# Crate Training Difficulties at Night



## Joey12345667 (3 mo ago)

I got my new 13 week old Havanese puppy Joey a week ago. We have been trying to crate train him but having difficulties at night. The first night Joey was so sleepy he went right to bed and didn’t whine or bark until 4 am when he was ready to go potty and wake up. The second night he barked and whined, trying to escape the kennel basically all night and we left him in there. The next three nights I slept a little closer to the kennel and ignored the whining but dangled my fingers near his kennel when he was awake, but quiet, to try and reinforce the quiet behavior. On night 6 and 7 he has completely lost it barking and whining regardless of if I’m in the room, so I have been giving tough love and just going upstairs to completely ignore the whining.

The craziest part is that during the day and at night he goes into his kennel to sleep regularly when the door is open. I have fed him in the kennel, hidden treats in there, and had him practice being quiet and locked in for 10-30 minutes segments.

I cannot figure out why he hates the kennel so much at night when the door is locked. Each night we do the same routine with a long walk, a little playtime, one last potty, and then he goes into his kennel on his own to sleep and I just close the door when it’s time for bed. We have a blanket over 3 sides of the kennel and a fan going for white noise. Also he does not have accidents in the kennel.

Any advice or ideas on why locking him into the kennel at night in particular is so triggering for him would be really helpful!! We are both exhausted from not sleeping at night!


----------



## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Do you have room in your bedroom to set up a small puppy pen (Iris or other brand) that you could set the crate in with the door open? If he will use a grated potty tray you could add that as well. Nothing else unless he sleeps with a toy (Izzy has a Snuggle Pup with the heart beat on in his crate at night). This arrangement might allow him to go in and out of his crate and not feel shut in but also be close enough to you that he doesn’t feel alone.


----------

