate when you're in the house you can leash her to you - referred to as the umbillical method. I do this with Harley when housetraining. Just tie the leash around your beltloop or wrist and pup goes with you. Less chance of missing a need for a potty break.

Harley hated the crate when we left - he would run and hide when he thought we were going to leave him. I pulled him out from under furniture many times and he did NOT fall for the treat bit. he just didn't have a choice - he got a safe toy inside (usually a frozen kong) and a quick treat and we left the house immediately. He always chilled out once he realized we were gone and slept until we returned. But we did have to put him in there and shut the door quickly LOL!

Don't worry too much about her not eating - things are very exciting in her world right now and she's just adjusting. Puppies will eat when hungry, don't you worry! Just offer it, she has 15-20 minutes to eat it, then it gets put up. This helps est your role as alpha and avoids a picky demanding eater.

Have fun holding that baby!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Your baby has a bladder the size of a walnut, LOL, so expect that right now he'll have to come out fairly frequently to go. If he's restless after sleeping then he has to go.

The point the book is trying to make is that you don't reward the dog's barking by taking him out; rather you wait until the dog is quiet and then take him out. But we're talking seconds, not minutes. And we're talking a dog who's a bit older, too, not a baby. It's different with a baby.

As a rule, play with dog, feed dog, take out, put in crate to settle, take out upon wakening. Good luck.

 

[Papa Deuce]

I don't know what is "right". But what we did, was basically keep ours in the crate all the time for about 2 weeks. We only let him out when it was potty time or a time to interact with us.

He pretty much became housebroken in 2 weeks.

Now, no matter what time of the day it is, I have trained him to get my wife to let him out if he has to go --- even at 4 AM! Seriosuly, this dog will NEVER ask anybody but her to let him out unless she isn't around. Very cool.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Funny, Papa, in our house it's just the opposite - the dog wakes DH up, not me!

 

[FreshTressa]

Aww, poor guy!

So sweet though that he likes being held....you could never hold my dog as a puppy!

It is funny, now my dog goes into his crate on his own, and I don't even have to lock the door!

Your dog reminds me of my son...he would cry so hard he would puke in his crib, so we finally gave up and slept with him!

Sorry I have no advice. I'm a wuss and not a good doggy mommy and just spoil them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

problem is, that she doesn't responde to treats. I tried to reward her for going poop outside with a treat and all she wanted was to be picked up. She didn't give a hoot about the treat. I couldn't get her to eat dinner tonight either. I hope she eats breakfast tomorrow!

Your answer is right in front of YOU! She wants to be held. Aha! Say the command go potty, when she does it praise loudly and then pick up. hehehehe...she will get that quick.

I don't like using treats for potty training. In fact my pups are 1 now and we still hardly ever give them treats. They get their special dog food roll as "treats", and that is when we do obedience training.
Store bought treats messes with their digestive system.
I always used loud, verbal excitement for potty training. They loved that!!!

 

[ahutton]

I don't know if you pup can see or hear you while you are doing the training, but I've found that can impact how long it takes for them to settle down. Also, is the crate possibly too big at this puppy stage? If so one option is to put a box in the back to reduce the size and give it a better "den" quality until the pup grows into the room available.

 

[Martha7]

With our German Shepard, we bought two crates, so that we could have one next to our bed at night. No more crying after that! It was a bit extravagant, but so worth it! Our girl's father weighed 125 pounds, so we knew she'd be large as well. Her crate was too big to be carrying up and down the stairs! Good luck to you! The first months with a puppy are as exhausting as having a newborn!