# Crate Training Advice Please



## cinquecento (Apr 23, 2020)

We need some crate training advice for Harley. She is 16 weeks and weighs a whopping 4 lbs! 😃 I’ve read all the standard advice and watched many, many videos, but they are all about general crate training. We need specific crate training advice for daytime.

Harley sleeps in her crate at night. That has not really been a problem. She caught on to that quickly. She slipped a little when my husband went fishing for a week, but when he got back it resolved in about 3 nights. We play with her before bed and then say, ‘night, night’ and it is done. She sleeps until she needs to go potty. Recently she makes it about 6-6.5 hours before she needs to potty. 

Crating during the day is a whole different story! She HATES being locked in the crate during the day, and she will bark and bark and bark. She doesn’t just bark, she has a fit..crying, howling, gnashing and chewing on the kennel. She has such a fit that when we take her out, her face and her chest are soaking wet from crying or drooling or whatever. I feel so sad for her. We have worked consistently on crate training since we got her. We started with the exercise pen and it was the same experience. We’ve done the wait her out until she quiets then let her out. This is tricky, because if she quiets it is for a very brief period. We’ve been trying to extend her time in the crate, but she just carries on longer. It’s pathetic! I used a Kong toy (she won’t touch it until the door is open and she can get out, then she loves the Kong), she has toys, she has clothing with my scent. It doesn’t matter if we are in the house or if we leave the house, it is the same behavior. We don’t fuss over her when she come out, we are matter of fact and go about our business and we take her outside to potty. We try to be really low key. It is so hard, because she is so excited to see us and it takes her a while to settle down she whimpers and cries for a few minutes after she gets out. We’ve tried very brief times and we’ve tried longer periods with same behaviors. Afterwards she is exhausted and she will just sleep right next to us for a couple of hours. Poor baby! 

Here’s the interesting part..., she doesn’t hate the crate during the day, she hates the door being closed on the crate with her inside during the day. This was the same when we had the exercise pen up. She was just fine with it and would play inside and eat inside, until the door closed and then she would start the fit. She eats in her crate, she will go in and get toys from her crate, she will even lay down and play with a toy in her crate for a brief time, just don’t close her in!

Any advice and pointers would be so appreciated!! I go back to work in 2 weeks and I don’t want her to be miserable, but she has to have a safe place to stay while I teach. Thankfully, I’m only working a few hours a day 2-3 days a week, so I’ll have lots of time with her when I’m not teaching. I’ve tried taking her to my work area, because I’d be fine with her hanging out, but, she is still to much of a puppy. She wants what she wants, when she wants it! 😀 I can’t stop teaching in the middle of class to get her a drink, or take her out, or keep her from chewing furniture and cords. My husband has tried keeping her in his work area, but he runs into the same situation when he is on a conference call. Plus, it seems she wants to be with me. If she knows I’m around she won’t settle down for him.


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I know it’s a difficult time to do this, but if there’s any way you can set up even an online consultation with a trainer, I would. This early on, the behavior is much more shapeable, and I would bet someone good would be able to see things and point you in the right direction very quickly. But I’m guessing he’s been home 4 weeks at least, so you’re getting to the point where if it’s not addressed really soon, it’s going to be harder and harder to address down the line. The problem with these kinds of separation behaviors is that they can reinforce themselves. There’s also a lot of terrible advice out there on how to handle it (not here on the forum thankfully  that can even make it worse. In my opinion, the key is having the outside person be able to actually see what is going on, because it’s so easy to miss things with a new puppy you’re still learning how to read. 

My Havanese has separation issues, and we’ve been able to manage, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have moved faster on a trainer. I’m not saying your puppy has separation issues, either, just that I have come to believe that if there’s even the slightest hint of anxiety, it’s better to “overreact” and meet with a trainer and have them say, Oh, you just need to move the crate, or give you a couple of pointers, and reassure you that you’re doing the right thing, so you feel more secure and confident in what you’re doing, vs. struggle for another 3 months and then have a trainer say, there is an anxiety problem here. 

I don’t know if the wait is as long for a trainer as it is for a puppy right now, but if it is, maybe you could record the behavior. It might be enough for you to watch it back at a neutral time and see things you didn’t notice in the moment.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

I agree that you should seek professional help at this point. I don't know what to suggest that you haven't already done. Ugh. Thinking of you all!


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## cinquecento (Apr 23, 2020)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I know it's a difficult time to do this, but if there's any way you can set up even an online consultation with a trainer, I would. This early on, the behavior is much more shapeable, and I would bet someone good would be able to see things and point you in the right direction very quickly. But I'm guessing he's been home 4 weeks at least, so you're getting to the point where if it's not addressed really soon, it's going to be harder and harder to address down the line. The problem with these kinds of separation behaviors is that they can reinforce themselves. There's also a lot of terrible advice out there on how to handle it (not here on the forum thankfully  that can even make it worse. In my opinion, the key is having the outside person be able to actually see what is going on, because it's so easy to miss things with a new puppy you're still learning how to read.
> 
> My Havanese has separation issues, and we've been able to manage, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have moved faster on a trainer. I'm not saying your puppy has separation issues, either, just that I have come to believe that if there's even the slightest hint of anxiety, it's better to "overreact" and meet with a trainer and have them say, Oh, you just need to move the crate, or give you a couple of pointers, and reassure you that you're doing the right thing, so you feel more secure and confident in what you're doing, vs. struggle for another 3 months and then have a trainer say, there is an anxiety problem here.
> 
> I don't know if the wait is as long for a trainer as it is for a puppy right now, but if it is, maybe you could record the behavior. It might be enough for you to watch it back at a neutral time and see things you didn't notice in the moment.


Thank you for the advice. I am contacting trainers. Thank you for that encouragement. Recording is a good idea. I never thought to do that. Thanks for the tip!


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