Hi Guys

I am after advice for a friend that is having a hard time with her pup, she picked him up last Thurs and he is an 9 week old lab, i have tried to give advice as best i could but have no advice to give her on crate training as i don't use a crate with my pup. This is what she wrote:_

Hi

I recently bought a gorgeous 9 week old Lab pup, he is just beautiful but i am so angry at myself as i seem to be failing already even thogh i did about a years worth of reading books etc before i got him!

The problem is this, i want to train him to sleep in a crate and he will be crated overnight, mostly for his own safety but also because i have another older dog and a young child. I felt completely prepared for the pup,but since his arrival on Thurs i feel like rubbish and all my plans have gone out the window.

Basically what is happening is this, i got him on Thurs and bought him home, introduction to my other dog went smoothly, when Bailey (pup) fell asleep i lifted him into his crate and he immediately woke up and started screaming, i didn't want to go back to him straight away as i don't want him to learn that i let him out when he cries but he just would not stop and was frantic so i let him out and he came back into the living room and fell asleep. I fed him in his crate but as soon as he finished he started screaming again, i was prepared for crying but this is really bad and he gets in such a state that i think he will throw up!. I have been feeding him in his crate and as soon as he finished he starts crying to be let out, i have tried putting little treats in there but again as soon as he has finished them he cries, don't get me wrong i do not want him confined to a crate for long periods just when he sleeps and when i am hoovering up etc and at night time. I have slept downstairs with him since Thurs but he will just not settle in his crate so eventually i end up giving in and apart from being knackered i don't know what i am doing wrong. What has happened to my plans to let him out every 2 hours during the night for a wee and then put him back in??!!  instead i found myself sleeping with him cuddled in my arms last night just so that i could get some sleep. Everything else is going great, house training is going great, puppy nipping is going great but i can't seem to get this crate training right. I don't want to give up as it is really important that he accepts the crate as i work 2 hours per morning and go back to work next week.

Please please tell me what i am doing wrong as i feel like such an idiot.

Many thanks in advance

Kate and Bailey x

Hi Michelle,

I'd suggest your friend goes back to basics with the crate idea :)  Best not to simply just shut the door when feeding - I'd recommend she leaves the crate door open as often as possible during the day so the puppy can go in and out as it pleases.  Feeding him in there will help as will giving him chews and/or treats that take a while to get through :)

If he falls asleep outside the crate lift him in gently - small pups are not usually wakened very easily.  Have the crate covered on the top and all sides except the doorway with a blanket or similar so that the space is cosy and den-like :)  Hopefully with patience it will work - just don't try to force the situation otherwise the pup will be distressed at the very sight of the crate and never be likely to settle in it willingly.

My current pup is doing fairly well with the crate but not entirely happy to be parted from the other doggy residents.  Great overnight or for an afternoon nap but that aside he's not as attracted to it as most of my previous dogs have been.   I'm currently experimenting with whether it is best that the current adults are out of or within his sight when he's closed in ..... a work in progress shall we say :-D

TBH, not all pups will take to a crate - IME more so when there is another canine household member wandering about loose ;)  My middle dog HATES crates and would have her muzzle rubbed raw if confined to one yet happily accepts the car cage :)  Consequently she's never crated and when recently kept in at the emergency vets was kept in a large pen to prevent her becoming agitated (and winding up the other temporary residents!)  I bred her and she was used to a crate from the word go as well as carefully and gently being introduced to the concept but she's always had an issue with them so I just don't try and force her.  After all, many family dogs for decades (OK, centuries!) have been happily and safely raised without them so it's not really a "must have" item although quite naturally very convenient for limiting access to household dangers when unsupervised (wires etc).

HTH a bit, Teri

You're not doing anything wrong - every dog is different.  My older dog was used to the crate thanks to his breeder so it was made easier for us.  When we got out new pup a week ago, she luckily took to the crate (although we don't shut the door).  We put a blanket in there which has the scent of her mother on, so she perhaps thought it was comforting to go in the crate.

How about just leaving the crate door open.  Put treats in and cosy toys and such, then the dog will go in, but not feel threatened by the shut door.  He may learn to relax in there and think of it as a good place.  Then after a few days, when he has accepted the crate and chooses to sleep in it, you could shut the door for say 10 mins, and build it up gradually.  I wouldn't shut him in overnight though, because he may need to relieve himself and it will be distressing for him if he soils his sleeping area.

What we have done is put a puppy gate up at the end of our kitchen (galley type kitchen) and that area contains the crate, with space outside for play and eating (and a piece of newspaper for emergencies) so the pup has a safe area at night and when I'm busy she can still see us through the gate but not get under out feet!  Good luck it will get better.