We have an 8wk 4day old puppy,border collie.We have got a crate,having never used one before,we need a bit of advice please.

We put her in the crate over the last 2 nights but she cried a lot.I know we should maybe persevere and her breeder suggests that all puppies dislike the crates to begin with and has suggested we feed her in it or put a toy in with her,so she sees it as a 'nice place to be'.

So tonight I put her last feed in there,she went in to investigate,but promptly turned about and came out again,flopped on the floor and looked up at me?I think she would rather starve than have to eat in there.

Am I doing the right thing? During the days the crate is left open and she totally ignores it,choosing to sleep by my chair instead.

I know it is early days!but I don't want her to become stressed out over it,do all puppies adapt to crates or have some of you had experiences where your pups never took to it?

Other than this she is totally adorable,comes when called,knows her name already as our breeder has used it right from the very begining.She even brings back a tennis ball to me when I roll it along the floor and sits for me to roll it again!I was totally amazed at her quickness and willingness to play and learn.

I know border collies can be a handful,if not kept occupied and well trained,our previous dog was a collie x,but this little one is showing exceptional talents at such an early age.I want to do my best for her.

Hi,

It's great you are using a crate, they are sooooooo useful :)  Definately keep going with it, here are a few suggestions that might help:-

1. Cover the crate on the top and three sides with a thick blanket/blankets not only to keep the cold out, but also to make it more like a den.

2.  Never use it as punishment.

3. Give her a stuffed kong in there sometimes so she looks forward to going in there and gets a reward for it.

4. Feed her EVERY meal and EVERY biscuit or treat in there.

5. Put her in there for short regular spells during the day and make sure if she is tired, she ALWAYS goes in her bed to sleep.

6. Make it as interesting as possible (but safely) with lots of toys and chews in there to play with.

7. Make sure the bedding is warm and soft and VERY thick as pups do like comfort, especially on these cold nights.

8. You could always move the crate upstairs either in your bedroom or just outside, so she doesn't feel so isolated.

9. Leave a radio on so there is a little background noise while she is in there.

Glad you know what a BC is like, definately start as you mean to go on, as collies are very clever and quick and will outwit you if they can.  Stop letting her sleep next to you and put her in her crate when she falls asleep.

Don't let her be with you all the time you are there, isolate her for short periods (as well as putting her in the crate for short periods) so she gets to stand on her own 4 paws and not be too reliant on you.

Good luck, sounds like you are doing a good job so far!! :)

manda
x

I must confess to crate training my pups before they leave me, have had buyers in the past frantic about the pups being noisy in their crate and have given up after about 10 mins, only to have their homes destroyed by a min tazmanian devil ----- bless lol.

I start by feeding them in the crate with the door closed with their food hanging on the door as I use my old parrot feeders, that way they are only in there for something they enjoy.  Next I move them in when they are asleep and leave food in the bowls for when they wake up, then let them out when they've eaten so they can go to the toilet.  Next step is in there awake after a good play with a couple of toys so they fall asleep in there, thankfully pups tend to be tired at different times so the first to show signs of nodding off goes in.  Finally we do tea, out for a wee, back in for bed with toy and in there all night - I have only had 1 shouting out of this litter (male) about this stage but we just kept doing it until he settled, all the pups that have left have not murmured for their new owners and people are quite happy to get up with them at 6 am.

I would follow your breeders advice and put her in there with food to start with the door closed, then gradually build up to longer periods over the day, but I would say don't let her out whilst she's crying about it as that will just encourage her to keep crying for longer - my gold 9 wk old puppy is sitting in a crate chewing on a chew with the door open, she has taken herself in there, not sure she's made the right choice re cage when it's owner comes in for breakie lol.

Our pups 6 months old now and loves his crate, when he first arrived in our home whenever he fell asleep we would pick him up and put him inside his crate close the door and leave him to sleep so he always awoke in his crate.
Now if he's sleeping on the settee with us and we wake him up he goes straight to his crate to sleep I really would persevere with the crate as its just so useful to have as a safe place for him while your out.
The one strange thing is he will not eat anything in his crate not even his favourite treats I think its a cleanliness (spelling?)thing with him that he doesn't want to dirty his crate in any way.

Steve

I agree with everything mandatas has said - my 13 week old Gordon has been in his crate since we got him at 7 and half weeks ( not literally though!! ). He cried the first couple of days, but now races into it as soon as we say "go to bed" !!! mind you - giving him a bit of a schmacko everytime helps! he loves his, he has comfy bedding, chew toys, and has the radio on - its fab knowing we can go out and all will be as we left it on our return! it has helped LOADS - cant tell you how much - with house-training, apart from the first 2 nights when he had peed in there, he has been clean ever since, and he goes to bed around 11pm, and thats it till 7.45! have never had him in our bedroom though, really didnt want to get into that one, apart from lugging a 42" crate up and downstairs!! he has been really good though, so stick with it, I think they are the BEST idea. I have friends, both with 6 month old GSD's, and they keep finding alsorts eaten, chewed etc over night as they just shut their dogs in the kitchen, that and house-training took so much longer. I have also owned dogs previously, but not used a crate, things are soooo much better with one, would recommend them to anyone. Good luck!

Thanks for all the good advice we are going to try to persevere overnight,but we have also bought a doggie playpen with more room for the daytime use! for when I am cooking and hoovering (things I have hardly done for the last 3-4 days!) I really must get the routine back now!

I am wondering if the crate is a bit too small? it was lent by a friend who had a sheltie and going by the web I think a border collie may need a bigger size one? she can sit upright and turn around,also lie full length,but if I put her food bowl in there she would have trouble being comfortable! I am on a learning curve! but working on it to get it right! :)

We had our first big adventure today,went to pets at home store, to get the playpen and she took it all in her stride,mind you hubby had big cheesy grin whilst he cuddled her all the way around the store accepting the "aah isn't she cute",the only thing that made him retort was when someone asked "is she a christmas present for someone?" NO WAY SHE IS A MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY NOT A PLAYTHING FOR CHRISTMAS!"  :D
Jacqueline

O.K. call me dim but is a puppy play pen different from a crate.I keep looking at crates on ebay and cannot make a decision whether to get one or not.We are at home all day so it would be just for night time or until I have house trained puplet.All replies gratefully received.

Sue

Yes it is and its really handy ours is octagon shaped and about 8 feet at its widest point its like a little fenced in area where they have a bit more room to play.

Steve

Exactly! it has no top or bottom so we have put down vetbed and a little bit of newspaper in one corner "just in case I don't anticipate her needs quick enough!" but you can leave one side open ,if you wish,so she can come and go as she needs to.

She has actually gone into it happily herself with toys this afternoon and slept in there,unlike the crate/cage,so maybe that will become her den!This is a vast improvement today,she hasn't tried to sleep under my chair at all,so I think she was just fussing about having a big den!We shall see  ;)

I even managed to put the hoover through the lounge and kitchen without her crying for attention,progress is being made :)
Thanks again everyone for all your help!