Crate Training

[AaronTubb]

I am trying to crate train my puppy and I have a few questions that I can't seem to find the answers for. I am a stay-at-home mom and I do have time but I need to put her in the crate sometimes. She is only 10 weeks old though.

 

1. While you're getting your puppy used to the crate, where should you put the puppy who is not potty trained and cries if she's not right on top of you?

2. She doesn't seem to mind her crate during the day, often going in and out and sleeping in it as long as she knows we're in the room. But at night even though it is right beside us, she cries so much. We have tried to put a fence around her crate right beside her bed, and she just cries through the fence. We have a bathroom attached to her master where we put a baby gate, and she cries the same way.

3. If she sleeps with us for a few weeks, can we get her used to the crate? I don't mind doing this for a few weeks, but I really don't want a dog sleeping in my bed. It feels like a kid, and it really messes with my mind having a kid or a puppy in my bed with my husband 😆😬😜.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome on the forums,

These are all great questions! Can you please tell me how long you have had her and what breed she is? This could help me better formulate my answers.

Thanks!

[AaronTubb]

We got her at 9 wks and she is a Maltipoo. We have had her for about 3 weeks. We have only had to leave her all by herself 3 times since we got her. All of them were less than 3 hours.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Thank you for the additional details, they are extra-helpful!

 

I will answer your questions in the order:

 

1) Crate training is important even if you are home most of the day. A time may come when you must head outside, do some household chores without your puppy being in the way or just want to keep your puppy safe when you cannot supervise. On top of this, all dogs benefit from being crate trained since a crate comes handy for car rides and dogs are also kept in cages if ever hospitalized at the vet (like before/after being spayed) or going to the groomer.

 

Crates come also handy since puppies tend to get into mischief when young (just like toddlers!) and additionally, they can help a puppy learn to "hold it" a bit longer since by instinct, they don't like to soil the areas where they sleep. For this reason, it's important to have a crate of the right size (snug enough that she can't sleep in one corner and eliminate in the opposite one, but big enough to allow her to stretch, stand, lie down and turn around.

 

Of course, puppies can only hold it for so much, so, if you must be absent for longer periods of time than how much your puppy can hold it, it's a good idea to provide what's known as a longer-term confinement area.

 

As a longer-term confinement area, I like to use an exercise-pen with inside the crate left open (secure the door so it doesn't by mistake slam in your puppy frightening him) inside and some pee pads nearby. For sake of convenience, this confinement place is better off being on an easy-to-wash surface in case the puppy misses the pee-pads, so a kitchen or bathroom with tiles comes handy. You can also put your puppy there when you cannot actively supervise during the day for some reason.

 

It's a good idea to get your puppy used to absences starting with brief ones. A good practice is to leave some treats or some kibble just out of the exercise pen so that your puppy sees and smells them and is eager to have them and then provide them right when you are about to leave briefly. Once you are about to leave, give them, then move away and come back once you hear your puppy is done munching. You can then repeat, place some kibble/treat in view behind the pen, provide them, hide behind a corner, hear your pup munch on them, and come right back. Continue by giving more kibble (scatter it around by tossing them so that your pup takes more time to find them) and gradually increase absences, mixing also some briefer absences too so that your puppy doesn't predict things getting incrementally difficult. So you can leave for 5 seconds at first, then 8, then 2, then 6, then 10, then 3, then 7, etc. When you must leave for longer, you can give longer-lasting chews (make sure they are safe for puppies) or toys that can be stuffed with food (stuffed frozen Kong, Kong Wobbler).

 

Technology has made great strides in helping puppies and dogs who are struggling being left alone. The Furbo camera for example, allows dog owners to monitor their puppies/dogs while out so to gauge how they are doing and even have the camera toss treats at random times.

 

For exercises to teach a puppy or dog to like the crate, you can find a guide here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

 

 

Now questions 2) and 3). If you know for sure that you don't want her to sleep in the bed, then it is best to get her used to being in the crate besides the bed sooner than later. The more she stays in bed, the more she might rebel to being in the crate. However, a few extra days or even up to a week more in bed as you get her more used to the crate during the day isn't a bad idea. If she hates the crate and is no longer staying in bed, that's a double whammy that may be just too much for her.

 

Of course, the process of transferring from bed to crate is not without rebellion and things tend to rough if some steps aren't taken. One should expect pups to whine and some extinction bursts along the way if you have allowed her on the bed. Extinction bursts are sort of a toddler's behavior getting worse that day you no longer buy them candy when they cry, demanding it. It leads to a temporary worsening of the behavior, before things get better. The toddler may therefore not only cry that day you refuse to buy candy out of the blue, but his face may turn bright red, he may stomp his feet, and become hysterical, crying and screaming like he never did before. If you stick to your plan though and don't buy the candy, at some point the toddler learns that crying doesn't bring results. However, this is the "tough love" method and it's not ideal because it can create lots of stress.

