# Crate Training in Apartment



## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Hey guys! 

In preparation for my puppy coming home this weekend, I'm trying to cover all my last minute bases.

I am bringing home an 8 week old Czech WL puppy on Sunday, and am really really excited to have a new IPO prospect. I've been waiting for this for a long time. 

The only thing I'm mildly concerned about is initial crate use. I live in an apartment, so the noise level makes me a little nervous. Does anyone have any experience with crate training puppies in apartments? I took work off the first two days of next week so that I could spend time bonding with him and trying to get him adjusted, and then I will be working a split shift when I return to work (a few hours at work in the morning, home for a few hours, and then a few hours at work in the afternoon). 

I'm incredibly excited for this little man to be home, just trying to get all of my ducks in a row in terms of a game plan. I want to tackle crate anxiety/nuisance barking early and would greatly appreciate any advice/experience you guys have to offer!


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Hey there! 

I am bringing home a Czech WL puppy in a few days, and am trying to cover all my last minute bases. 

I'm incredibly excited to bring this little guy home (he's an IPO prospect), but the only thing I'm mildly concerned about is the amount of noise he'll initially be making in the crate. I live in an apartment, and want to be sure that I'm being respectful to my neighbors, especially at night. 

Does anyone have any tips for crate training puppies in apartments? I understand that 8 week old puppies are going to be upset in the crate initially, but nuisance barking is something I want to address right away. I would definitely be interested to hear any management techniques that you can think of!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

I would contact the breeder and ask if they can at least start an intro now thru pick up. If I lived in an apartment this probably would have been considered when selecting my breeder as well as waiting to bring the pup home at 10-12 weeks.

Aside from that I would feed all meals in the crate, find some sort of white noise, and keep the crate in your room initially.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

I have done this three times. Luckily two of them was no issue and no sound throughout the entire night. The third time was pretty horrendous and I warned my neighbors before hand. I will be bringing a puppy home in just a few weeks and my landlord lives above me right now, so I am a bit nervous about the crate training. I am very hopeful to be moving out of this apartment and into a house in the next few weeks though.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Mod Note - I merged your two threads together to keep all the responses in one spot.


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

Crate games. 
Also, whenever the puppy naps, right to the crate.


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

I have crate trained in an apartment. The first two nights my puppy cried for about 15-20 minutes, then he was quiet until he had to go to the bathroom, then he cried when he went back in for another few minutes. I warned my neighbors beforehand and had them meet the puppy. No one complained, and the puppy stopped whining in a few days. I don't think it will be a big deal for you.

Enjoy the new puppy!


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

WIBackpacker said:


> Mod Note - I merged your two threads together to keep all the responses in one spot.


Thank you! I didn't realize that the first one posted before I made the second one, that was a nice surprise lol. Thanks!!


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I think I'd be inclined to approach the nearest neighbors pre-emptively. Kinda like people do on airplanes sometimes with kids? Here's some fancy ground coffee and by the way my puppy may be a bit noisy while he settles in but if you can possibly bear with me it will be short lived...?


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Fodder said:


> I would contact the breeder and ask if they can at least start an intro now thru pick up. If I lived in an apartment this probably would have been considered when selecting my breeder as well as waiting to bring the pup home at 10-12 weeks.
> 
> Aside from that I would feed all meals in the crate, find some sort of white noise, and keep the crate in your room initially.


I have a close relationship with the puppy's breeder, and she's fully aware of the concern. I am staying at their home for the weekend before I bring the puppy home with me and am planning on crating him there. The crate is in my bedroom and meals are being hand fed for training purposes, but if he does end up eating from a bowl it will be in the crate. I probably should have been more clear- I'm prepared for the fact that he's probably going to make noise. I was more looking for ways to stop it from continuing once it starts!


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> I think I'd be inclined to approach the nearest neighbors pre-emptively. Kinda like people do on airplanes sometimes with kids? Here's some fancy ground coffee and by the way my puppy may be a bit noisy while he settles in but if you can possibly bear with me it will be short lived...?


I've totally considered this. I just couldn't decide if it would help or hurt us.....as in make them MORE aware of the fact that my puppy is screaming? Or less likely to call in a noise complaint when it happens?


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

kenzandel said:


> I've totally considered this. I just couldn't decide if it would help or hurt us.....as in make them MORE aware of the fact that my puppy is screaming? Or less likely to call in a noise complaint when it happens?


I can see both sides of that. Do you have any relationship with these neighbors? Any kind of a feeling on what type of people they are? Because if they are reasonable people I feel like they would respond better if they knew this is a new puppy who just has to get through this and will then be a well behaved dog. Not just these people brought home a loud dog that is screaming and they aren't doing anything about it so they don't know there is an end in sight. It's a tough call


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

kenzandel said:


> I have a close relationship with the puppy's breeder, and she's fully aware of the concern. I am staying at their home for the weekend before I bring the puppy home with me and am planning on crating him there. The crate is in my bedroom and meals are being hand fed for training purposes, but if he does end up eating from a bowl it will be in the crate. I probably should have been more clear- I'm prepared for the fact that he's probably going to make noise. I was more looking for ways to stop it from continuing once it starts!


