Getting a puppy used to a cage?

[vinrex7]

I've got a 10 week old dogue de bordeaux, and i'm trying to get him to sleep in a cage. But naturally he wants none of it and yelps and barks like mad. I need to know the best way to get him used to it, shall i leave him in there until he stops kicking off? or gradually put him in for longer periods of time? any help would be great.

[bednobs]

you need to treat the cage like it's his bedroom. Never use it as a punishment, use it as a place where he feels safe, and nice, happy things happen to him. Put his blanket in there, perhaps some toys. treat him when he gets in it, and you should have him wanting to go in in no time. With both of our dogs, it only took a matter of days for this process, and no they put themselves to bed if we stay up late, or if they hear my laptop shut,or if the tv goes off!

[yelenots]

We've got a 4 month old pup and she doesnt like going in her cage much either!! We only put her in when its bedtime or when we go out!
She howls everytime she has to go in it! We leave her to it and eventually she shuts up!! Sometimes when we want her to go in it (so we can get on with doing things) we give her a little treat which seems to work for a little while!

[Ratty2E]

It can depend on the breed as to how easily they take to a cage. All the cavaliers i had loved it and went in of their own accord for a sleep throughout the day. The two little cross breed terrors I have now though have other ideas. I have found it was best to put a toy in and give a small treat when they go in. To start with I just pop them in at random times throughout the day for 5 mins to start with gradually increasing the time over a few days. Make sure he is quiet before you let him out and don't fuss him or he will think the barking means he gets let out and being let out means attention which of course he wants. The barking/whining is just him throwing a tantrum so try not to give in before the ? mins, but don't let him get over anxious either or he will just associate the cage with bad feelings and he will never be happy in it.

[Purple_Popple]

Pup needs to associate the crate as a 'good' place, before putting pup to bed for the night make sure he has been taken out for his toilet time and/or had a good walk/play session to tire him out, give him a chewy hide treat so he knows going in the crate he gets something good :) - ignore any whines he makes after you have put him to bed and he will soon settle down. To help him settle try giving him an old jumper or something you have been wearing with your scent on it as a comfort.

[mumsie_wumsie]

We used a cage from day 1 when we got our german shepherd pup.She has not been any trouble and still settles in it at night.she is 11 months old now,fortunately we bought a large cage!!!

[jules77]

My youngest would not go in a cage for a piece of steak if he was starving hungry, he absolutely hates them. I tried him as a young puppy, he weed in it, pooed in it, and tried to break out of the top, so I gave up as he was getting too upset.

[rowanwitch]

What is it with this cage thing.... we just used to train pups to sleep n their basket in a corner of the kitchen...

[woofgang]

My current two dogs (weimaraner x gsp) are the first two we have tried to crate train in the house. All our dogs have had a crate in the car and go in there happily. I did all the right stuff about good associations, use it for their bed and so on and while they were happy to go in for naps and short periods, never took to it as their den. They never would settle in it over night. The only time I insisted, they got really upset and wet themselves...not peeing in the crate but stood there crying with the wee running down their legs. I felt awful and never did that again, instead they had a box by the bed or slept on the foot of the bed. I would never ever again try to leave a dog in a cage until they stopped kicking off.....they are supposed to trust us implicitly....
While the dogs were hooligans, they still went in the crate while we ate, if I needed to go out without them or if I needed to get the hoover out or couldn't be there to supervise but as soon as they got through the wreck and steal stage we just got rid of it. Yes I guess it can work for most dogs but not all. Why do you want to crate train yours as a matter of interest?

[micmak]

I may be missing the point here, why would you want to put you pet in a cage? Unless it is for a visit to the vet.

[ladybirder]

Beats me.

[welshlibranr]

beats me too!...............if you have time for a pet, fine, if not then don't have it, caging it is not fair!.............

[boxtops]

my friend has to put her dog in a large cage when she goes out, otherwise he eats the house in her absence.

[jules77]

Some people also advocate crate training as a way of house training puppies.....never worked for me.

[woofgang]

just to explain, a crate or cage is useful when the dog is a pup and you need to do things like use a hoover, go to the loo or shower, pop to the shops briefly etcetera. It keeps the pup safe and stops them chewing what they shouldn't. It isn't designed to be used to contain the animal like a zoo enclosure or to be a substitute for taking time to train pup.
If an adult dog is trashing the house then something is badly wrong. A cage may keep the poor animal safe temporarily but SHOULD NOT be used as an alternative to finding out what is wrong and sorting it. By and large, once out of adolescence, a dog doesn't destroy for fun, it does it because it is stressed and/or unhappy.

[Ratty2E]

Putting a dog in a cage to keep it put of harms way is no different to putting your toddler in a playpen. Mine get put in their cage when I have to go out and they can't come with me. As much as I trust them not to chew, you never know if something might take their fancy because they are bored. Also because they are little and nosey they might decide to climb on furniture to see where mums got to and fall. Because I don't want to come home to find them poisoned, choking or with broken bones I cage them.

[Dee Sa]

be a softy let him sleep on your bed, and when he gets too big on the bedroom floor, he just wants to be with you.