am trying to train my puppy with a cage , we have the cage in our lounge and she goes in it while we are in the room quite contently (we leave the door open !), however when we lock the doors and go out she cries and barks, i guess this is normal but am wondering if we should have the cage in a room that we are not in all the time (like the kitchen) but if we did this she would not stay in the cage and would always come out if door open.
other question there may be occasions when we will have to leave the puppy for 3/4 hours morn and afternoon due to work, this would be once or twice a week max, do you leave some water in the cage or just offer drink in morning again at dinner when home and then whenever she wants at night ?

any suggestions appreciated

Hi Hodgey,

Your doing the right thing in leaving the crate open, you need to make the crate your pups safe den, where she can go to sleep and have a time out, make it nice and warm and comfy for her, with her toys in there. Whenever she drops and falls asleep pop her in the crate so that she wakes up in there.

Most people tend to keep them in the kitchen, but if she is a new pup it is ok in the lounge for now, if you want her close, that is understandable.

On a night-time though I would move the crate into the kitchen, close the door to keep her safe, place some newspaper down with a bowl of water and most important of all a little treat that way it will enforce the message that the crate is a good place.

Re: Your two hours work twice a week, again, leave the crate in the kitchen, with some water and newspaper aswell as her bedding, toys and that treat, she will cry to start with, but as long as you don't go to her she will stop, and she will soon get used to it.

Crates are also great when puppy gets over excited for a 5 minute time out.  But yes over night and a period of over 2 hours make sure there is water for her. :-)

Hi Hodgey
Regarding the crying this is completely normal of most pups
My advice to you is ignore it
If you go to her when shes crying she will think all that crying and whining gets your attention
I know its hard but be firm

As for leaving her for a few hours I think this is completely fine, but in my own opinion i wouldnt put any water in there for her
I know that sounds awful but the last thing you want is for her to go to the toiler in her crate because shes had too much water.
Dogs hate to mess their crates, this included having to pee in there because shes desperate to go

sorry meant to say also i would keep her crate in one room, and not move it around for when your in and out
she may feel more settled being in one environent rather then getting moved between the loung and the kitchen

we have the cage in our lounge and she goes in it while we are in the room quite contently (we leave the door open !), however when we lock the doors and go out she cries and barks

If I'm reading this right it is open when you are there, but locked when you leave the room -so two unpleasant things happening at once -being left AND being locked up. Start locking it for a short while when you are still THERE to start with.

i have now moved the cage into the kitchen and she will now stay in the cage with no-one else in the room and she will go in when told to go to bed also which i find amazing as i only started telling her this  2 days ago, she is a quick learner . we tried her in the kitchen for fist time last night, cried and barked till 1.30am but then never heard her again till this morning, no accidents in the cage so am going to persivere with this again.
hopefully she will now see the cage as her own space and not be as frightened/scared to go in it and be locked up when we go out and at night, fingers crossed

thanks for everybodys advice

My pup is crate trained, he has everything in his cage all the time, from a young age he has eaten in there, always has his water in there, his bed is in there and all his toys, the door is always open (unless we are out) and he quite happily wanders in and out of it, doesnt cry when left. it doesnt take to long to do, you just have to be strict.

I would also feed her all her meals in her crate so she associates the crate with something good . You  could also try covering it with a cloth as some dogs feel more comfortable in a covered area.

Our GR would squash himself into his crate long after he had grown out of it until he could no longer physically fit through the door :)