Puppy Crate Training
Discussion
Hi all, just after a bit of advice regarding crate training.
I've got a 10 week old lab-collie cross, she's been home for the past two weeks and is settling in well, getting there with the toilet training and already picking up on commands.
At night she sleeps in a crate, took her a few nights to get used to it but she'll settle quite quickly in there now and whimper during the night if she needs to go out. She only tends to wake up once in the early hours and will settle quite quickly again when she comes back in.
She's got a comfy mattress, couple of blankets (including one with her mothers scent) and toys to keep her occupied. Occasionally she'll take herself in on her own accord during the day for a nap, and I'll put her in in the morning when I'm having a shower and getting dressed but she doesn't tend to settle if I put her in.
I'm back at work next week and although I can plan my day so I'll be back home every couple of hours I want her to get used to being home alone. I don't want her to have free roam of the house just yet, despite having puppy pads down there's still been the occasional accident.
I've been trying to get her settled in the crate and then gone through the routine of leaving the house - unlocking the door, opening and closing - and then quietly sitting in the other room. She was fine for about 5 minutes but then started whimpering, which soon built to whining, yelping and barking. Waited another 10 minutes to see if she'd settle but she didn't. I don't want her to start associating the crate with being distressed, as most of the time she's pretty good in there.
This morning she took herself in, so I took the opportunity to have a shower and get dressed which she slept through. She woke up an hour or so later and started whimpering but soon built up to constant yelps and barks until she realised I was here. Went quiet for a few seconds and then started again. If she wasn't tired and took herself in I doubt she'd have settled for so long though, but even if she does when I'm back at work I don't want her waking up and making a load of noise when I'm not in.
Am I best persisting and hoping she gets there eventually, or should I consider other options? Plan B would be to move her crate into the kitchen/diner leaving it unlocked and a load of puppy pads down just in case...
I've got a 10 week old lab-collie cross, she's been home for the past two weeks and is settling in well, getting there with the toilet training and already picking up on commands.
At night she sleeps in a crate, took her a few nights to get used to it but she'll settle quite quickly in there now and whimper during the night if she needs to go out. She only tends to wake up once in the early hours and will settle quite quickly again when she comes back in.
She's got a comfy mattress, couple of blankets (including one with her mothers scent) and toys to keep her occupied. Occasionally she'll take herself in on her own accord during the day for a nap, and I'll put her in in the morning when I'm having a shower and getting dressed but she doesn't tend to settle if I put her in.
I'm back at work next week and although I can plan my day so I'll be back home every couple of hours I want her to get used to being home alone. I don't want her to have free roam of the house just yet, despite having puppy pads down there's still been the occasional accident.
I've been trying to get her settled in the crate and then gone through the routine of leaving the house - unlocking the door, opening and closing - and then quietly sitting in the other room. She was fine for about 5 minutes but then started whimpering, which soon built to whining, yelping and barking. Waited another 10 minutes to see if she'd settle but she didn't. I don't want her to start associating the crate with being distressed, as most of the time she's pretty good in there.
This morning she took herself in, so I took the opportunity to have a shower and get dressed which she slept through. She woke up an hour or so later and started whimpering but soon built up to constant yelps and barks until she realised I was here. Went quiet for a few seconds and then started again. If she wasn't tired and took herself in I doubt she'd have settled for so long though, but even if she does when I'm back at work I don't want her waking up and making a load of noise when I'm not in.
Am I best persisting and hoping she gets there eventually, or should I consider other options? Plan B would be to move her crate into the kitchen/diner leaving it unlocked and a load of puppy pads down just in case...
WarrenB said:
Hi all, just after a bit of advice regarding crate training.
I've got a 10 week old lab-collie cross, she's been home for the past two weeks and is settling in well, getting there with the toilet training and already picking up on commands.
At night she sleeps in a crate, took her a few nights to get used to it but she'll settle quite quickly in there now and whimper during the night if she needs to go out. She only tends to wake up once in the early hours and will settle quite quickly again when she comes back in.
She's got a comfy mattress, couple of blankets (including one with her mothers scent) and toys to keep her occupied. Occasionally she'll take herself in on her own accord during the day for a nap, and I'll put her in in the morning when I'm having a shower and getting dressed but she doesn't tend to settle if I put her in.
I'm back at work next week and although I can plan my day so I'll be back home every couple of hours I want her to get used to being home alone. I don't want her to have free roam of the house just yet, despite having puppy pads down there's still been the occasional accident.
