# 8 week old problems crate training



## Midwest Remy (Feb 21, 2013)

My husband and I brought home our 8 week old Remy 6 days ago. We are trying to crate train him by putting a treat in his crate and saying "kennel up" and letting him walk into the crate during the day for a few minutes and for bedtime--although he is very hesitant to walk in and stay in. We have not had success yet having him go in his crate while awake. Altough we have set him in there while napping and then closing his door--he of course barks when he wakes up and realizes he is stuck in there.

*Should we be putting him in the crate even though he is refusing for training and at bedtime?* Will he not "like" his crate if we do that to him? Or do we just put him in no matter what until he gets used to it?
The first few nights we made a space for him next to our bed on the floor and left his crate door open so he could sleep in there. He chose to bark and bark and slept on the floor and not in his crate. We took him out for bathroom breaks too. 
Then the following two nights we put him in his crate next to our bed and shut crate door. The barking was worse..but we ignored his barks and only let him out to the bathroom a few times. We have lost a lot of sleep and feeling exhausted while at work during the days. We need our sleep too. 
Last night my husband ended up falling alseep on the couch and let Remy sleep with him on the couch. We both needed a quiet night. But I do not want Remy thinking he can sleep with us whenever he wants. Especially when he is much bigger.

Should we be laying down the law and crating him at night even when he refuses and barks all the time? How long has it taken your pups to get used to their crate at night? Is there a better way to train him to like his crate if he is already refusing to go in there with a treat?


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

We played the tough love card with Miles and put him in his crate with a toy from his litter at bedtime. We took him out after 4 hours (suggestion from breeder), then right back in the crate. All business, no petting or play so he wouldn't try to get us to play with him at night. It took about 3 nights until he slept peacefully. took 2 weeks until he slept through the night without his 2am potty break. Never had an accident at night. 

Helpful for us was keeping him awake for at least 1.5hrs before bedtime, no water for an hour before bed, a ticking clock on top of the crate, and keeping the crate next to our bed. No baby talk at night, if he cries just tell him in a calm (but not babying) voice to go to sleep. 

Good luck!


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Agree with what MilesMom said. Crate training will not happen over night. Ruby screamed for weeks and then finally settled. Consistency is key. 

At 2 yrs old now, we still have her sleep in her crate at night. She will never go in it and sleep during the day.


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## lildancngurl (Jan 13, 2013)

I know that anxious, frustrating feeling you're having now. My puppy is 14 weeks old and is sleeping through the night like an angel, not for lack of many sleepless nights. She barked BLOODY murder all night long for two weeks straight. It got to the point that I thought we had a problem puppy. You've really just got to keep at it, don't give in. You WILL have a few sleepless nights, but once she gets used to it, I promise it's worth it. I can now sleep all night long, as she doesn't need nighttime potty breaks anymore, and she doesn't wake me up until at least 8 AM. Good Luck, and Stay Strong!


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## lildancngurl (Jan 13, 2013)

lildancngurl said:


> I know that anxious, frustrating feeling you're having now. My puppy is 14 weeks old and is sleeping through the night like an angel, not for lack of many sleepless nights. She barked BLOODY murder all night long for two weeks straight. It got to the point that I thought we had a problem puppy. You've really just got to keep at it, don't give in. You WILL have a few sleepless nights, but once she gets used to it, I promise it's worth it. I can now sleep all night long, as she doesn't need nighttime potty breaks anymore, and she doesn't wake me up until at least 8 AM. Good Luck, and Stay Strong!


I'm sorry, *HE* in your case. Mine's a little girl.


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## flxstr (Nov 19, 2012)

Three nights of screaming bloody murder for us. I can still hear the ROOROOROOOROOOOOROOOOO if I close my eyes.

We didn't give in, and she's slept the last 7 weeks like a champ. Right from 9pm to 7am.

You just need to put them in at bedtime, and that's that. One potty break (all business, no petting), and consistency. 

Have fun!


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## candi30 (Jan 2, 2013)

Have you also been feeding him in the crate?
We did that since day one. Helps them associate the crate with positive things.


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## chrispycrunch (May 11, 2012)

I don't think you should be closing the crate door on Remy while he's sleeping because of course he's going to feel trapped. You need to get him used to going in the crate and then close the door when he is calm and accepts that the door is closed.

