# Crate Training Overnight



## ViciousXUSMC (Feb 2, 2015)

I get my puppy tonight after work, very excited.

I have set up for her in the living room a 48" crate (w/ divider for now) and thats where it will stay. However I have concerns about these first few nights or weeks in where she is getting adjusted to both the house and us.

I read its best to put the crate in your bedroom at night so that she wont be separated from us, but the crate is too big to move into the room really and at some point she would stil have to adjust to being in the living room overnight. Is there any truth to keeping the puppy in the room with you at first or should I just try to train her "cold turkey" to be in her permanent area?

My other concern are our two cats, they have free roam and she will be in a crate, I am afraid that both during the night and during the day while at work the cats are going to antagonize her and make her bark/whine. Anybody have a cat/dog combo and how did your dog take it during crate training having the cats be free and about?

For nights I think a crate cover may be a good idea, but during the day I want to have her uncovered.

Thanks for any insight/answers to this question.

Regards,


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I would pick up a smaller crate so he can be with you at night just until he settles in for a few days or so.Use the larger one in the daytime.It would be so much easier for you both.Don't know about the cats,depends on how your pup reacts.It may be a non issue.When I had cats,they generally ignored the dogs.Good luck with your new pup,and post some pics soon!


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## meli_ssa4 (Aug 19, 2014)

My crate was to big to bring in my room so I slept out in the living room with Darwin for fully for three nights. The first night I actually had to sit by the crate and have my fingers in the bars touching him so he would fall asleep. Probably took a week for me to be fully back in my own bedroom and he would sleep all night with out whining


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

I would get a smaller crate that will fit in your bedroom. Raina's crate is right next to my side of the bed. The first night I got her I attempted to leave the crate in the living room where Pyrate's crate was. She whined and made so much noise I ended up sleeping on the couch with my fingers through the wire so she could smell and touch me. The second night I moved the crate to my room and she has made no noise since then. Pyrate's crate was huge and he was also allowed to free roam the house most of the time. I never had a problem with crate training him even with the crate around the corner in the living room. Pyrate would never bother the cats no matter what time of day or night. Raina is a whole different dog. She would like to play squeaky toy with the cats, making the cat the squeaky toy! I have a gate to keep the cats out of my room where she sleeps. Also, when we had thunder storms I covered Pyrate's crate with a light sheet. It seemed to help him ignore the thunder better. He was always afraid of thunder and fireworks.


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## Asten (Feb 1, 2015)

I have the same crate I believe. Midwest Life Stages, I think..? But yeah I put the divider about 1/4 of the way through at first so her area was small and not overwhelming. I made it bigger as needed and now at 16 weeks, she is comfortable using about 3/4 of the crate. I'm sure it won't be long til I remove the divider entirely! 

My honest opinion is - start her out in her crate for a few minutes this evening. Let her walk in and out on her own and really give her lots of praise and cookies when she goes into it. Gradually work up to closing the door for a few seconds at a time. You may want to work on this for at least a few hours between all the other play and potty trips you'll take  

I cover the top and 1/4 of the sides of B'Elanna's crate with a blanket at night or if we take a nap during the day. Otherwise she has free reign of the living room/kitchen/dining room (open floor plan) where hubby and I are almost all the time.

The biggest thing is going to be consistency. It's going to be really hard on her the first few nights or so because she'll be away from her littermates and in a new house with new people and new furry siblings that aren't exactly the canine siblings she's accustomed to lol You may find yourself sleeping on the floor by her crate for the first few nights so she can see you. I even put my fingers into the crate so B'Elanna could touch me if she woke up feeling alone. 

I honestly wouldn't go cold turkey as far as sleeping alone, but that's just my opinion. I feel like sleeping in the same room helps build a good bond. I noticed someone else recommended possibly using a smaller crate beside the bed until she's old enough to understand that you haven't left the country when you go into another room  I like that idea, too. And it'll allow you to stay in your own bed while she sleeps in her own bed but you can put your fingers into the crate so she can still see and feel you when she needs to. 

I don't have a cat, so I can't help there


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## ViciousXUSMC (Feb 2, 2015)

Great advice guys (and gals),

I have a little travel kennel that she could be in, but I would feel terrible to put her in that overnight and I want her to know the large crate is her "den" and not confuse her with more than one. I have a 42" crate still in the box as well but even that would be too big for the bedroom probably.

So it looks like my best option is probably camping out with her in the living room for a few nights. I am ok with that, maybe the hard floor will be good for my back lol.


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## SweetBabyRae (Mar 26, 2015)

I'm a first time GSD owner but have raised several other dogs from Labradors to Mastiffs and Great Danes, all using a crate. In my experience, and from all the research I did prior to getting my pup back in November, the crate is her "place" whether it is in your bedroom or the living room, it shouldn't matter much. Regardless of where the crate is your pup is going to whine hysterically for the first few nights while it adjusts, mine did the same and on the third night it was as if a switched just flipped and she was fine all night. I should note however that the crate was in our bedroom with us, but by no means did we lay next to it to comfort her or anything, and she couldn't even see us. Also, we have always covered it with a blanket or sheet so it feels a bit more like a den to her.

I have the same crate and also used the divider, it was great! As she got bigger and more confident we were able to adjust the size of her space in there and it wasn't too long before we took the divider out altogether. The best part was we only had to buy one crate for the rest of her life. By the time she was 3 months old we stopped putting her in the crate at night altogether, now she just sleeps on a dog bed next to our bed (or in our bed with us).

