Help...New Britt hates her crate...

bafmrf · Post by **bafmrf** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:38 pm

Hello,

I am new to this forum.

We picked up our lovable MacKenzie from the breeder 4 weeks ago. She is doing well with house training & commands but hates her crate. It is a wire crate and we've tried covering it so it feels like a den. We've put a fluffy towel in there to make it more comfortable & other things but nothing works. She will just yelp for hours straight if you let her.

I know I will get scolded by you but she has been sleeping in bed with us for the last week and has been great (and we are getting sleep). She rarely gets up to go out but does come up right by my face to tell me she needs to go out. She does need to be in the crate for 4 hours during the week days until I can get home from work to let her out.

She is now 10-1/2 weeks and we love her but I feel terrible that she doesn't like her "home". I've seen someone post to try to feed her in the crate so we will try that starting tomorrow. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

Martha

littleking · Post by **littleking** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:12 pm

only thing to do is let her get used to it.. sorry:)

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:40 pm

My pup sleeps in bed with one of us too but goes in the crate while we are at work or away. We just threw him in there and let him scream. We never went to him or talked to him at all while he was in the crate or screaming. Once he quieted down for 10 or 15 secondsa we let him out and played with him. After about 2 days of him being in a kennel 5 or 6 times a day we could leave him in there for a few hours and not one wimper.

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:49 pm

You have rewarded her for throwing a fit by letting her out and into your bed. Your job will be much harder now. Never reward a dog that is throwing a fit you have to be very strict.

Now that you have been scolded maybe someone can post suggestions on how to fix this.

I will make one. Get your dog "very" tired then crate her so she will start to sleep there. The only thing we ever did for this behavior was to bring the crate in our bedroom and put it by the bed. It seamed to calm the dog down and with a small pup we would know when she had to go out.

Post by **Ayres** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:52 am

Yeah, letting her out when she throws a fit just tells her that, in order to get out, she has to throw a fit. It's encouraging the behavior. You'll have to put her in the crate and then put in some ear plugs for awhile. As soon as she calms down, let her out of the crate and praise her. This tells her that the key to opening the door is being calm and good mannered.

As for whether you want your pup in bed with you, it's preference. Letting her in bed with you all the time while she's young, though, may cause her to not sleep anywhere else. I'd lay off letting her jump in bed with you for awhile. Maybe short naps, but not to sleep at night.

When we brought our pup home at 7 1/2 weeks, the first night I put his crate beside our bed and laid my hand over the top of it. That did the trick for him. As a pup in a new situation, these things are scary. They've got to be consoled by you, but still made to do the right thing.

Hang in there, it will get better.

bafmrf · Post by **bafmrf** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:46 am

Thanks for the suggestions. I know even during the day when we are at work, she is yelping/barking. My husband worked an "over-night" and he kenneled her to get some sleep (he went in the basement where he couldn't be seen) and she cried for 3 hours straight. It is so bad that her bark is very strained now. He said he came up (after the 3 hours) and she was running up the sides of the crate and around in circles.

I have put her food in the crate and she slept in her favorite bed on the floor in our room last night. She slept well. We'll see about the crate today.

Lastly, we never took her out of the crate and into our bed. It was a different night and we took her to bed with us. So, I didn't really
"reward" her bad behavior immediately. Though I do understand what you are all saying.

Thanks again.

Casper · Post by **Casper** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:46 am

To give you an extreme example. I have a dog that took over 2 weeks to give into the crate. He done all your pup is doing, the crying, flailing, barking, you name he did it. The first 2 days were the worst, I dont think I got but 2 hours sleep each night. I insisted he was going ot give into the crate so he went to work with me adn only got to come out of the crate when he calmed long enough for me to get to the crate. I let him out so he could take care of buisness and back in he whent. He was only out of his crate for potty breaks, food, and water. Now at almost 2 years he willingly goes in his crate. Its hard not to give in to the crying and barking but you will just have to deal with it, suck it up, and stick to your guns. The more you give into the barking and crying the more she wins and the harder it will be to get her crate trained.

good luck