Sounds like you need to be playing some crate games and getting him to learn to love his "den" at all times.....or I fear you're going to be in for MANY sleepless nights. And he'll probably never be a fan of it if it is somewhere he HAS to go rather than a place he WANTS to go.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Not all pups take to crate training. I consider myself at least competent training pups, but I couldn't get Ozkar to take to it no matter what I did.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

"_Should we be putting him in the crate even though he is refusing for training and at bedtime?_" - Midwest Remy

Try this... "kennel up" and guide the dog into the crate (on leash).... over and over. At the beginning just before the dog enters, throw a treat into the crate and once inside ask the dog to sit and walk him out... repeat. This must be done numerous times... 

Lay off the treats soon...and let the dog enter by leash pressure alone. The dog has to associate "kennel up" with going inside the crate, sit, lie down and stay. Very complex. Once they know this, rest is relatively easy, as far sit, down, stay is concerned.

Do not be afraid to repaeat the command ""kennel up" over and over while the dog enters the kennel. This makes associating the command easier on the dog. Lots of trainers advise to repeat a command only once... that's OK but in the learning phase, it has been proven that repeating commands helps the dog learn faster.

In any case, this only teaches the dog the command "kennel up" and has little to do with being crated!
That is a different matter. If all you want to achieve it crate the little dog... then do just that. 
Place dog in kennel. Ask dog to sit, followed by down... and once down, gently stroke his head... close crate door gently only as long as the dog is in down... walk away, do your chores for a while... do not come back too soon even if the dog is loud... this will test his limits but works every time.


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## Sparkey (Jan 23, 2013)

As some already mentioned consistency is the key.

Our breeder used a crate, which I think helped us. From day one (8 weeks) our pup took to her crate straight away. 
On doing research prior to getting our pup on crates I always understood that its their little den, you should never put them in there as a punishment etc.. 
Vs want to be everywhere with you, so that's why I put our crate in the living room which I believe is important, that way she isn't left out or shut away. The door to her crate is left open when we are in and she goes in there as she pleases. 
At night I shut the door once she is asleep in her bed in her crate and I go upstairs to my bed. Macy will then sleep until 6-7am when she will wake me up as she needs the toilet.
This is Macy routine she is used to it, and it works for me. 
She is 12 weeks old now. 
Another thing that I found worked well was to put a sheet over the crate.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

1st step is the couch... 2nd step is the bed. 

Why not bring the pup in bed with you? You will all sleep better and (contrary to popular belief) you can still crate train. Riley at 16 months can sleep in our bed or her crate with no fuss.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Nuts, 3fish ... ;D dog training the way it was meant to be.


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## NowakVizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

So we have a 6 month old V Igor. He hated his crate the first few nights and we ended up changing types of crates. We originally had one of those black wiry ones where they can see everything. Then we switched to on of the pet porters that's more enclosed and then he stopped crying. He still sleeps in there and prefers it over anything else at bedtime. I think the crate that is more enclosed feels more like a den rather then a cage. We also keep his kennel in our room and I think the sounds of us sleeping helps sooth him. And he sleeps like a baby. I would recommend taking him out every 4 hours at night to potty though especially the first month or two to avoid accidents. They can't hold their bladders that long and do not like to sit in their urine if they have an accident. 

Don't give up on the crate training it'll work it. The first few weeks are the hardest but it Gets better.


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## Midwest Remy (Feb 21, 2013)

*Thank you everyone for the advice, I was suprised to see so many responses. Since I last wrote about this dilemma my husband and I tried the "tough love" approach for bedtime and also short amounts of time trying to get him to just go into his crate while we are out in the living room after dinner.

After dinner we put a treat and toy into the crate. We both get close to the crate and one of us says "kennel up". He will only put his front legs in and try to grab the treat without putting his hind legs in, but he usually can't reach the treat that way. I think we will try doing this method again by putting him on a leash as well to have more control over the situtation. 

For bedtime, we had put a treat and a toy into his crate next to our bed and said "kennel up" repeatedly. 
Unfortunately Remy would not walk into his crate by himself so we had to nudge him in. We would then feed him a treat once the door was shut since he would ignore the treat that was already in his kennel.

