Crate Training

[Charlotte1486]

Hi. I have a puppy, he will be twelve weeks old on Friday, we have had him for two weeks.

The training is going really well but we have a few problems with him being left alone, crying etc. I have read on a lot of websites that crate training is good for this. I was just wondering if this would be okay to start now even though we have already had him a couple of weeks? Any responses would be much appreciated. Thanks

[lankeela]

Its never too late. Use the crate at all times, with the door open for him to go into when he is tired and feed him in it so he doesn't think of it as a punishment. When he is asleep close the door and when he wakes up let him out to do a wee. Make sure the crate is big enough so you can put the bed at one end and newspaper down at the front so he can wee on it if he needs to. Make sure he has had a good play and been out for a wee before you leave him in it to go out. You will wonder how you ever managed without it!

[jules77]

I agree with Lankeela, it isnt too late, but personally, I have never felt the need to use a crate other than at shows when I am with them anyway. How long are you leaving him alone, what breed, and how do you know he is crying if you are not there, or is it at night?

[Charlotte1486]

he is a jack russell patterdale cross, we haven't ever left him for very long an hour at the most, he starts to cry even if we go upstairs and the neighbours have mentioned that they have heard him cry when we are out. I've read that eventually they learn not to cry, is that right?

[jules77]

How old was he when you had him? He wont cry forever, but you would be unfortunate if he did. When he gets older he will become more secure in his surroundings and will know that when when you leave him, you are coming home, but at the moment, he is unsure. I leave mine with lots of toys, one of the big ball treat puzzles have always gone down well with puppies, because by the time they have got the treats out they tire and go to sleep. Good luck.

[fredpuli47]

The point, dancairo, is that the pup feels secure in his own 'den'. Pups do, to the extent that my pup, left to his own devices, tries to crawl under a bed at night because he feels happy and secure in the close space ! One of my bitches adopted the old coal shed in the kitchen yard as her den, because its full of stuff and she can settle in a dark, tight corner, a practice she's had since a pup, much preferring that to being inside in the main house with her sisters. It's why a traditional dog kennel is made the way it is, a confined space with a small entrance.

Left the run of the house, he has no private den and he'll cry and whimper all over the house..With one, the youngster will be happier at his young age and settle more readily. .

[josaphine32]

I would also leave the tv or radio on low for your puppy so he does not feel alone, and also place a blanket over the top of the crate so its nice and cosy with no drafts, leave front uncovered my dogs love there crates,

[Charlotte1486]

DENCAIRO: If I am hell bent on using a crate why would I have asked the question. Dont make assumptions. We have decided not to use a crate, he has his bed in the kitchen and he has his food in there, so when we go out we will leave him there.

[Charlotte1486]

Dancairo, unfortunately we will have to shut him in the kitchen when we are out because we are currently doing work upstairs in our house so it would be dangerous for him to get up there, and the stairs lead straight from the lounge so unfortunately we cannot give him the run of both the kitchen and lounge. We don't ever leave him for a long time though.

Do you have any advice as to what we should do to stop his crying when we leave, you seem to know what your talking about?

Thanks

[fredpuli47]

dancairo, you're still not getting it. Crate training is only a fancy name or 'method' for what we've been doing for years, responding to a young dog's liking for enclosed dens.The word 'crate' seems to alarm people like you, as though the pup is in some battery hen cage but worse, but there's really nothing new in the principle

. There's no reason why the owner shouldn't choose a suitable space. If I left my lot to themselves they'd find somewhere in the two hundred acres of farm which might suit them but would be a mite inconvenient for me! House or farm makes no difference. A place convenient to the owner and suited to the dog is just as good as some random place the dog chooses, on a whim, which is inconvenient to the owner.Who makes the decisions about a youngster in a home?The baby? A toddler? Its parents?

My pup is not going under a bed because he's 'afraid' . He's doing it because, like all pups, he likes confined space and he found that one, but he'll just as readily find some other.That one is amusing. He's a daft devil because he hasn't noticed how fast he's growing.He's all right if he can make it past the edge,but he's finding that harder and may get stuck ! Since you ask, I've just the one and he's an Irish wolfhound, the only pup here out of nine adults.. I didn't breed him, though we've bred dozens and dozens of pups ,not wolfhounds, over the last 50 years ( I am beginning to suspect that I'm getting some idea about what pups and dogs like and need, which hasn't changed in my lifetime)

As to leaving a youngster, it does help to leave the radio on so there's an impression of normality, but the key is to take the absences in stages, a bit more at a time, starting with short absences. And act normally when you return, without making an exceptional, big, fuss, so the dog thinks that everything is normal.