 

Now, with puppies, it's not really that they are misbehaving and being demanding or spoiled when they cry asking to be let in the bed- there's actually a good level of anxiety going on there so they need to get credit for that. They just seek warmth and the comfort of knowing they are not alone. After all, before coming into our homes, puppies slept in piles with their siblings and mom. They associate lack or warmth and isolation as being in peril. So they shouldn't be scolded or totally ignored as this can lead to the opposite effect, dreading the time in the crate. Not to mention your puppy at 10 weeks is in a delicate phase, the fear period, where traumatizing situations may have an impact.

You can read more about the fear period here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-periods-8-10-weeks-6-14-months/

 

Young puppies should be therefore provided with amenities that help create a pleasant bed-time routine (give a tasty chew when going in the crate) and remind them just once to go "night-night"so that they can hear your voice and know you're right there.

 

For crating successfully, on top of the above tips on how to teach a puppy or dog to love the crate, you can try a variety of strategies to reduce her anxiety:

 

-Place the crate beside your bed so that you can lower your hand and your puppy can sniff it/lick it through the cage bars and know you are there. If the top of the crate comes off, you can also pet your puppy until he's calmer and gets a little sleepy.

-You can lie down on the floor beside the crate as you talk to your pup and pet him and then once calmer, you can go back to bed.

-Try a Snuggle Puppy Behavior Aid toy. I use these for young puppies when they are separated from their litter-mates and looking for their litter-mates and mom. It has a heating pad inside and even mimics a heartbeat. Some new puppy owners report success as well wrapping a bottle filled with warm bottle in blanket and/or keeping a ticking clock to mimic the mother's heartbeat. You need to make sure the bottle is not too warm and that your puppy doesn't wake up and start chewing on parts. For this reason, I prefer the Snuggle Puppy which has the heat and ticking sound incorporated.

-Use a calming pheromone diffuser such as Adaptil. This releases synthetic pheromones meant to mimic the dog appeasing pheromones mother dogs release which have a reassuring effect on puppies.

-Place a blanket on the crate. Some puppies do well with this if they are awake due to lights and it seems to have a calming effect.

-Tiring out the pup prior to bedtime can also help for some more restful sleep.

-Practice crate-loving exercises during the day.

 

Finally, being that she's a maltipoo, these teeny dogs have small livers and little muscle mass which predisposes them to decreased storage of glucose (toy breed hypoglycemia). It might not be too common, but they sometimes can be prone to low glucose which causes them to feel cold, weak and shaky. Just something to keep an eye on until they get a little bit older.

 

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Best,

Adrienne

Edited January 27, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli

[JMFS]

-Practice crate-loving exercises during the day.

-Place a blanket on the crate. Some puppies do well with this if they are awake due to lights and it seems to have a calming effect.

 

I feed mine in their crates to make it a happy place, and Momo does much better with a sheet over his crate (his is wire). It makes it more like a cave and it's nice and cozy. He was crate trained as a puppy and for the first 3 years of his life he stayed there when I worked outside of the house. He, too, whined at night initially. We ended up moving the crate into our room, right next to me. After about 3 months we moved him to the foot of the bed because he needed a bigger crate. I got him an Igloo dog house (with heating pad, the spoiled brat) and he was so hesitant at first. It's enclosed, unlike his crate. Tossing treats in got him to explore and once he was comfortable with going in I started feeding him in there. Now at feeding time he charges in there so fast that the whole thing moves a couple inches, lol.

 

We just remodeled our upstairs and I cut a piece of the old carpet to put in the bottom of Momo's crate. Carpet is Very inexpensive for a crate-sized piece ($1 - $5 per sq ft and you only need about 3 sq ft) and I know our flooring company has scrap they can cut from. You may inquire about that, especially if she has control over her potty situation at night. Our company (we build houses) would give someone scrap for free, and I know several others are equally helpful - they may even give you enough for a couple pieces, just in case. Another option is to check at a construction site if you see them installing carpet - just ask if they have any left over that you can have. It all goes in the dumpster once they're done so it may as well get used (I do advise against dumpster diving, some contractors are weird about that, or may accuse you of using their dumpster - a $500 fine here). The bonus of the carpet - no more tick tick tick tick tick of the claws on the plastic (that drives me up the wall!).

 

We have window alcoves that we turned into dog pens, very posh digs for the girls. :D To get Abbi used to hers (she's never been crated) I ping treats off the wall so they fall onto her bed. She can't see me so it's like heaven is raining treats down upon her, but it only happens in that area. Bit-by-bit she's coming to accept this "crate." I put each of them in there for about 15 minutes once or twice per day while I work to further solidify a positive association, it also teaches them that their being in there doesn't Always indicate we're leaving.

 

If she sleeps with us for a few weeks, can we get her used to the crate? I don't mind doing this for a few weeks, but I really don't want a dog sleeping in my bed. It feels like a kid, and it really messes with my mind having a kid or a puppy in my bed with my husband .

 

130% with you on that! Plus the hair and drool and dirt, yuck (litter in the case of cats, gag)! I love my pups, but I don't want to wallow in their dogginess!