He has been doing better at night but still won't go in willingly. He slightly wimpers for about 10 minutes and then falls asleep. We usually have 1 potty break in the night and let him out and put him back in the crate right after he does his business. He wimpers and then falls right back to sleep.

As everyone noted on here it will take time, we have been getting more sleep at night and Remy is getting more used to sleeping in his crate. I cannot wait for the day he sleeps through the night without a potty break. *


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

threefsh said:


> 1st step is the couch... 2nd step is the bed.
> 
> Why not bring the pup in bed with you? You will all sleep better and (contrary to popular belief) you can still crate train. Riley at 16 months can sleep in our bed or her crate with no fuss.


 Darcy sleeps in our bed on a night, but when I am at work and Darcy is alone in the house she is in her crate, in fact I am about to ween her out of it after nearly 2 years,but she absolutely loves it and looks on it as her safe haven. I am going to buy her a pat igloo AS SEEN ON E-BAY..so she has the sanctuary without being locked in and I get my living room back as the cage is massive...stick with the crate It is worth it's weight in gold.......honest..


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## Ollywebb1 (Feb 6, 2013)

MR, i'll put my two pence worth in as well then..... I agree with candi30 on this, I think they need to see the crate as a rewarding place so placing the food bowl inside for them to eat can only be a good thing. Things like the sheet on top and ticking clocks seem to be really good at keeping them calm. Also I read on another post that you can leave and old worn t shirt or similar in the crate that smells like you to comfort them which might help. And if all else fails DAP spray / diffuser can be effective for some dogs. If you google it you can read about it. It has lots of good reviews.

I would also say that tough love has worked for us and patience (nothing new here). Just be mindful you don't fall into the same trap as us by thinking they need a toilet every time they whimper! This isn't always the case and you will just end up making a rod for your own back if you give them the attention they crave every time. 

Good luck


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

MR, I started a thread not too long ago on here for a similar problem and got some amazing advice. I 100% agree with feeding in the crate as well. Our Nelly girl screamed bloody murder probably up until about 2 weeks ago, maybe a bit more (she is now 14 1/2 weeks). 

I know how much the sleepless nights can affect work not to mention everything else! The good news is your pup is still a tiny baby and you have plenty of time to instill the behaviours you would like right from the start. 

We thought it would never end, even though she went into her crate willingly there was a point that all we had to do was turn our backs to leave her and she would start.

We fed her in there, played with her in there, treated sometimes and i also taught her 'go to bed!' (In a happy voice) by putting a little bit of something tasty through the bars so that she had to get into the crate to take it, now she goes to bed on cue.

We also part covered the crate with a sheet and didn't leave any lamps or lights on which seemed to help. 

We're still working on day times but night times are sorted. It will also help so much once your pup has all jags and can be exercised and stimulated with all that outside world malarkey!
Hope this is of some help 
Good luck!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

organicthoughts, I noticed your first post and would like to welcome you to the forums!! 

Can't offer any crate training advice, since my boy Willie does not have a crate. He DOES have his own place(s) in the house, with his own blankets on them. That's it. It was different with Willie, though, since he was a young adult when I got him, and already had nice house manners.


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## Melissa_DT (Jan 9, 2013)

I also have a pup (who is now 14 weeks old) who hated the crate and cried bloody murder literally all night long with the exception of a couple of half-hour to an hour breaks. It was to the point where I wasn't able to function at work during the day and after a week straight of this I caved and let him sleep with me in the bed. And I don't regret it at all. He takes to his crate just fine during the day with no barking or crying when I leave for work and sleeps like an angel all night. In fact most mornings I have to wake him up myself because he still wants to sleep! Never had a single accident during the night either.

The way I looked at it was he goes in the crate while I'm at work for about 6 hours (he goes 3 - 4 hours at a time then I have a puppy sitter come mid day to play with him, feed him and walk him) so I didn't feel the need to force him to then spend all night In there as well seeing as his personality is very affectionate and he is a big cuddle bug (as I'm sure most Vs are!). 

Everyone has their preferences regarding sleeping arrangements and I don't think theres ever going to be a unanimous vote, but that's what I did with my little guy and i think its safe to say we're both happy with the outcome! 

Good luck with your little one!


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