[KendraLolaPup]

Hi! New here and new golden pup parent.
We got Lola at 14 weeks old this week. A little older than usual. Breeder has already been crating her at night so we were confident she’d be fine here.
First night was horrific. She was so stressed. Barking, crying, banging and evening pooing. We followed all the usual steps but no. She hates it. So after a couple nights of trying we moved the crate to the bedroom. Which has helped. We can cope with ignoring her cries but the barking is A LOT. We ideally need her to be crated downstairs to prepare for when she starts to be left.
We currently can’t pop out for 20 minutes without a meltdown. We’ve done music, lavender, crate, no crate. It’s all just so difficult. I’m desperate for her to be happy and stress free. Any advice on anything in the first few weeks to make her the happy calm and content?!
thanks in advanced.

 

[jeffscott947]

Hi! New here and new golden pup parent.
We got Lola at 14 weeks old this week. A little older than usual. Breeder has already been crating her at night so we were confident she’d be fine here.
First night was horrific. She was so stressed. Barking, crying, banging and evening pooing. We followed all the usual steps but no. She hates it. So after a couple nights of trying we moved the crate to the bedroom. Which has helped. We can cope with ignoring her cries but the barking is A LOT. We ideally need her to be crated downstairs to prepare for when she starts to be left.
We currently can’t pop out for 20 minutes without a meltdown. We’ve done music, lavender, crate, no crate. It’s all just so difficult. I’m desperate for her to be happy and stress free. Any advice on anything in the first few weeks to make her the happy calm and content?!
thanks in advanced.

Have you tried something warm for her to snuggle up with, in the crate? Maybe a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or the like. Might be worth a try.

 

[EmpyreanStar]

I highly suggest a Snuggle Puppy! ?

 

[Hudson's Fan]

Consider reintroducing the crate. When I trained Hudson on crate time I followed the "treat trail" way and patience. I let her go in but slowly and used high value treats, by the way (cooked turkey).
Is the crate covered on top and sides?
I feel a reintroducing of it with a positive and patient experience may help. Also, be sure she is very tired and work this in after a long play period. If you leave the door open and a favorite blanket (or whatever) right outside and watch her, train her to stay on the blanket and then put the blanket in the crate this may help.
Working "stay" a lot outside the crate during the day everywhere and often and then implementing the command with the crate and with the door open a lot may help, too. She needs to feel safe and trust it.
Bottom line, my view is she needs this crate reintroduced and it'll take a lot of consistency and patience on your part to find what works to have her at ease with it.

 

[Emmdenn]

Try covering the crate with a blanket. Make sure it’s SMALL. Use the divider to make it only big enough for her to lay down and turn around in. Order a snuggle puppy or fill up a water bottle with hot water and wrap in a T shirt that you have worn. Play white noise at night and when you are out of the house so she doesn’t feel so alone. These things all helped us so much!

hang in there

 

[Lynn from Calgary]

My 10 week old golden loves her crate but hates being left alone. We bought her a Snuggle Puppy and I sleep with her crate where she can see me and she sleeps 8 hours a night quietly (with a pee break in the middle). The Snuggle Puppy really is a savior....she sleeps on top of it and I think it really does help to calm her. But during the daytime in her crate downstairs in our common area, she will go in it, she will eat her meals in it, but she literally works herself into a barking, crapping frenzy if I am out of eyeshot. I thought it was her crate, but she continues to go in and out of it with no problems, so maybe try putting her in her crate at night where she can clearly see you (ours is currently on our bed but I intend to move it down to the floor when her SA goes away....which I hope is soon!)

 

[EmpyreanStar]

Not sure if this will help, but I have an 8 week old and I put his crate in the livingroom where we hang out 90% of the day. It is very noisy in there with us all plus the other 2 puppies and TV. He is in and out to play and eat throughout the day. I give him a treat to entice him into the crate. He will nap/sleep and then wake up whining to pee. If he is totally set and taken care of and whines I ignore him completely. He gives up within 2 minutes or so. At night if he whines I let him out to pee and right back to bed. Rinse and repeat. I have 2 other older puppies that he plays with a bit along with playtime with me and hubs and the kids. The routine is static unless I have plans during the day. He also has a Snuggle Puppy. Honestly he is no trouble but I never change anything so he knows from the start what is expected of him and what he can expect from all of us. Consistency is key! I did the same with the other 2 puppies and it seems to work. I hope this helps! ?

 

[gdgli]

I used to leave a ticking clock with one noisy puppy. It calmed her and she was able to sleep.

 

[Max's Dad]

We have raised 4 Golden Retrievers from puppy. We have never used a crate. Try it.

 

[Ruth & Louis]

We have raised 4 Golden Retrievers from puppy. We have never used a crate. Try it.

Hi Max's Dad - I just created a post about this. We get our second pup in ten days and I'm keen to know the alternatives to crates. How did you potty train? Where did puppies sleep at night? Where did you leave them when you had to go out? I'd appreciate as much info as possible.