Oh.
If all his needs are met..... ignore him. It’s the loudest yet quickest way.


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## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

I agree with just ignoring it, not looking at, talking to, or letting the pup out of the crate until they calm down, and when i say calm down I mean completely calm, laying down, head on ground etc... 

I have found if there are having a particularly hard time, let them calm down as best they can, take outside to pee, being very calm and quiet, no crazy puppy talk or major excitement. then bring in, do some calming exercises with him, then put him back in crate. 
Most important thing for long term calm and quiet behaviour in crate is totally ignoring, and not putting the puppy in the crate when they are in an excited state. 

Even though you are home for a few days, make sure to have lots of quiet crate time while you are home


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Suzy25 said:


> I agree with just ignoring it, not looking at, talking to, or letting the pup out of the crate until they calm down, and when i say calm down I mean completely calm, laying down, head on ground etc...
> 
> I have found if there are having a particularly hard time, let them calm down as best they can, take outside to pee, being very calm and quiet, no crazy puppy talk or major excitement. then bring in, do some calming exercises with him, then put him back in crate.
> Most important thing for long term calm and quiet behaviour in crate is totally ignoring, and not putting the puppy in the crate when they are in an excited state.
> ...


I would understand ignoring the behavior in a normal situation (ie., a house), but the issue is that the "cry it out" method is probably going to get me a noise complaint. I'm taking time off work specifically to focus on crate training, and he will be spending all of his unsupervised time in his crate.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

You have to ignore it. That’s the only way. I simply told my neighbors sorry in advance and they said they did not mind at all. We also find running the ac and tv at moderate volume drowns out the sound of the screaming lol


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Here’s the thing... each puppy is different, as you can see in the personal stories shared. There is no way for us to predict how much noise there will be until your pup is home, but there will be some. That part has to be expected. It’s how babies communicate. This is not specific to being in the crate.

Anything you do to discourage or pacify the pup - you’ll need to be prepared to do it forever (such as sleeping in your bed, although that won’t help during the day while you’re at work).

I’m suggesting that you have your breeder start, tonight, Wednesday, for the simple sake of having a baseline for your particular puppy - info we can’t provide. How long does he cry... does he cry or bark... what helps... what doesn’t... does he like frozen Kong’s.... will they keep his interest until he falls asleep, etc...


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Fodder said:


> Here’s the thing... each puppy is different, as you can see in the personal stories shared. There is no way for us to predict how much noise there will be until your pup is home, but there will be some. That part has to be expected. It’s how babies communicate. This is not specific to being in the crate.
> 
> Anything you do to discourage or pacify the pup - you’ll need to be prepared to do it forever (such as sleeping in your bed, although that won’t help during the day while you’re at work).
> 
> I’m suggesting that you have your breeder start, tonight, Wednesday, for the simple sake of having a baseline for your particular puppy - info we can’t provide. How long does he cry... does he cry or bark... what helps... what doesn’t... does he like frozen Kong’s.... will they keep his interest until he falls asleep, etc...


I get that! I have a 2 year-old GSD who I have had since 8 weeks of age. The only difference was, we had a house when she was a puppy, and we live in an apartment now. I'm absolutely expecting there to be noise- that was the reason I posted in the first place. I'm not looking for a noise prediction or a "correction" to the behavior, I'm just looking for ways to mask the volume level a little. A frozen kong is a good idea.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

I’m just responding to what’s written...sorry I don’t have an all encompassing magic solution.

Looking for :

“Any advice / experience”

“Management techniques”

“Ways to stop it once it starts”

“Ways to mask the volume”

Understand the reader dilemma? 

Anyway, my last reply will be that it’s no different than your last dog. The pup doesn’t know the difference between a house and an apartment... he’ll do what he does, and your first line of action will be to respond the way you did with your previous dog. Rinse, repeat, or adjust.

Kong recipe - soak kibble in warm water until it swells a bit, stuff the kong loosely, seal it off with a dab of peanut butter. I wouldn’t freeze it the first few times.... let the pup be successful. Once he’s into it, light freeze then solid freeze. Quality kibble won’t swell much, but being moist still helps it stick together.

Good luck!