So go ahead and just leave the crate in the living room, but be patient and try your best to resist the urge to go out there while she is whining, that will just teach her that whining gets your attention, and it will take her longer to adjust to the crate. Hope this helps!


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## SweetBabyRae (Mar 26, 2015)

ViciousXUSMC said:


> Great advice guys (and gals),
> 
> I have a little travel kennel that she could be in, but I would feel terrible to put her in that overnight and I want her to know the large crate is her "den" and not confuse her with more than one. I have a 42" crate still in the box as well but even that would be too big for the bedroom probably.
> 
> So it looks like my best option is probably camping out with her in the living room for a few nights. I am ok with that, maybe the hard floor will be good for my back lol.


Sorry, just want to add something to my first post! Don't worry about the cats, I have two and they have never been an issue while Rae is in her crate, all they do is sleep, eat, and poop all day/night lol.

Whatever you do, do not camp out on the floor next to her crate, don't even let her see you. It will just make her adjustment that much harder. My GSD is the smartest dog I've ever owned, they catch on VERY quickly, even at 8-9 weeks old.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

I never used crates with my puppies so those that know can advise. The cat and puppies 
"should" be pretty easy. If they want to play that's fine...just don't allow the puppy to chase the cats!

If the cat turns to disengage...play time is over!  



http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-information/534066-my-dog-wont-get-along-my-cats.html

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/6613370-post2.html


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## MySami (Mar 19, 2015)

meli_ssa4 said:


> My crate was to big to bring in my room so I slept out in the living room with Darwin for fully for three nights. The first night I actually had to sit by the crate and have my fingers in the bars touching him so he would fall asleep. Probably took a week for me to be fully back in my own bedroom and he would sleep all night with out whining


This would be the best option , talking from experience I brought home my baby girl Samantha AKA Sami on 2/27/2015 @ 8 weeks old I bought a small crate because it fit in my room . Well now that shes 12 weeks she outgrew that crate and is moving in to a larger one ( that does not fit in my room ) But she will cry ALL night long if shes in the living room by herself. Save your self the trouble leave your pup in the living room,sleep with her a few nights . She will be happier.

And if she does not see you it will also be better, you will probably have to Shush the pup a few times. Till it adjust to the new living situation.


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## Asten (Feb 1, 2015)

ViciousXUSMC said:


> So it looks like my best option is probably camping out with her in the living room for a few nights. I am ok with that, maybe the hard floor will be good for my back lol.


Yeah, you can gradually move farther away from her crate. Playing hiding games throughout the day will help, too. She needs to learn early that even though you walk into a different room, you'll be back - whether it's a few seconds or several hours.


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## Bella67 (Jun 22, 2014)

I put Troy's crate in my room for the first week then put him in a different room. But now I just let him sleep in my room and I have no problems; he's only crated when I can't watch him or when I leave.


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## KaiserPuppy (Feb 23, 2015)

my wife and I have the cat/dog combo. The cat isn't let in our room at any time so we keep the door to our room shut 24/7. We do, however, keep our almost 4 month old puppy in the kennel in our room and he does phenomenal! He was in a designated "pet" room, where we currently have the litter box and our Husky's kennel. That door is open at all times for obvious reasons and gives the dogs a nice little place to sit on their couch and look out the windows, etc. Back on topic, like I said, he WAS in said pet room but he would bark and whine all throughout the night so we moved him into our room and it was a complete 180 transformation almost overnight. Now he willingly goes in the kennel and does not whine at all. I think we're slowly going to start transitioning the Big Baby into the room with our Husky, Oakley. But the cat also does nothing to antagonize either of the dogs and doesn't cause any havoc. If anything, the dogs give the cat a heart attack but we're working on that.
Keep us posted and remember to upload plenty of pics of the furball when you get him! The first few days of a new puppy are the absolute most precious to me, at least!
Good luck!


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## ViciousXUSMC (Feb 2, 2015)

First night is done, Nova did great.

We got back later than I wanted from picking her up almost 10PM. So I did not have the time I really wanted to aquatint her with her crate.

She did not seem hungry so I could not really lure her in with food/treats, but she was sleepy.

We stayed up till 1AM spending time with her, letting her roam in and out of the crate (did not take long) uventully when it was bed time for us and I could not stay up any longer I put her in and kept the door shut.

She whined some and I decided to do the whole "lay next to the crate" thing. Less than 5 minutes she calmed and fell asleep. After that I went to bed and got up 2 hours later to take her potty.

At that time she was awake and laying down being totally calm and quiet. I spent maybe 20 minutes with her after our potty session and put her in the crate.

This time I did not lay with her and went to bed, she whined for maybe 10 minutes and then stopped.

Seems she is a totally awesome dog so far as far as temperament and adjusting.

Already have her going pee/poop outside no issues (even last night in the cold wet grass)

So far my only concern is today she is actually more whiny just being awake than she was last night, kind of walking around with a whimper, not sure if she is just adjusting and lonely from being away from her old home or maybe doesn't feel great.

I think she may just be tired as well as she is asleep right now in my lap.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Awesome!You know the old saying"a tired puppy is a good puppy"


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Congrats on the new pup....


SuperG


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

www.humanesociety.org/animals/tips/crate_training.html

This has good information. What a crate should and shouldn't be used for. Step by step for introducing a puppy to a crate. It is a process.


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