 

[Goldenbrody]

We have raised 4 Golden Retrievers from puppy. We have never used a crate. Try it.

Max - We WISH we did not have to use the crate as we had a bad experience with a previous puppy and a crate, however when we penned in our baby (who is five months old) in the den to give him more room, he paced and howled while we were away (we have cameras so I was able to watch him). I would love to get rid of the crate and not have to put him in there. Anything you can share would be great! Thanks!!

 

[Max's Dad]

Max - We WISH we did not have to use the crate as we had a bad experience with a previous puppy and a crate, however when we penned in our baby (who is five months old) in the den to give him more room, he paced and howled while we were away (we have cameras so I was able to watch him). I would love to get rid of the crate and not have to put him in there. Anything you can share would be great! Thanks!!

I really do not have any silver bullet suggestions. With both our last two Golden Retrievers, we had them sleep on our bed at night. Bedroom door shut. We took them out when they whined or stirred during the night and then took them out first thing in the morning. During the day, we would take them out often. But there were accidents. Rocky, our 2 year old had plenty of accidents, but we have a wood/vinyl floor, and clean up was easy. By 6 months, he was housebroken. Max, now 9 years old, was very unique as a puppy--he slept on the bed and did not go out until about 6am. We got him at 11 weeks, and noticed he was urinating on a small rug in the tile entryway. We threw the rug away, and he never had another accident. We have always just left the dogs inside the main area of the house when we leave, making sure there is nothing around for them to get into. All doors to other rooms closed. Both dogs like to be around us, but are good when we leave. I think much of Rocky's good behavior has rubbed off from Max.

I think a lot of the problems you describe may simply be due to the personality of the dog. Nothing really bothers our boys, especially Max. They bark at the door bell or if they think there is a critter near the back fence. Another problem with a crate for us today, is two crates, large enough to hold two Goldens would take up way too much room in our house. Rocky is 75 pounds and Max is over 100 pounds. I hope this small amount of advice helps.

 

[Goldenbrody]

I really do not have any silver bullet suggestions. With both our last two Golden Retrievers, we had them sleep on our bed at night. Bedroom door shut. We took them out when they whined or stirred during the night and then took them out first thing in the morning. During the day, we would take them out often. But there were accidents. Rocky, our 2 year old had plenty of accidents, but we have a wood/vinyl floor, and clean up was easy. By 6 months, he was housebroken. Max, now 9 years old, was very unique as a puppy--he slept on the bed and did not go out until about 6am. We got him at 11 weeks, and noticed he was urinating on a small rug in the tile entryway. We threw the rug away, and he never had another accident. We have always just left the dogs inside the main area of the house when we leave, making sure there is nothing around for them to get into. All doors to other rooms closed. Both dogs like to be around us, but are good when we leave. I think much of Rocky's good behavior has rubbed off from Max.

I think a lot of the problems you describe may simply be due to the personality of the dog. Nothing really bothers our boys, especially Max. They bark at the door bell or if they think there is a critter near the back fence. Another problem with a crate for us today, is two crates, large enough to hold two Goldens would take up way too much room in our house. Rocky is 75 pounds and Max is over 100 pounds. I hope this small amount of advice helps. View attachment 869435

Max - you have two beauties there! That may have been the key for us (getting two to keep each other company), but we have the one. He is great at night. He sleeps with us in the bedroom (door closed) and pretty much goes all night. When he does need to go out, he reaches up to me and lets me know. Luckily we only have to leave him for about 2 - 3 hours four days a week. I am hoping he will learn to settle down a little in the crate (it usually takes him about 1/2 hour to calm down in there). He hasn't been chewing anything bad (like our furniture) so I am pretty comfortable leaving him penned in the den and kitchen area, but he is not happy with all that room. Go figure.....hoping it will be something he will outgrow. Thanks for the time and advice.

 

[Miranda Gallegos]

This is our set up. Last night the kids wore him out. Then he laid with me on the couch for a while watching Netflix. When he got too hot he wanted to put his belly on the floor so I put him in his x pen. I turned off all the lights and finished my show. Then I started the dish washer and went to bed. Absolutely no barking and he slept all night. I woke up and he was in his crate by himself with his snuggle puppy.

 

[Goldenbrody]

View attachment 869464 View attachment 869465

This is our set up. Last night the kids wore him out. Then he laid with me on the couch for a while watching Netflix. When he got too hot he wanted to put his belly on the floor so I put him in his x pen. I turned off all the lights and finished my show. Then I started the dish washer and went to bed. Absolutely no barking and he slept all night. I woke up and he was in his crate by himself with his snuggle puppy.

Miranda- You pup is a beauty! I am glad that he is doing well. Our boy is finally starting to get use to the crate and is doing better. I still hate leaving him in it and hope we can give him the house to roam in soon. We are going to try and leave him in the den again, (penned in with his crate with door open) to see how he does for a little bit.

I do appreciate everyone's responses. Thanks!