Question regarding crate training

maximo · 10-10-2011, 08:17 AM

Max has his last potty break around 1030pm. I eliminate water after 7pm. He started to whine last night on and off then started barking at 3am. Should I ignore him or comfort him? Of course I comforted him. I brought the crate closer to my bed so I could put my fingers thru the crate and pet him. I do not want to create any bad habits but also want to establish a schedule. He gets up at 5am to play. I would like him to get up closer to 6am, that would work perfect for my work schedule. I work from home 630-5pm. Also, I do not want to create any type of separation anxiety. I am putting him in his crate for 2 to 3 hours through out the day and he does great during the day. It is just a night. I noticed he is happy to sleep on the floor near me at night rather than his crate. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

**lindamarie** · 10-10-2011, 01:05 PM

I see nothing wrong with what you're doing for a puppy.
Eventually, he will be just fine. Why not let him stay beside your bed? I think that's a great habit to get him into. Nothing like your doodle next to you at night!

jeffscout · 10-10-2011, 10:01 PM

Sometimes you need to think reverse psychology. Why is he barking and whining? If he needs a potty break in the middle of the night (he might not be able to hold it from 10:30-5:00 just yet but he will), let him out. If he is whining and barking for attention, I'd move him out of the room. Our dog didn't stay in our room until after we were done with the crate. Whining would grant her zero attention, a quick trip outside to potty, no affection, and no "I want to sniff everywhere at 2:00AM."

If you pet him when he whines, you are teaching him that he needs to whine in order to get something.

maximo · 10-11-2011, 07:23 AM

Yes I do take him to go potty and right back in. I put him back in and he fussed. I did not give him much attention this time and kept telling to max to llay down and go nite nite. I am trying to see what works best. He went back to sleep after 10 minutes of reinforcement but I do have him in my room at night. My husband wanted to leave him downstairs as well and let him bark it out.

jeffscout · 10-11-2011, 08:37 AM

Male bonding, perhaps, but I agree with your husband. We only had a couple of nights with ours (a goldendoodle, BTW) before she figured out it was a lost cause. She stayed in her crate in the kitchen, and we stayed in the bedroom away from her. Another reason to keep them away from you is so YOU can get some rest and you don't awake every time the pup stands up to stretch or turn around. The dog will be fine away from you and will need to learn soon that it is ok when the pack goes away for a bit...otherwise you are going to be dealing with separation issues!

**lindamarie** · 10-12-2011, 11:07 AM

Why do people like Wilkinson think we're interested in pheromone sprays and their carpet cleaning.

Bye Mr. Wilkinson!

LabyLabradoodle · 12-17-2011, 10:01 PM

I think you are doing fine. Keep it up and I have good hopes that it will work.

Hays · 01-09-2012, 02:07 PM

Maximo....I will tell you the first few nights we had Hayley, she cried and whined and fussed and my husband ended up giving in to her and slept on the kitchen floor with her...after the third night...we looked at each other and said, we need to keep her in the crate and get some sleep ourselves....The third night was rough...we put her in the crate and let her cry...she cried and whimpered for almost an hour...we put ear plugs in at 10:00p.m. and got up with her at 4:00a.m. and guess what..she was fine. no accidents in the crate and by the next night, the whimpering lessoned to about 20 min...the next night the whimpering lessened even more and now we have had her three weeks and she doesn't cry at all! She goes right in her crate at night on her own, we give her a kong toy with a treat in it and her crate is now her den! My suggestion...stick with the crate outside of your room and close to the front door where you can quickly grab a leash early in the a.m. and take the pup outside. you will be better off and the pup will too in the long run! be patient and consistent!

Hays · 01-10-2012, 07:16 PM

Maximo my apologies! I didn't realize you wrote this post in October. I am new to the site...forgive me! I am sure by now, you have figured out something that works for you!

parrispf · 02-15-2012, 01:30 PM

I have a question on crate training. Our pup is 9 weeks old and haven't had her a week yet. We crated her the first few night and she was pretty good. The next night was a nightmare and kept us up all night and since my hubby really needs his sleep (he works very very long hours) he just said to let her sleep in bed with us; and so she did last night for the first time and it was great! I am a stay at home mom with a 13 month old so I am home a lot but when I do leave the house she goes in her crate and first thing I do when I get home is let her out to do her business. So my question is, can we just let her sleep with us at night and just crate her when we leave the house and just depend on her getting crate trained this way? Thanks to all in advance for your input!

Hays · 02-15-2012, 07:44 PM

parrispf, I have to tell you that my husband and I contemplated the same thing when Hayley was just 9 weeks old. She was the same way and we chose (due to advice from everyone else) to crate her and let her cry. Put ear plugs in and ignore...eventually, after three or four nights, I promise it will get better and you will be so glad that you crated at night bc it will be easier than to leave her during the day in the crate. she won't want to do the crate during the day if you don't make her do it at night to get used to it. At least until she is potty trained. Actually Hayley is now potty trained and now loves her crate. She absolutely hated it the first week bc she missed her litter mates and wanted to be with us all the time. My husband slept with her on the kitchen floor the first two nights and it was awful. We got no sleep...so trust me on this!