I've been trying to get her settled in the crate and then gone through the routine of leaving the house - unlocking the door, opening and closing - and then quietly sitting in the other room. She was fine for about 5 minutes but then started whimpering, which soon built to whining, yelping and barking. Waited another 10 minutes to see if she'd settle but she didn't. I don't want her to start associating the crate with being distressed, as most of the time she's pretty good in there.
This morning she took herself in, so I took the opportunity to have a shower and get dressed which she slept through. She woke up an hour or so later and started whimpering but soon built up to constant yelps and barks until she realised I was here. Went quiet for a few seconds and then started again. If she wasn't tired and took herself in I doubt she'd have settled for so long though, but even if she does when I'm back at work I don't want her waking up and making a load of noise when I'm not in.
Am I best persisting and hoping she gets there eventually, or should I consider other options? Plan B would be to move her crate into the kitchen/diner leaving it unlocked and a load of puppy pads down just in case...
How big is the crate?I've got a 10 week old lab-collie cross, she's been home for the past two weeks and is settling in well, getting there with the toilet training and already picking up on commands.
At night she sleeps in a crate, took her a few nights to get used to it but she'll settle quite quickly in there now and whimper during the night if she needs to go out. She only tends to wake up once in the early hours and will settle quite quickly again when she comes back in.
She's got a comfy mattress, couple of blankets (including one with her mothers scent) and toys to keep her occupied. Occasionally she'll take herself in on her own accord during the day for a nap, and I'll put her in in the morning when I'm having a shower and getting dressed but she doesn't tend to settle if I put her in.
I'm back at work next week and although I can plan my day so I'll be back home every couple of hours I want her to get used to being home alone. I don't want her to have free roam of the house just yet, despite having puppy pads down there's still been the occasional accident.
I've been trying to get her settled in the crate and then gone through the routine of leaving the house - unlocking the door, opening and closing - and then quietly sitting in the other room. She was fine for about 5 minutes but then started whimpering, which soon built to whining, yelping and barking. Waited another 10 minutes to see if she'd settle but she didn't. I don't want her to start associating the crate with being distressed, as most of the time she's pretty good in there.
This morning she took herself in, so I took the opportunity to have a shower and get dressed which she slept through. She woke up an hour or so later and started whimpering but soon built up to constant yelps and barks until she realised I was here. Went quiet for a few seconds and then started again. If she wasn't tired and took herself in I doubt she'd have settled for so long though, but even if she does when I'm back at work I don't want her waking up and making a load of noise when I'm not in.
Am I best persisting and hoping she gets there eventually, or should I consider other options? Plan B would be to move her crate into the kitchen/diner leaving it unlocked and a load of puppy pads down just in case...
We setup a pen surrounding her crate so she had a bit of space to wander around but still had the crate as a safe space to go to if she wanted to.
WarrenB said:
It's 2ftx3ft, she's got plenty of space to move around and stretch out in there.
The pen idea has crossed my mind, leaving a puppy pad at the opposite end to the crate?
I think from rough measurements our pen was 5ft x 5ft with the crate being a similar size to yours. Then yeah a couple of puppy pads just in case. We found that she spent an equal time in the crate as she did out in the pen.The pen idea has crossed my mind, leaving a puppy pad at the opposite end to the crate?
It worked well for us until she worked out how to open the pen door and then not long after she could jump out anyway.
Seems a bit early to me to be leaving for that long.
We had an issue with our puppy becoming obsessed with the lounge door and associating it with us 'disappearing'. We solved it by literally walking in and out over 100 times in a row and did this on a couple of occasions. He now sees this door as boring and knows we always come back through it. This has helped massively for when he is in his crate.
We had an issue with our puppy becoming obsessed with the lounge door and associating it with us 'disappearing'. We solved it by literally walking in and out over 100 times in a row and did this on a couple of occasions. He now sees this door as boring and knows we always come back through it. This has helped massively for when he is in his crate.
We are about to get our first puppy so interested in seeing how the OP is getting on - we've had a few rescue dogs but never a puppy so interested also in how much they differ from a training perspective, because I am concerned about how different it will be for us.
Whenever we've trained for separation, it's been using both visual cues and spoken words. So when first leaving the dog you simply go to a different room but still in sight/sound using a stairgate or similar. Gets the dog used to you not being physically in the same room but provides a little comfort you're still there. Gradually those times apart get longer, then in the end you don't need the stairgate and can go out and the dog should be non-plussed.
The verbal bit is using a phrase when you leave them. Our go to was "back in a minute" or "see you later" every time we left the dog, even for a minute. They associate the phrase with you not being there.
Like I say, we hope this works for a puppy as well, I'd expect so but might be something to try - appreciate it's been a few weeks since the OPs post.
