Hi there.

My wife and i have a 9 week old black lab male, Bruce, and are looking for some advice on the use of a crate to toilet train him.
We have got a crate suitable for when he is grown and currently have divided it into two sections with bedding at the back and paper at the front. We keep his water bowl in the crate at all times and also feed him in the crate. However during the day when my wife or I are around he will not go to his crate to sleep, preferring to sleep in the lounge near us.

We have tried putting him into the crate when he falls asleep but as soon as we put him in and retreat out, he follows and comes and lies down beside us again. His crate is located in the kitchen facing the door into the lounge. Whenever we are in the kitchen for any length of time, washing dishes, etc. he will when tired enough go into the crate and settle down, however upon hearing us leave he will follow.

We have tried shutting the door for a length of time when he has fallen asleep in it and opening once he has woken, but he is wary of settling in the crate.

We are combining paper training and garden training at the moment and he is very good at going on the paper, however at night we leave him in the kitchen with paper down and the crate door open with a baby monitor, i know!! he has settled and generally sleeps without a whimper but every morning there is a few poos and several wees waiting for us.

should we take the crate into the bedroom, shut the door over and let him outside if he wakes during the night? Or would it be ok to keep him in the kitchen although i wouldnt be sure if he was whining about the crate door being closed or if he genuinely needed the toilet?

I am asking as i hear wonderful things about the crate training, yet i feel as i am not doing things right.

thanks for your help.

Barry

Hi Barry,

It sounds like you've made a very good start with Bruce. Don't forget that at 9 weeks he is still very much a tiny baby, and it will probably be some time yet before he chooses to go away from you to sleep. Dogs don't like to be alone in an unfamiliar place, and I doubt you've had him for very long. Give him time to really settle in and he'll feel more secure when he's on his own. In time he'll think of his crate as being his special, safe place, and settle in it more happily.

As regards crate training, I'm afraid I can't help because I've always house-trained the 'old-fashioned' way of mopping the floors! From what I have learned from people here though, if he is shut in his crate at night you must go down and let him out when he needs to 'go' so that he isn't forced to either be uncomfortable or mess in his crate. Which means very many disturbed nights. You can either have his crate in your room so that you wake when he does, or have it downstairs, and set your alarm for every 3 or 4 hours.

Someone else will be along with more advice shortly, I'm sure. Good luck with him - I bet he's lovely!
:)

Thanks Jeangenie.

He is absolutely gorgeous, although he seems to be only teeth at the moment!!!!

Barry

Hi Barry
are you covering the crate at all so that pup cant see you?

Hi Lel

We cover the crate at the side facing into the kitchen and at the top, it is against cabinets at the rear and at the other long side. the front of the crate is uncovered giving him a view into the lounge.

You could try covering all sides and seeing whether this makes a difference although I know with my 14 week old pup she will quite happily go to sleep in a closed crate at night time but not in the day ( covered or uncovered) :rolleyes:

We closed the crate door at night right from the start. She cried on and off for the first week, but on advice from the breeder did not let her out untill morning no matter how much fuss she made. Bed time was about midnight and getting up at 6.30am. We always made sure that she had passed water and pood before putting her to bed. In her crate she had a couple of safe toys and a ball stuffed with small bonios. Not once did our baby soil her crate. It is essential to go straight down in the morning and not waite untill you have dressed etc. As soon as your pup hears you up they will be desperate to go. After this have a cuppa and a play and then put back into the crate whilst you go upstairs for your shower etc. We had a few accidents in the house during the day but this was mainly our fault for not paying enough attention. It only took a few weeks and she was clean both day and night. She is now 6 months old and we pop her into her crate if we need to leave her in the house alone. She only needs to catch sight of us putting the bonios in her ball and she is sat in front of the crate waiting to go in. She quite likes it now and will go in there during the day whenever she wants a quiet sleep. We have it under the stairs in the hall where she can keep an eye on whatever we are doing. Hope this helps.