# Uh oh!!!



## Phoebejane (May 10, 2012)

Hi everyone this is my first post.. I'm Sarah from Edinburgh and my family and I brought home our bonnie boy Harry 16 days ago. Harry is our first puppy but we had a wonderful rescue Staffordshire bull terrier who we lost 6 months ago so we decided to take the plunge and start afresh with a pup.. I bought myself lots of books to prepare myself for our pooch, my number one golden rule was we were going to crate train Harry but after a week of sleepless night I gave In and took him into bed he screamed and barked and I just felt very guilty I also have two young children who were getting woken up and because of lack of sleep we were all zombies. I feel I have built a rod for my own back as he is still getting used to the our house etc and hates being left alone. So any advice on how to start afresh with crate training would be much appreciated thanks


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Hello and welcome to the forums.

I hate to be the barer of bad news but you need to stick it out. You will have sleepless nights just like you may had when your children were young. The key is to stick with a routine. 

Here are some things that worked for us:

Put the crate in the furthest part of the house away from the bedrooms

Make sure water in take is limited before bed time so no need for night time potty

Cover the crate with a sheet or something breathable....it makes a huge difference.

Try putting a piece of a family member's clothing in the crate. We used my husband's undershirts that he wore that day

We use a sound machine to sooth our girl - she tends to like nighttime sounds (crickets)

Buy earplugs for the family. We put on fans in our bedroom and used our own sound machines to drown it out.

Your pup will scream but it will get better and you will be so happy in the long run. We had about 2-3 weeks of this and then it got better. She regressed again when she got a little older and now at 18 months she loves sleeping in her crate. We have to wake her up in the morning now and sometimes puts herself to sleep in it. We just moved her crate up to an extra bedroom last week so she us officially graduated and can trust she won't wake us.

Good luck - I'm sure everyone has an idea what worked for them. Again, the key is to ride it out and stick with the routine.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

Best advice I've read? Let the dog cry through the night if need be. My first couple nights, I slept beside our pup; down on the floor, yes. Worked up until the weekend when, friday night, I just the doors to where she was, and listened to her scream like we were dipping her in cooking oil.




Firm, calm direction. Congrats.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

as above really, pup will settle down in the crate sooner than you think....welcome to the forums ;D


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We sleep with Riley - have ever since she was a pup. It prevented the screaming and she IS crate-trained, we just took it slowly. She keeps my feet warm at night and is the best snuggle buddy when the hubby is away!  You don't have to let them scream it out in the crate.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

we didn't actually crate train Ruby at night, she had a stuffed mat under kitchen worktops. She does love her crate when I take her out in the ute though and if I have it in the garden, she'll happily go into it of her own choice.


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

Darcy sleeps either on our bed or in it every night SORRY VIEWERS, but when we have to go out during the day without her, she goes into her crate with no problem...the great thing about this forum is that we all offer completely differant advice which you either take on board or ignore.....but we all have one thing in common and that is the sheer love for the breed .....welcome to the forum.....


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## Phoebejane (May 10, 2012)

Thank you everyone I honestly thought crate training would be simple but I can't bare him crying it's the most awful noise I've ever heard coming from a dog.. Right now I'm not going to lie I LOve the snuggles and my family loves their sleep so I might try a bed instead in our room and see how that goes.. Just a shame there's not an instant remedy or volume control for crate training


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Every owner has a choice of what works for them. You need to remember your pup was ripped away from their litter mates and used to that warm snuggling. Of course they are going to be upset. We went back and forth on this and was like you and many other owners - it was heartbreaking to hear that screaming but every night it did get better. 

Crate training is also to be used to help with potty training. I think that allowed us to not get up in the middle of the night for potty breaks so that is what enforced our decision.

I love my Ruby - she is our child as we can't have children. She does everything with us but sleeping in the bed does not work....we tried when she was potty trained. Remember - they are velcro dogs. Ruby would lay on top of me all night and then stretch out leaving me no room. I got less sleep then having her in the crate...LOL.

What ever works with your lifestyle you should do but if you are really adamant about the crate training just remember that the screams are temporary. You will find dozens of posts on this forum about others going through this and their results.

Good luck!


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## Phoebejane (May 10, 2012)

Thank you ruby  my husband doesn't mind him being with us as he's sleeping all night and won't get out of bed until I get up in the morning even if everyone else in the house is making noise so we're all right in that sense but I think the space issue will be a problem lol do you know if it's normal for the pup to get attached to one specific person Harry listens to me but not so much to my hubby? Sorry for lots of questions x


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Phoebejane said:


> Thank you ruby  my husband doesn't mind him being with us as he's sleeping all night and won't get out of bed until I get up in the morning even if everyone else in the house is making noise so we're all right in that sense but I think the space issue will be a problem lol do you know if it's normal for the pup to get attached to one specific person Harry listens to me but not so much to my hubby? Sorry for lots of questions x


Oh the attachment to one owner is a whole other story  Ruby loves me but is in love with my husband. I think it is because I am with her more during the day but when he comes home from work - I don't exist. She tends to like men more. I always kid around that she only knows 2 names -Daddy and Jose (our landscaper that comes every friday). You can ask her where is daddy and she will run around the house looking for him or Where is Jose - she will run to the front window or backyard looking for him. I have to be careful accidentally saying either of those names because it sends her in a tizzy. She does listen to both but better with my husband because he has a loud deep voice.


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