[jennduke]

Okay, we have had Gus for a week and a half now. He's started to do great with potty training (we have a bell he rings to go out, but sometimes he thinks the bell should be rung when he wants to go play with sticks :doh, and he's KINDA learning commands like "drop it", "no", and "down"…he's kind of stubborn. BUT, we have issues with crate training.
We have a wire crate from value crates and it has a divider in there for him to grow into…we also put a sheet over the crate to make him feel more like he is in a den. Gus always prefers to sleep under tables during his naps (coffee table, kitchen table, outside he sleeps under the patio table…see attached photo)…but when it is time for bed and we transfer him to the crate he goes bananas! The past 2 nights he's been so sleepy that he doesn't protest and goes back to sleep without a peep--YAY!--, however, after his only potty break around 3-4AM, he barks almost non-stop and pulls the WHOLE sheet into the crate with him…he pulls it through the wires of the crate and the whole thing is in there when my husband gets up with him at 6:30! He fixes it back every morning before he leaves for work around 7:30 and puts Gus back into the crate…then I get up around 9:00 with him (after he has a barking spell for an hour), and he has pulled the sheet into the crate again! He also does this if we leave the house and have him in his crate. He jumps like a mad man and almost gets destructive with things when he wants to be out of the crate. I'm scared he will hurt himself! We leave a towel and soft toy as well as Nylabone in there, but he takes the whole sheet down instead of playing with his stuff. I have been giving him his Kong only in his crate when we leave or when it isn't sleepy time in his crate, but he still acts nuts. My mom and I are crafty, so we are going to make a crate cover for him (I don't want to spend $100+ on one online). I thought about including various Velcro spots to attach to the wires so he can't pull it in…but this still won't help with his "Get me outta here" destructive behavior.
Does anyone have suggestions for us to help him not act like such a brat in his crate?! My husband and I are less concerned about all of his barking (we have wonderful earplugs) but more concerned about his antics that could get him hurt.

 

[Noreaster]

Have you tried it without the sheet? Some dogs want to be able to see what's around them--given what you said about how he naps under tables, he may just want some seclusion but not that much?

Probably won't be that simple, but it's worth a try?

 

[jennduke]

Have you tried it without the sheet? Some dogs want to be able to see what's around them--given what you said about how he naps under tables, he may just want some seclusion but not that much?

Probably won't be that simple, but it's worth a try?

We've tried no sheet, and he seems more restless and doesn't sleep as well. We have also tried to pull the sheet back from the front door so it seems like a den (all walls covered but the front door), and he doesn't like that either, or somehow grabs the sheet still. I've thought about just doing the top of the crate so it seems like a table he loves…maybe I will try that tonight! Thank you!

 

[cgriffin]

I would ditch the sheet too. Make going back into the crate fun for him, take him to the crate with a treat in your hand, guide him in and give him the treat.

Reality check, pups have their own schedule, if he was let out by your hubby around 7, he is done sleeping. If he barks till you get up at 9, he is letting you know, not sleepy mom.

I am up between 5:30 and 6 AM every morning, including weekends. I faced the reality that my pup is hungry and not sleepy anymore. I would rather get up than listen to an hour of barking or whining - since I would not get any more sleep anyway. On the weekends, my hubby is still in bed and since he works all week, it would not be fair to have to listen to puppy cry and bark, so I do the kind thing and get up with puppy and shut the bedroom door.

Hang in there, puppy will eventually grow up and grow out of wanting to get up too early - at least some do, hahaha.

 

[Noreaster]

One other thought--it's been a few years (like eight) since I crate trained a puppy, but once she had some bladder control I stopped letting her out of her crate until she was quiet and then I upped the requirement that she was not only quiet, but lying down. If she flailed around I'd turn my back on her and just stand there with my arms folded until she stopped.

It took a while, but even today all she'll do when she wants out of her crate is give the tiniest, most polite little whimper in her repertoire...and since she's got a bark they could weaponize when she's in full voice, that's a lot of self-restraint!

