# Crate Training Help!!



## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

OK...heres the scoop...

We've been crate training Holly since the moment she came home.

She doesn't like it but shes starting to understand the concept. We keep saying "she has to learn". 

I feel bad for her though, especially at night she cries for us when we go to bed. :'(

Her crate is in the living room, and our bedroom is on the same floor but at the back of the house. I've had a couple of people tell me that we should just move the crate into our bedroom and she'll sleep the whole night! Then when they get older move the crate back out into the living room. We end up getting up with her about 3 times a night! She goes pee every time.

I've asked my better half about this but he's afraid that it will screw up her routine. Do you think if we move the crate we'll be taking a step back? Shes only 10 weeks, and she just wants to stay close to us. I just want to move it so we don't to hear her cry bloody murder anymore! She calms down pretty quickly but I hate hearing it! 

Please help...has anyone had this same problem?


----------



## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Our Vizlsa puppy(Axel) is 9 weeks old. I used this forum for the same question. First 3 nights he slept with us in our room, after that we put him on the first floor ( we have four floors) with music on, alarm ticking clock, toys in crate etc, so he would not get as lonely. He barked and cried the first 3-4 nights but we did not attend to him (although we wanted to), he now basically sleeps through the night and we are on our 10th night or so..He also has not wet his kennel, I get up at 6am and let him out to pee. We eventually want to put him up in the kitchen (2nd floor) as this is where he spends the majority of his time. The reason why I did not want him in our room for too long is because he would get to dependent on us and in the future it would be to difficult for him to leave our room. (separation anxiety) Anyway's this is what the people from this forum suggested for us and it's totally working... Good luck


----------



## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

We do the same set up as you with the crate, toys, blankets, alarm clock and music. 

So you don't attend to him at all through the night? Wow! Thats great! Holly can't hold it that long. We take her water away from her a couple hrs before bedtime too! What time do you usually put him to bed? And what kind of crate are you using? We have a smaller wire one for now (that we cover at night time), but we're going to upgrade when she gets a bit bigger to a plastic one. 

We definitely don't want her to suffer from separation anxiety! So might just keep doing what we're doing & hope it gets better! Thanks!


----------



## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

We actually take the water away from him about 7pm. He falls asleep about 9pm in his crate or on a blanket in the kitchen dining area where we have him setup next to the living room. We have hardwood floors so if he does have an occasional accident it is easy to clean up. Axel has not been introduced to the 3rd floor or 4th floor yet (we have carpet on those floors) although he did sleep in his crate the first 3 nights in our room. We will introduce him to the other rooms when he is totally potty trained and we can trust him without destroying everything. lol My wife usually stays up till midnight and lets him out for a quick potty and then in his crate for the night on the first floor. We have a small plastic petmate crate which is enclosed and the perfect size for him now. We also have a bigger plastic crate for him when he gets older and bigger. To be absolutely honest Axel has been barking somewhat when i get up at 6:00am but the last few days he has not. During the night, I hope he's sleeping or I assume he's sleeping as we can't hear anything on the 4th floor? As well my neighbours have not heard anything either.. Anyway's, sorry for the long babble, and good luck with Holly, hope she starts to make it through the night...


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

KashagLake said:


> We do the same set up as you with the crate, toys, blankets, alarm clock and music.
> 
> So you don't attend to him at all through the night? Wow! Thats great! Holly can't hold it that long. We take her water away from her a couple hrs before bedtime too! What time do you usually put him to bed? And what kind of crate are you using? We have a smaller wire one for now (that we cover at night time), but we're going to upgrade when she gets a bit bigger to a plastic one.
> 
> We definitely don't want her to suffer from separation anxiety! So might just keep doing what we're doing & hope it gets better! Thanks!


Are you sure that she can't hold it? I could take Kobi out every half hour and he would pee within a minute, but that doesn't mean he needs to go. 3 times a night sounds a bit excessive to me. My guess is she has learned that if she whines she gets to see you, so she is going to keep doing it. I would suggest trying to only take her out once during the night, or not at all, and see how that works.


----------



## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

At 10 weeks I think it might be hit or miss. She's still really young. Although I think by then we had a few nights she only woke up to pee maybe a couple of times at max so I think Kobi is right. She can probably hold it or maybe take her out once a night. You do need to make sure that when she cries in the crate she doesn't learn that that's how she'll get her way (out of her box). 

We moves Mischa's crate to the bedroom. There is concern with separation anxiety but I think it can be avoided with other precautions. When we need to go out wr don't make a fuss. No "bye Mischa. See you soon" we just leave like it's not a big deal. 

However if Dennis leaves and I'm still home sometimes she'll still cry for a minute or two. When we both leave I don't hear a peep. I always think, if a puppy cries and no one is around to hear it - is it really crying?


----------



## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Well last night was one of the better nights. She only woke up once & had to go pee at around 3:30am. Then went back to bed and woke up at the usual around 6-6:30am(I'm up getting ready for work by that time). So maybe shes getting better? Should we just ignore the 3am wake up call...and see if she settles herself? She is getting better with how long she cries for now, used to be like 20min! Now its about 5min.

Also...we've been taking her water away a couple hours before bed. Last night she went completely mental! She was just soo thirsty! She kept digging in her water dish and then flipped over both dishes. Then I had the wash machine going and she could hear the water and went crazy, then went to the bathroom in search of water. She is constantly thirsty, are your guys pups really thirsty as well? We heat our house with a wood burning stove, it’s a dry heat so I’m wondering if the stove has been making her so thirsty?


----------



## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

I actually remove the water and food dish two hours before his bedtime, so this prevents him from looking for it. Axel does not seem to have any issues with water. (craving)

I also agree with Kobi with regards to letting him out 3 times a night to go pee, are you sure she can't hold it? Maybe try to see if she wets her kennel in the night? Axel only wet his kennel the first night we brought him home. Apparently dogs do not like to relieve themselves where they sleep.


----------



## KashagLake (Sep 27, 2010)

Ya I'm going to try to stick to it and try to keep her in her crate the whole night. I don't want this to start to be a habit as she gets older. 

Thanks everyone for the help! This forum is awesome for questions!! ;D


----------



## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Our Molly starting sleeping all night when we enlarged her cage.. It could be a coincidence. We also starting feeding her 4 times a day..last time at 8 PM. She usually goes to bed at 11:30.


----------



## minnere (Jul 8, 2010)

For us, we have never had a problem with dependency by putting his crate in our bedroom. He is 8 mths. now and is completely crate trained, stays in there all day while my husband and I are at work, is very excited to see us when we get home but we've never had any accidents. One thing that worked for us was to make his crate look like a little den. It is up against the wall in our bedroom and we put a blanket between the crate and the wall. Then, we put another one on top of the crate, plus 2 or 3 in the bottom of the crate for padding. 
We have had him since he was 8 wks old and from that time on, he has made it at least 6 hrs. without having to go out. I swear he can hold it for 10-12 hrs. now. Being a puppy, he likes to chew so we leave his kong in his crate with him to give him something to do if he wakes up. That also helps keep him busy. Stick with it because in the long run, it's worth it.

I have a friend who bought a puppy from the same litter I did and she never crate trained him. Now, she can't leave him alone!!!!  She has to take him every where with her and leave him in the back of her car!!! I also believe it has helped calm him because when I compare our Pacer with Sherman (my friend's pup) he is much calmer, not to mention more independent.


----------

