pup shows no interest in crate training

[Timber's mom]

My new puppy, Timber, hates his crate. I put him in it when I can't watch him and at night. He whines and howls all night. His toys don't distract him and he chews the newspaper in the crate. I am losing a lot of sleep and I'm becoming very frustrated. He only stops if I open the crate door, put him in the bed and pet him until he falls asleep. He sleeps for a little while then wakes up and starts whining again. He only whines because he wants to be with me, but he must learn to sleep and relax in his crate. Please help!

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Hiya!
How old is Timber? How long has he been "new"?

When Wo was small he stayed in his crate at night. He was actually in there from 10pm til 12AM, then sleep for all- then up to pee at 4AM.

He had music left on at night-along with the fishtank light. He had a big stuffed toy and when really young a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel.

Sleeping with us wasn't possible b/c we have an upstairs loft type area and would be afraid he'd fall...

During the day he stayed by me- with numerous trips to pee and poop or he was in a babygaited kitchen area that was mostly covered with news paper to start.

You don't want the pup to spend too much time in his crate. That's like being put in time out and not knowing why!

My Wotan would go into his crate ( with a bribe and a verbal cue) when it was bed time or time for me to go to work. He wouldn't go in there at other times. By the time he was 11 months old and I could trust him not to pee,poop or chew- he could skip the crate and sleep on the couch under his blanket.

Most of the time WE wake him up these days. Especially on cold,dark and wet days we only spot the tip of his little black nose peeking out in the AM. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

good luck!

[Mickamack]

Yes, I agree, what does "new" mean? How old is he? How long have you had him in your house?

When I first got my last dog Buddy, and then my current dog Mickey, they both cried mercilessly at night. I tried the hot water bottle, the radio, small clock (to sound like a mother's heart beat)...you name it, I tried it and nothing worked. Each of them cried and howled and I got little or no sleep.

I even remember with Buddy, I was right out of college,and "B" was my first dog so I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't slept in about a week and one night I just lost it. At about 3am, the howling and crying just got to me and I needed my mommy and daddy. I couldn't drive the 3.5 hours home, so I called them at 3am. After their initial terror that something was wrong, I held the phone out so they could hear Buddy's howling and said "Listen to this....he won't stop...how can I make him stop????" I was desperate.

But I can offer you some hope. Both dogs got over their crying fits. If they are puppies and just got taken away from their mother or brothers and sisters, they are very lonely and afraid at night. They want to be glued to your side, to make sure you don't go away and leave them alone.

However, it is similar to having a baby. If you go in every time the baby cries, the baby knows to cry in order to get the attention they want. They will continue to use the howling to get you to do what they want you to do. I would be very cautious to give in too easily to that. You don't want to let them think that THEY are in control, otherwise you could be setting yourself up for bigger problems in the future.

I had to let Buddy and Mickey cry for a few nights. But they learned that I would always come get them in the morning, and then they got used to the routine. They just needed to get used to MY rules for the house.

Since I don't know how old Timber is, I don't know if this is your problem. But it's just a suggestion and some advice from experience. I hope it helps!

Karen

<font color="#00FFFF" font size="1">[This message has been edited by MIckamack (edited August 01, 2000).]</font>

[Con&Finn'smom]

When I first started crate training the boys, they didn't really want to sleep in their crates either. The way I kept them from crying all night is this:
I put their crates on my nightstands at night so that they could see me. I also left the tv in my room on, w/ the volume very low (so that it wouldn't bug me. I found that being able to see me calmed them down a lot. It took about a week before they stopped crying at bed time, but the crying time was reduced each night.
As was already mentioned, by going to the crate and bringing the pup into bed in response to the crying, you are training the dog that crying is a good way to get what he wants. I know it is hard to listen to, but if you really want the pup to stay in his crate at night, you have to tough it out!
Good luck!

[Timber's mom]

Thanks for all the help! I got Timber July 28, Friday. He was 7 weeks and 2 days old. The radio hasn't worked, so I put the T.V. on and he stays pretty quiet. He will whine for a little bit, then quiet down and go in his bed.