Whenever we've trained for separation, it's been using both visual cues and spoken words. So when first leaving the dog you simply go to a different room but still in sight/sound using a stairgate or similar. Gets the dog used to you not being physically in the same room but provides a little comfort you're still there. Gradually those times apart get longer, then in the end you don't need the stairgate and can go out and the dog should be non-plussed.
The verbal bit is using a phrase when you leave them. Our go to was "back in a minute" or "see you later" every time we left the dog, even for a minute. They associate the phrase with you not being there.
Like I say, we hope this works for a puppy as well, I'd expect so but might be something to try - appreciate it's been a few weeks since the OPs post.
Well Mabel is settling in very well. Very few accidents in the house (we're on a five day streak now, although she did take a dump in my parents living room yesterday, though different house and that so I'll let her off...) and now the majority of times she needs to go outside she'll sit by the back door and go out unsupervised.
For the separation I've been doing pretty much the same as HJG and Jefferson mention above. When she first came home she'd really kick up a fuss if I was in another room, but now she knows if I walk into a room I'm going to come out again.
I did similar with the crate training. At first she wasn't happy when I disappeared from view, even when I went into one of the rooms she's used to me going in to. She did quickly get used to it though, although if I'm in the house I'll only close her in the crate when I'm in the shower. She now knows that the crate is 'bed', so I'll tell her to go to bed and she'll make her way in (sometimes reluctantly). I always make sure she's got a couple of her chew toys in there to keep her occupied. She'll occasionally have a little whimper but will quickly settle down, even quicker if I reassure her from the bathroom. I live in a bungalow so no matter what room I'm in I can hear her and talk back to her.
The week before I went back to work I started going through the 'bed' routine and spending time settling her down in her crate before quietly leaving the house - I've got a pet-cam so I can keep an eye on her whilst I'm out. After about 15 minutes she'd start to get unsettled. I'd wait 10 minutes just in case she'd settle herself. Sometimes she would, but if she didn't I can talk to her via the cam so I'd calmly reassure and after the initial confusion trying to work out where my voice came from she would always settle down. I started off leaving the house for 30 mins or so, slowly building up to a couple of hours over the next few days. Now there's hardly any fuss at all. Before I go out in the morning I'll spend an hour or so playing with her after breakfast to tire her out a bit, put her in the crate, say goodbye and leave right away. Same before I leave again after coming back for dinner.
I'll check the camera throughout the day and only once has she been whining. After talking to her through the camera again she settled and went straight back to sleep. The rest of the time she's either sleeping or chewing on one of her toys. The longest I've left her so far is three hours. I wouldn't want to leave her any longer than that. I also leave the radio on her her whilst I'm out.
For the separation I've been doing pretty much the same as HJG and Jefferson mention above. When she first came home she'd really kick up a fuss if I was in another room, but now she knows if I walk into a room I'm going to come out again.
I did similar with the crate training. At first she wasn't happy when I disappeared from view, even when I went into one of the rooms she's used to me going in to. She did quickly get used to it though, although if I'm in the house I'll only close her in the crate when I'm in the shower. She now knows that the crate is 'bed', so I'll tell her to go to bed and she'll make her way in (sometimes reluctantly). I always make sure she's got a couple of her chew toys in there to keep her occupied. She'll occasionally have a little whimper but will quickly settle down, even quicker if I reassure her from the bathroom. I live in a bungalow so no matter what room I'm in I can hear her and talk back to her.
The week before I went back to work I started going through the 'bed' routine and spending time settling her down in her crate before quietly leaving the house - I've got a pet-cam so I can keep an eye on her whilst I'm out. After about 15 minutes she'd start to get unsettled. I'd wait 10 minutes just in case she'd settle herself. Sometimes she would, but if she didn't I can talk to her via the cam so I'd calmly reassure and after the initial confusion trying to work out where my voice came from she would always settle down. I started off leaving the house for 30 mins or so, slowly building up to a couple of hours over the next few days. Now there's hardly any fuss at all. Before I go out in the morning I'll spend an hour or so playing with her after breakfast to tire her out a bit, put her in the crate, say goodbye and leave right away. Same before I leave again after coming back for dinner.
I'll check the camera throughout the day and only once has she been whining. After talking to her through the camera again she settled and went straight back to sleep. The rest of the time she's either sleeping or chewing on one of her toys. The longest I've left her so far is three hours. I wouldn't want to leave her any longer than that. I also leave the radio on her her whilst I'm out.
Edited by WarrenB on Sunday 26th November 21:19
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