# Crate and puppy Someone is killing my dog!



## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

We just got a 9 week old puppy. Pure GS

He's fine and understands no, sit (not perfectly but 3-5 times he does), and is pretty much potty trained.

Problem is he HATES his crate. Durring the day, he'll go sleep in it, rest in it, go in it do whatever then come back out. But put him in there with the door closed, he freaks out! Like sticking a child in the closet with the boogy monster!

Also he has his own room to play in - the room just has a lamp in it along with his "den" (a tote upside with a hole cut out in it, blinkets to lay on). Chew toys and a baby gate to keep him in the room. Unless you're in the room physically with him, he will freak out and cry for hours upon hours. We've tried the ignore function with no hope in sight it seems..

Even if you are standing on the other side of the gate right infront of him, he's freaking out crying loud (and it echos giving you a mucho headache!)

We want to put him in the back yard but the neighbors would complain I'm sure, and we don't want to keep him in that big room because he'll just cry until the man with the knife stops stabbing him. 

We have two cats, so they need attention too, not to mention sometimes we need him to hang out in a secure area while we take care of some things around the house. But this is probably at most, an hour or two a day, spread out over time.

Any ideas??


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Some are very persistant. I recently remember hearing about a pup that cried at the top of his lungs for 3 hours straight... 

I think sometimes you just have to tough love it out. IME it takes about 3 days for them to completely settle in if you are consistant and firm with the routine.

They cry because they want you to know that they're trapped and they can't get out. Some people have great success with the fingers through the crate at night to comfort. This only works for me at night when they are already tired. Personally. I think they cry more if I am around. I will throw a towel over the crate so they can't see or put them in a dark room with the door shut. I will NOT even go back in the room until they have stopped screaming. Of course I try to be fair about it and make sure that they have had some playtime outside first and have had all their bathroom issues taken care of. It's not ok to put a pup with a full bladder in his crate and expect him to be quiet about it.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Have you tried standing over the gate and ignoring him, then promptly clicking and treating (if you clicker train) or just treating every time he takes a break? That and ignoring are really the only ways to go about solving it IMO


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

It does take time and patience. But well worth every agonizing moment. I think mine went a little faster because I fed him in the crate and only gave him treats when he was in the crate (with door closed). We made a game of it. Even now, at 7 months, he'll go into his crate if he thinks I'm going to give him a treat.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I agree with JKlatsky, tough it out. At night I put the crate right next to the bed so I can put my fingers through the gate and that helps (eventually!). During the day when I needed to crate the puppy I'd cover it so she couldn't see out, then leave the room and close the door. She'd complain for a while, but eventually settled down and napped. If I was there, and especially if she could see me, it was much worse. The "ignore" feature, and earplugs have worked well for me.


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

Cesar Millan says to sit next to the crate and ignore him until he calms down. This worked like a charm for my puppy. I had to sit next to him for 4 nights for about 15 minutes. Now he goes in and goes right to sleep.


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## Josiebear (Oct 16, 2006)

yup i've been there, it will go away, takes patience. I remember the non stop screaming Josie did and my goodness did she have lungs on her. It went on for days and i came so close in giving up and returning her to the breeder! that's how bad it was. But after reading about GSDs behaviours turns out it's pretty common with this breed. We stuck it out and she stopped. I also find feeding her in the crate really helps too. I would even put her in her crate with stuffed kongs randomly to get her used to being in the crate.

Now she loves her crate and wanders in on her own especially when it's bed time


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Rayden ripped the door off his crate when he was a pup, bent it completely in half! He just didn't like being in there. He tolerates it now, but it took forever!!


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

Great..so it shouldn't take more than a week huh?

We put him out in the garage in the far corner where we can barley hear him lol If he's in the house, he is just simply too loud. 

I know he's a puppy so we're duking it out, but I'm affraid if we can't get this solved in a months time, I'm going to have to find other options as he can't be in the home 24/7 with us, esp with our cats here too, unless they all learn to like eachother quick

how often should I feed him? Also how often should he get water? 
After he eats, when's a "safe" time to put him in the crate so he can go for a few hours without having to go to the bathroom


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Puppies want to be with their pack so out in the garage is terribly sad, and he is crying to get back to his pack, please bring him back in the house, high activity area would be best during the day and your bedroom, right next to your bed at night.
In the wild, if a pup is left alone, they cry to get attention, so mom will return and rescue them....
A great book I would invest in~Purely Positive Training; companion to competition by Sheila Booth it has great puppy chapters!