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

When I first brought home my then 2 months old boy, I was living in a STUDIO apartment with a balcony (his crate was at the balcony). First night, he cried ALL NIGHT I had to put his crate in the bathroom with him on it because he was LOUD (he just got separated from his littermate and everything is unfamiliar, so of course he freaked.) Right from the moment I brought him home, I started basic trainings right away, that includes crate training. I associated crate with food, comfort and security. Praised him like crazy when he stays calm in the crate. Taught him the 'crate!' command where he goes into the crate on demand. Every dog is different but thankfully my pup is not difficult when it comes to crate training. He still cried for a whole week, but as days went by he cried less and less. Also, never use the crate as a punishment. But he needs to know calming himself down in the crate is NOT a punishment. Reward when he's calm. My pup now absolutely loves his crate. I keep the crate open and he just sleeps there when he needs his me-time. Good luck.


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## kenzandel (Feb 28, 2017)

Fodder said:


> I’m just responding to what’s written...sorry I don’t have an all encompassing magic solution.
> 
> Looking for :
> 
> ...


I don't see the dilemma- sorry! "Ways to stop it once it starts" and "masking volume" are both something I would consider management techniques. I didn't realize it was that confusing, my bad!  

Looking forward to trying the kong.


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## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

kenzandel said:


> I don't see the dilemma- sorry! "Ways to stop it once it starts" and "masking volume" are both something I would consider management techniques. I didn't realize it was that confusing, my bad!
> 
> Looking forward to trying the kong.


I think the confusion come from the "how to stop it when it starts", in which the way i read that is, "when he starts crying in the crate how do i get him to stop and learn to be quiet" in which people responded by saying to ignore, which is the only thing that will be the effective long term training solution as he learns that screaming doesnt get him anything, instead of a bandaid that doesnt work or train for the long run like the kong which could be like "heres a kong, please stop screaming" 
and the management would be like giving him a kong to keep him quite for a while when you first put him in and hopefully calm enough, that would be managing the noise in my opinion 

Hopefully that clears up the confusion and makes earlier responses make more sense


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Sage advice...

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-puppy-stuff/726626-first-nights-so-you-sleep-well.html

What you really want to do is keep the puppy from feeling he has to scream...make him feel safe and happy, and you can stop it before it starts!


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## Nikka Khrystyne (May 14, 2018)

I live in an apartment with two 9 week old puppies. They are doing extremely well in the crate. The first few nights me and my husband both slept on the floor next to their crates. We also put them in their crates for naps times as well after they are worn out from playing. We move the crates into the bedroom at night and into the living area during the day and always have the doors open so they can go in and out. Our boy is fine in his crate and usually sleeps the best when he is in it. Layla will whine occasionally because she prefers to sleep curled up next to us on the couch or bed. 

Occasionally they have trouble going to sleep and will whine, so we will lay next to their crates until they fall asleep. When we do that they are out in seconds. I think it’s a comfort thing and to let them know we are there. We put them in as much as possible and they are learning to sit and wait to come out of their crate when called. 

We only leave the house with them in the crate after we have taken them out for potty and played with them. Then we leave when they’re sleep and they are still usually sleep when we get back. 

For us it’s about making it a positive experience. We even crate trained our last boy, Barack, when he was almost 9 the same way. (We brought him to our apartment to live with us from my husbands mothers house-he was previously exclusively an outside dog).

Barack loved being in his crate. And we moved in our room at night (he went back and forth from his crate in our room to the couch in the living room) and the living room during the day. 

Make it a safe and positive place.


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## Nikka Khrystyne (May 14, 2018)

Another thing to address masking the noise of help with noise control. We teach the quiet command through clicker training. If they start to whine when we first put them in we tell them quite until they stop whining, then we click. They are starting to learn the command well. 

Again I suggest making sure your pup is really tired and you know he’s ready for bed before putting him in. For our older boy who whined really loud when left in the crate, we just drowned it out with the tv and just didn’t leave him alone in it after our aprrmenrs “quiet hours.” We have an extremely dog friendly community so for the most part barking and dog noises arent taken as a complaint unless it’s after quiet hours (10pm-6am)


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

This goes under the category of "Mask the Noise":

As somebody who plays music, and has two kids who play music...
I looked into soundproofing a practice room for our house at one point! 
( Then the kids began to play more in tune instead of making horrible noises...so I didn't follow through. 

Anyway you could look into that as a Last Resort...
if your puppy turns out to be the vocal type, and the crate-training, Kongs, etc aren't enough...
you could crate in one of the apartment's smaller rooms and soundproof that room as a DIY project?
Some of the methods just involve installing fabric/acoustic panels on the walls (are not that invasive).

It will be expensive, but just a thought.
Hopefully your pup will be the kind that cries for a few minutes, then settles down and goes to sleep. 
You could use one of those baby monitor devices or dog monitoring apps if you wanted to keep tabs on the noise/activity while you're at work...


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

And the last crazy idea is,
buy bottles of wine and sets of earbuds,
attach a card with adorable pic of puppy, 
and say, "This too shall pass...From the Puppy Next Door"


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