10-10-2011, 08:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
maximo Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 31	Question regarding crate training Max has his last potty break around 1030pm. I eliminate water after 7pm. He started to whine last night on and off then started barking at 3am. Should I ignore him or comfort him? Of course I comforted him. I brought the crate closer to my bed so I could put my fingers thru the crate and pet him. I do not want to create any bad habits but also want to establish a schedule. He gets up at 5am to play. I would like him to get up closer to 6am, that would work perfect for my work schedule. I work from home 630-5pm. Also, I do not want to create any type of separation anxiety. I am putting him in his crate for 2 to 3 hours through out the day and he does great during the day. It is just a night. I noticed he is happy to sleep on the floor near me at night rather than his crate. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

10-10-2011, 01:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
lindamarie Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Birmingham, Michigan Posts: 6,172	I see nothing wrong with what you're doing for a puppy. Eventually, he will be just fine. Why not let him stay beside your bed? I think that's a great habit to get him into. Nothing like your doodle next to you at night! __________________ Linda & Bogart Dogs=Unconditional love "We have it all! Just like Bogie & Bacall!"

10-12-2011, 11:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
lindamarie Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Birmingham, Michigan Posts: 6,172	Why do people like Wilkinson think we're interested in pheromone sprays and their carpet cleaning. Bye Mr. Wilkinson! __________________ Linda & Bogart Dogs=Unconditional love "We have it all! Just like Bogie & Bacall!"

12-17-2011, 10:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
LabyLabradoodle Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 90	I think you are doing fine. Keep it up and I have good hopes that it will work. __________________ Let's do the math! An adorable labrador retriever + a sweet poodle = Laby

10-10-2011, 10:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
jeffscout Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Sugar Land / Tiki Island, TX Posts: 5	Sometimes you need to think reverse psychology. Why is he barking and whining? If he needs a potty break in the middle of the night (he might not be able to hold it from 10:30-5:00 just yet but he will), let him out. If he is whining and barking for attention, I'd move him out of the room. Our dog didn't stay in our room until after we were done with the crate. Whining would grant her zero attention, a quick trip outside to potty, no affection, and no "I want to sniff everywhere at 2:00AM." If you pet him when he whines, you are teaching him that he needs to whine in order to get something.

10-11-2011, 07:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
maximo Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 31	Yes I do take him to go potty and right back in. I put him back in and he fussed. I did not give him much attention this time and kept telling to max to llay down and go nite nite. I am trying to see what works best. He went back to sleep after 10 minutes of reinforcement but I do have him in my room at night. My husband wanted to leave him downstairs as well and let him bark it out.

10-11-2011, 08:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
jeffscout Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Sugar Land / Tiki Island, TX Posts: 5	Male bonding, perhaps, but I agree with your husband. We only had a couple of nights with ours (a goldendoodle, BTW) before she figured out it was a lost cause. She stayed in her crate in the kitchen, and we stayed in the bedroom away from her. Another reason to keep them away from you is so YOU can get some rest and you don't awake every time the pup stands up to stretch or turn around. The dog will be fine away from you and will need to learn soon that it is ok when the pack goes away for a bit...otherwise you are going to be dealing with separation issues!

01-09-2012, 02:07 PM	#8 (permalink)
Hays Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 87	Maximo....I will tell you the first few nights we had Hayley, she cried and whined and fussed and my husband ended up giving in to her and slept on the kitchen floor with her...after the third night...we looked at each other and said, we need to keep her in the crate and get some sleep ourselves....The third night was rough...we put her in the crate and let her cry...she cried and whimpered for almost an hour...we put ear plugs in at 10:00p.m. and got up with her at 4:00a.m. and guess what..she was fine. no accidents in the crate and by the next night, the whimpering lessoned to about 20 min...the next night the whimpering lessened even more and now we have had her three weeks and she doesn't cry at all! She goes right in her crate at night on her own, we give her a kong toy with a treat in it and her crate is now her den! My suggestion...stick with the crate outside of your room and close to the front door where you can quickly grab a leash early in the a.m. and take the pup outside. you will be better off and the pup will too in the long run! be patient and consistent!

01-10-2012, 07:16 PM	#9 (permalink)
Hays Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 87	Maximo my apologies! I didn't realize you wrote this post in October. I am new to the site...forgive me! I am sure by now, you have figured out something that works for you!

02-15-2012, 01:30 PM	#10 (permalink)
parrispf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 2	I have a question on crate training. Our pup is 9 weeks old and haven't had her a week yet. We crated her the first few night and she was pretty good. The next night was a nightmare and kept us up all night and since my hubby really needs his sleep (he works very very long hours) he just said to let her sleep in bed with us; and so she did last night for the first time and it was great! I am a stay at home mom with a 13 month old so I am home a lot but when I do leave the house she goes in her crate and first thing I do when I get home is let her out to do her business. So my question is, can we just let her sleep with us at night and just crate her when we leave the house and just depend on her getting crate trained this way? Thanks to all in advance for your input!

02-15-2012, 07:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
Hays Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 87	parrispf, I have to tell you that my husband and I contemplated the same thing when Hayley was just 9 weeks old. She was the same way and we chose (due to advice from everyone else) to crate her and let her cry. Put ear plugs in and ignore...eventually, after three or four nights, I promise it will get better and you will be so glad that you crated at night bc it will be easier than to leave her during the day in the crate. she won't want to do the crate during the day if you don't make her do it at night to get used to it. At least until she is potty trained. Actually Hayley is now potty trained and now loves her crate. She absolutely hated it the first week bc she missed her litter mates and wanted to be with us all the time. My husband slept with her on the kitchen floor the first two nights and it was awful. We got no sleep...so trust me on this!

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
Labradoodle Forums Advertisement