3 feedings a day and unlimited water during the daytime(some pull it early evening and give again early am)
Put him in his crate when he is relaxed with a good safe chewtreat. I would not put toys in a crate unless it is a nylabone or something very safe.
Towels only as well until you see if he is an "ingester" or "destructor" of his environment! My pup did neither so crate pads were ok. But in the beginning, towels you can throw in the washer are best!
Rule of thumb for potty breaks, an hour or two for the first 10 weeks and then you can make the breaks longer. Never go more than 4 hours for a pup under 16 weeks. A UTI can develop quickly if a pup has to hold it for a long period. About 20 minutes after a pup eats, they need to go, so 10 minutes would be safest to go outside to the same place everytime, and give the key word for the pup to "go"


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

He is only in the crate at night time for bed. I go to bed around 12-1am and am up at 6am for work. So he's only in there for 6-7 hours max (with a potty break).

Rest the time he's inside the home with us, in the living room/kitchen/front/back yard.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

So have you tried putting him next to your bed at night? It will help, he'll feel so much more secure and will settle...
I would also crate him for bits during the day, so he sees it is a den for him, he'll feel more comfortable when he knows it is short periods of time and when he is relaxed. To be banished to a garage at night must be pretty scary to a baby.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i got my boy at 9 weeks old also. to
crate train him i would put him in his
crate 5 to 10 minutes at a time. i did this 
many throughout the day. i slowly increased
his crate time.

over night i took my puppy out
every 2 hours for a potty break.
every 2 hours might not be necessary.

why do you want to put a 9 week old 
puppy in the back yard????



adamdude04 said:


> We want to put him in the back yard but the neighbors would complain I'm sure, and we don't want to keep him in that big room because he'll just cry until the man with the knife stops stabbing him.


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> i got my boy at 9 weeks old also. to
> crate train him i would put him in his
> crate 5 to 10 minutes at a time. i did this
> many throughout the day. i slowly increased
> ...


 
We have two cats..they need to come out too hence why we want him in the backyard to. Plus the fresh air wouldn't hurt him. We're doing a ton of yardwork, so it's not like he'd be out in the backyard for hours by himself. Most the time be with someone..maybe a few minutes while we're inside or in the garage doing some other work.

I'll try the crate thing with him tomorrow. Doing short bursts durring the day. 

Reason for the garage is beacuase I work. I need a good nights rest to protect the streets of compton :wild:


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## windwalker718 (Oct 9, 2008)

Ikon eats his dinner in the crate... and it's where he can go with a treasured marrow bone in the house and not have to share. So he LOVES his crate. He doesn't like my leaving the house, but on the occasion that he doesn't go with me he gets a biscuit and goes in his crate. I think the main thing is to be sure that the crate doesn't only represent the dog being left. Because of the meals there, and the goodies, it's a good place.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

9 weeks and already potty trained WOW. Akbar was finally able to be trusted to not have accidents in the house when he was 6 months. With the crate, like everybody else said, tough it out. 
Akbar still barks for a minute sometimes when he's put in his crate for bed time and he's 9 months, lol.


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

Well big improvments last night. We were actually able to keep him int he living room. Able to hear him cry, but not close enough to hear him pout. Heard him cry at 3am and went straight to the bathroom outside. Good stuff.

He's a quick learner. He understands no, and quite now. He likes to bark at the cats now, so a simple "quite" is all it takes to make him stop until the cats come around again. 

We left the house today to get my hair cut, and he didn't even cry when we put him in the crate and left, nor was he crying upon our return.


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## ugavet2012 (Apr 15, 2010)

JKlatsky said:


> Some are very persistant. I recently remember hearing about a pup that cried at the top of his lungs for 3 hours straight...


I've got that beat! Mine barked/whined/screamed/banged her metal crate door for an *entire* night, 3 nights in a row until we moved the crate to my bedroom. I know this because I was awake the whole night with her (it was my spring break so very thankfully)! 
She'd wear herself out so much that she'd nap during the day and finally give me time to sleep. It was a long first 3 days though.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i thought you mean't you
were going to put him in
the backyard to get away from the
whinning.

what are doing about the pup and the cats
meeting each other?

you


adamdude04 said:


> We have two cats..they need to come out too hence why we want him in the backyard to.


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## heather122 (Nov 6, 2009)

All of these suggestions are great.

I have 3 cats that rule my house. They need their space, but they have to share with Sadie as well. I do not recommend separating the cats from the dog. I feel that it just builds more animosity between the species. My oldest cat refuses to let a dog take over his territory and actually spends a lot of time with Sadie. They love each other and lick and pet each other. (My cat loves dogs)

Sadie was not crated with the breeder, so she did not like the crate when I brought her home. She cried the first 2 nights I had her, despite the ticking clock by the crate and the treat to go in the crate. I tried petting her while she was in the crate until she fell asleep. That only made it worse when she woke up. I know she was young, but I gave her a little piece of jerky when I put her in there. Kept her occupied long enough for me to leave the room and by the time she was done with it, she was tired and would just pass out. 

I highly recommend the "no attention until you calm down" approach. Worked wonders for us. Now she only whines when she has to potty during the night. She knows her routine and I rarely have to tell her when to get in her crate.


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