# Help Goofy hates his crate.....



## Goofy (Sep 27, 2008)

The minute I put him in there the whining starts, even if I am sitting right in front of him on the couch he starts whining like crazy. I know he is very young(almost 8 weeks) but I just don't want this habit to stick. Any advice/suggestions? 

Even at night almost on the hour he starts his whining, I wait for the whining to stop before I take him out, FYI I am now sleeping on the couch so its easier to get to him.

Thanks.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I always used a modified crate training cause the whining was hard for me too.

First of all, at night, it is way easier for me to keep the crate beside my bed so I was comfortable and got a good night sleep. I was right beside the puppy so they knew I was there. So that fixed the sleep issue for both of us.

Second, I ONLY otherwise used the crate when I left the house or I needed a 'time out' to get stuff done without a puppy underfoot. Or sometimes even the puppy would need a bit of a 'time out' if they were too out of controlled and unruly. The crate is never a BAD DOG thing. Just a calm, pick the puppy up, toss in a treat then the puppy goes in with the closed door.

So the way I would 'manage' the housebreaking and puppy training otherwise was with babygates, closed doors, and me paying attention. If the puppy isn't safe in a crate, they needed to be 'safe' in whatever room I was in and under my eye 100% of the time. 

Not being into housecleaning and realizing there would then be 'accidents' I went to Home Depot and purchased a massive brown waterproof tarp that I laid down in my family room. Since it's connected to the kitchen (linoleum floor) and these are the 2 main rooms we were always in, this meant I could easily be vigilant. The tarp, though not the decorating detail most of us want, made cleanups so easy. I was never mad if they had ANOTHER accident cause of that. Additionally, the SOUND the urine makes when they start is audible even if you aren't watching so my timing for the 'uh uh' and the picking them up to bring them outside was vastly improved.

The other huge help is to EXERCISE the puppy! A tired puppy will be much more likely to whine a short time, see it's not working and then roll in a ball and go to sleep. A wound up puppy full of energy can whine (I'm not kidding) for hours. 

So the more you can socialize, drive around, meet and greet and tire that pup out. The more the crate will be a safe happy haven they will crawl into and CRASH!!!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

this is the 1st dog i crated. the first day my 9 week old puppy was home we started crate training. i also asked the breeder to start crate training him before we got him. after my puppy was home i let him roam around the house for ten (10) minutes or so. then i took him outside. i took him outside every 15 minutes or so. after he checked out his new den i put him in his crate while saying "go to your crate". i left him in there five (5) minutes or so and then i let him out. i did that 3 to 5 times a day for the first week or so, maybe longer. i put toys or bones in there with him. sometimes while he was in his crate i would walk around the crate or sit so that he could see me. my thinking was i was getting him use to being in his crate while i'm home. after having him in his crate while i was home and could see me i started leaving the house. i would go outside and wait 5 minutes or so before returning. when i came into the house i didn't let him out immediately because i didn't want him to think that when i enter the it's time to get out of his crate. by waiting to let him out of the crate kept him from getting all crazy and worked up to be out of the crate. we i let him out of the crate i made him walk out of it slowly. at some point i was able to say "Loki, go to your crate" and in he would go. i also practiced sending him to his crate from different parts of the house. when he was in his crate i would mix up going over to him with praising him, petting him, treating him and placing things in his crate for him. even though i did all of this his first night was little rough. he whinned for a 45 minutes calming down. the 2nd night it was 1/2 hour, the 3rd night was 10 to 15 minutes, the 4th night all was quiet. i couldn't beleive it. he was comfortable with his crate at night within 3 nights. i continued with his crate training schedule. during the night one of us got up and took him out every 2 hours. that went on for a little longer than a week. then when i spoke with his breeder she told me i was probably bothering him by getting up every 2 hours to go, um. after that conversation i would take him out around 3:00 am. we normally go to bed anywhere from 10 pm. to 12:30 am. for a while we took his water bowl away around 7:00 pm. i don't remember when i started letting him have access to his water bowl 24 hour a day. be consistent in your crate training. the first week is a little hard on you. they learn quickly. it won't be long before he's asking to go out. good luck with your puppy.


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## WiscTiger (Sep 25, 2002)

doggiedad, there is some great information, but very Difficult to read.

It might be helpful to people reading your posts if you used Capital letters and possibly even Paragraphs.

Val


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## Goofy (Sep 27, 2008)

Ok going to try some of the above advice. Thanks everyone. Goofy does not go into the crate at all. He simply refuses to go in, I have to carry him and put/force him in.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Goofball, are you tossing chicken/roastbeef/cheese in the crate with the pup? or a kong with peanut butter? 
My dogs are 9 and 4 and I still crate them at dogshows. I still toss a treat in when they go in so I know they love their crates.

You can also practice throwing the chicken in, but leaving the door open. So chicken, then pup will enter, then they can leave. Then chicken then puppy then the puppy can leave. Go on with your day. Some people even feed their pups in the crate (door open or closed). We want them to love their crates eventually so anything we can do to help, helps!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: Wisc.Tigerdoggiedad, there is some great information, but very Difficult to read.
> 
> It might be helpful to people reading your posts if you used Capital letters and possibly even Paragraphs.
> 
> Val


I'm glad I'm not the only one that had trouble reading that.


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## Goofy (Sep 27, 2008)

Ok I went and bought a kong and some treats opened the crate and left the gate open, new kong and treat inside. He went in and out of the crate a few times on his own, brought his toy out, then took it back in. I just put him in the crate and shut the door for a lil. while and only 2 mins of whining.

thanks for the advice everyone, I love this place.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Wisc.Tigerdoggiedad, there is some great information, but very Difficult to read.
> 
> It might be helpful to people reading your posts if you used Capital letters and possibly even Paragraphs.
> 
> Val


You're right Val. Posts that are written like the above, I don't even bother to read because it is too difficult to parse the relevant information. 

To be considerate of those reading, paragraphs, etc. would be nice.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

Have you tried feeding him in his crate? My Shepherds were all taught to eat in their crates. For puppies I also like to make sure they are good and tired at bed time. They head to bed after a rousing game of some sort and then outside to potty and then time for bed. 

As far as doggiedad post goes, I too tend to not read posts that are written as such. Lack of semi proper capitalization and sentence structure tends to make me think of as a child writing and dismiss it entirely. It could just be me but I prefer traditional writing as I learned to do in school with the big letters and paragraphs.


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