# Crate training nightmare



## Danivalli (Mar 15, 2016)

Hello guys.

So Sky is home with us since saturday so this is day 4. We are trying to crate train her but it has been a nightmare. She whines, cries, barks soooooo loud the entire time she is there. Nights are even worse and I feel like they are getting worse since last night she didn't stop not even for 10 mins. I am trying to be strong and not give in but it is becoming unbearable to the point I am questioning my decision of having a dog. She is 16 weeks old and the breeder saiid she was used to the crate so I don't know what the deal is. Should i just let her sleep on the couch and lie next to her until she gets used to the house? her crate is in the kitchen and we were hoping not to bring it in our room  HELP


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Hang in there with her, it's very common to panic at first with the "what have I done!" getting a puppy. I do that to some extent every time! Things ALWAYS get better...then they get wonderful! This too shall pass and you will fall so in love with her.  Then you'll wonder how you could live without her.

Sky is a baby and has been taken away from the only family she has known, can be a scary time for a puppy especially at night when all alone and in a strange place. The puppy months can be trying (but oh so fun I wish I could keep Sophie a puppy forever!). 

There will be some better advice here I'm sure but what I did was have the crate next to my bed and when Sophie fussed I totally ignored her. It gave her comfort to be near me though and not all alone. It didn't take real long for her to relax and sleep through the night. She now likes her crate so well she prefers to sleep in there instead of on the bed with me, and I really want her on the bed! LOL. (she does come up with me in the mornings). When she isn't crated she explores everything in the house, brings me my shoes and boots thru the doggie door and manages to get them up on the bed, goes under the bed and is basically an energizer bunny. The second I put her in the crate she curls up and goes to sleep. I think it's a bit of relief to her not having the choice of wandering the house. 

As long as you are sure Sky has gone potty outside and that is not why she is fussing, I would totally ignore her, no matter how long she screams. It will pay off in the long run because even if you scold her, that attention is better to her than none at all. So it's a kind of reward for her to keep doing it. And NEVER let her out of the crate while she is fussing. Then she will think her fussing is why you let her out and will do it even more the next time. Very important to always stay calm and quiet. But do be sure she gets to go out to potty enough at her age she may have to go once during the night too.

This will all pay off and get better and you will have the most loving companion you can imagine for many years! It's much like having a human baby...or so I'm told. I've only had the four legged variety.  Patience is the key!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

With my first dog I had her crate in the kitchen. For the first night or two I slept on the kitchen floor next to the crate. Then I moved over to the living room couch for several more nights until my puppy was more settled. With my Havanese I have her crate in my bedroom next to the bed. It made it much easier to comfort her during the night when I first brought her home and also to hear her whine if she had to go potty. I tried to move her crate to another room after awhile but she cried during the night. I put her back in the bedroom and she doesn't make a peep. If you want your dog to be crated at night do not let them sleep on the couch or the bed as it becomes very hard to get them back in the crate once they have that freedom. Your other option is to try an expen with the crate in it so the puppy doesn't feel so confined. Most dogs learn to love their crates and will go in there throughout the day on their own. I put a blanket on top to make it more den-like. Try not to cave in to the pitiful puppy cries and hopefully your puppy will settle in. Good luck!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

When Scout and Truffles first came home I put them in a soft carrier and placed it next to me on the bed. If I heard a whimper I would put my hand in the carrier. I did that for a few days and then moved them to the ex-pen in another room. Like DeeDee said this time will pass with patience. 😊


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Everyone has given you good advice. I'd just add that the fact that she was doing well with the crate at the breeder's and now is not in your home is not that uncommon. My 9 month old puppy has slept in her crate beside us EVERY NIGHT since she came home. She has NEVER made a PEEP, and it is always one of the older ones that first stir in the morning, and want to go out to potty. 

But my son was dog sitting for me over the weekend for the first time this weekend. He said she cried for at least an hour before she settled down. I didn't expect it, but she is in heat, and I think the combination of us going away (with her "big brother" Kodi) AND her raging hormones was enough of a change in things that she was very unsettled. Last night we were home, and I popped her into her crate at bed time, like usual. Absolutely no problem... she went straight to sleep. 

When things change in their young lives, it can be distressing. But they get over it if we are calm and supportive WITHOUT giving in to their demands.


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## PaulineMi (Feb 5, 2016)

Putting my puppy in a crate next to my side of the bed was the best advice I ever received. It was something I'd never done with previous dogs.The crate was put on a big plastic storage box which raised her up, even with the bed. She has never cried, she slept through the night from day one and she only lightly whimpers in the morning. It's her gotta-go-potty "squeak". 

Lola was only nine and a half weeks old when we brought her home. Her crate is now on the floor next to the bed. She happily goes in it when we all go to bed...still never a peep out of her all night. 

I'd say the bed side crate is worth a try to help Sky get acclimated and make things a bit easier for all of you.