 

[jennduke]

I would ditch the sheet too. Make going back into the crate fun for him, take him to the crate with a treat in your hand, guide him in and give him the treat.

Reality check, pups have their own schedule, if he was let out by your hubby around 7, he is done sleeping. If he barks till you get up at 9, he is letting you know, not sleepy mom.

I am up between 5:30 and 6 AM every morning, including weekends. I faced the reality that my pup is hungry and not sleepy anymore. I would rather get up than listen to an hour of barking or whining - since I would not get any more sleep anyway. On the weekends, my hubby is still in bed and since he works all week, it would not be fair to have to listen to puppy cry and bark, so I do the kind thing and get up with puppy and shut the bedroom door.

Hang in there, puppy will eventually grow up and grow out of wanting to get up too early - at least some do, hahaha.

He barks until I get up (I make sure to give him a break so I don't get him when he is barking), and literally 10 minutes after I am in the room he goes to sleep under the coffee table! He gets tired when my husband puts him in the crate, that's why we do it, but he fights his sleep with barking. I agree thought twit schedules are not like ours and we are definitely adjusting to his, but making sure he also knows to adjust to ours.

I will continue to try crate games with him though! Thank you!

 

[Sadiegirl128]

Patience is all I can say

I have a towel covering the top of Sadie's crate. She does not like it draping over the front or sides. She likes to be able to see me in my bed. Our middle of the night potty breaks are long over. She is 4 months old now. However, she is up and raring to start the day between 5 & 6 every day! I have just come to accept that for now. She eats between 6 & 6:30 every morning and I make a cup of coffee. I sit on the couch until I feel the caffeine has kicked in, and then it is playtime. We have a routine, which I realize can change tomorrow Long nap before lunch allows me to get things done. It just takes lots of patience. I have never been a morning person, having worked the night shift for years, so I thought this schedule was going to kill me! LOL. But now, we are in bed by 10:30 every night knowing the mornings start very early around here, and I love it
Good luck!

 

[pb2b]

Is he crated in your room? If not, try that. Henry cannot handle being separated from us at night. He sleeps much better when he is in the crate in our room. We, however, hear him shifting around and changing positions all night. We chock it up to parent sacrifice

We, too, get up at 5 during the week and 6 during the weekends. Caffeine!

How long do you leave him crated when you go out? We started with very short periods and gradually increased. Crate games are great too.

Give it a couple more weeks. My colleague's dog took months to learn to accept it.

 

[Castaway]

What I did with my girls to provide a den-like environment is I took large pieces of cardboard, and put them on the top and side of the crate, which was placed in the corner of the room.

I had thought about putting in a blanket or pad into the crate, but both of them are big chewers, and so the blanket became dangerous for them. So out they went. Just as well, they like the cool plastic floor. Also, make sure the toys left in there are ones that can't be torn apart...

 

[jennduke]

Is he crated in your room? If not, try that. Henry cannot handle being separated from us at night. He sleeps much better when he is in the crate in our room. We, however, hear him shifting around and changing positions all night. We chock it up to parent sacrifice

We, too, get up at 5 during the week and 6 during the weekends. Caffeine!

How long do you leave him crated when you go out? We started with very short periods and gradually increased. Crate games are great too.

Give it a couple more weeks. My colleague's dog took months to learn to accept it.

He hates us being in the same room! He cries so much when we are in the same room with him crated! We leave him crated no longer than 2 hours and that is after a huge play session when he's getting sleepy. I think I am less concerned over his barking and more about him being a lunatic over it!

 

[pb2b]

He hates us being in the same room! He cries so much when we are in the same room with him crated! We leave him crated no longer than 2 hours and that is after a huge play session when he's getting sleepy. I think I am less concerned over his barking and more about him being a lunatic over it!

Henry will not stand to be crated when we are home and awake (unless he is plowing through breakfast). I meant perhaps at night so he can still feel like he is near you after his potty break.


Pull his water up two hours before bedtime as well. That can help with potty breaks. Hopefully in a few weeks he will be able to make it to a more reasonable hour.




Sent from Petguide.com Free App