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## Cassandra (Dec 29, 2015)

I had never used a crate for a puppy before Cassie..puppies were always put in a mudroom or the like with an old fashion ticking clock wrapped in a towel (an old fashion approach years ago). They all cried for a couple nights and then stopped it. Eventualy, they all got a dog bed on floor in bedroom to sleep there...I can't remember how or when they made transition. With Cassie, based on all I had read about Havanese, I decided to try the crate next to my bed at night approach. I was shocked at how well she accepted it. The breeder told me to be sure to do all my bedtime prep before putting her in the crate so that lights out really meant lights out and to just rap on the top of the crate if she fussed and tell her to settle down. It worked, but I think it was being in the bedroom that was key. She eventually graduated herself to sleeping on bed around 7 or 8 months (climbed up herself, curled up in a circle so I couldn't see her eyes in hopes I wouldn't kick her off). I know some people use crates in expens if they don't want them in bedroom...,but I knew my dogs all eventually get bedroom privileges...she is just the first to get to sleep on the bed itself.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Ha! My dogs get bed priviledges when Dave's not home, but he doesn't want them sleeping on the bed with us. Kodi and Pixel know the routine, and when I tell them, "Time for bed!" They go right in their crates, knowing they will get their good night cookie.

PANDA, however, plays the "sound asleep dog" routine, squeezing her eyes tight shut, and snuggling in. When you pick her up to PUT her in her crate, she goes completely limp, hoping that passive resistance might work. She still takes her cookie, though.


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## JulieB (Jun 16, 2016)

We just brought Bodie home two weeks ago. He was 8 weeks old. The first two nights I put his crate right beside me in the bed. I also put a tshirt that I had worn all day along with a blanket the breeder had given me that she had rubbed on his mom and litter mates in the crate with him. He would whimper a little and I would put my hand on the crate and speak softly to him. He settled down after about 15 min and went to sleep. Night two he didn't whimper at all. On the third night I put his crate beside the bed. He cried for 15 min (it's hard to hear, but tough it out) he finally settled down and ever since then he's been perfect! He loves his crate and will sleep in it during the day. It's a tough transition for these little guys. They are taken away from everything they are used to. But they learn so quickly and soon everything falls into place. Good luck!


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## Danivalli (Mar 15, 2016)

jUst wanted to give a quick update on Sky. We put her crate next to my bed and she slept pretty much all night. She did whine a bit here and there but I would put my hand in the crate and she would go back to sleep. She woke up this morning with so much energy and soo happy. I hope it continues to get better from now on...we will now focus on potty training and since I finally got some sleep maybe I can manage to post some pictures today. Thanks everyone.


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## PaulineMi (Feb 5, 2016)

GREAT news!!!  Good for you and Sky.


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

Danivalli said:


> jUst wanted to give a quick update on Sky. We put her crate next to my bed and she slept pretty much all night. She did whine a bit here and there but I would put my hand in the crate and she would go back to sleep. She woke up this morning with so much energy and soo happy. I hope it continues to get better from now on...we will now focus on potty training and since I finally got some sleep maybe I can manage to post some pictures today. Thanks everyone.


Yay! Good girl, Sky. She will catch on. I started Loki beside our bed. He mostly slept through the night, with the occasional need to get up to potty. However, he is a light sleeper and so are we. I would hear him root around in his blanket to rearrange himself and get comfy again, and he would wake up if one of us got up to use the bathroom. If it was before 4, he would go back to sleep but after 4 and he would be up for the day. Needless to say, that didn't last long. I moved him downstairs his expandable crate in the family room - with lots of reassurance from forum members that he would be fine. He has access to his UGoDog. The first night he whined at 4:30. I could tell he needed to go potty but it didn't take long until he used the piddle pad to pee and poop. Then he cried, whined, barked for 45 minutes (and Marc held my arm to keep me in bed. LOL). The second night - used the piddle pad and was quiet until I came down at 5:30. He had peed and pooped on the pad. The third morning, I didn't come down until 6. He was sitting quietly at the crate door waiting. He had peed on the pad but waited for me to take him out to poop. From then on he has slept through the night. He usually falls asleep with me on the sofa or in the chair between 830 and 9. I take him out about 9:30, pop in the crate, cover his bed end with a blanket, tell him night, night, and don't usually hear from him again until he hears me get up between 5:30 and 6. Point being is that it is possible to move him later if you don't want him in your room forever.


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## Hava Novice (Aug 30, 2016)

Reading this thread has been very helpful for me. Oreo slept through the night without a whimper the first 4 nights we had him home. We had the crate in our bedroom. Then he started waking up if one of us got up during the night. Now, 10 days later, he is routinely waking up between 3 & 4. The first time, I took him out, but he didn't potty, and knowing that he had been going 8 hours previously, I don't think it is a nature call. I moved him to the laundry room last night, and he went down easily, but awake at 3:00 again. I went in and laid by the crate for about 15 minutes, and he went back to sleep, only to awaken again at 5:00. At 5, I took him out, he peed, and I put him in his playpen in the kitchen, and just went back to bed and ignored him. I made him wait til 8:00 to feed him. Hopefully this pattern will change soon!


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

Loki is now 5 months old and sleeps in the expen/crate downstairs without issue. He goes in when we go upstairs around 9:30. He wakes up between 5-6. Sometimes he uses his pee pads, other times he waits for us. He does bark on and off to tell us he is up and wants us to come down too. I am hoping he will sleep a little later as he gets older.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Danivalli said:


> jUst wanted to give a quick update on Sky. We put her crate next to my bed and she slept pretty much all night. She did whine a bit here and there but I would put my hand in the crate and she would go back to sleep. She woke up this morning with so much energy and soo happy. I hope it continues to get better from now on...we will now focus on potty training and since I finally got some sleep maybe I can manage to post some pictures today. Thanks everyone.


That's the way you do it!!!!


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