[nalasmom32]

I am going to lose my mind. I dont know what to do to make her ok with her crate. I feel so bad. I put her in this morning and she barked for 30 minutes. I finally came downstairs but still left her in there. She was finally quiet and I left her out. This is the only BIG issue.
I dont know what to do.

 

[lisarundell]

Nala's mom, the barking will stop with your persistance. We have gone through it with our 2 doodles. They are 8 months and 5 months. It was very hard just to let them bark and whine, it made me feel just like I did when I had to let my daughter cry herself to sleep when she was a toddler. I felt like an awful mom! Since you will only vrate when you go out and at night she will adjust. I always make it a happy thing to go in the crate, I tell them it is time to go to bed and they run to their cages since they will get a treat. Sometimes it is just a biscuit other times it is a bone stuffed with peanut butter. I can even get them to come inside now (when they choose to ignore me) by saying "time to go to bed!" They come running. It will get better. We also made sure they were quiet before we let them out so they did not think barking would get them out. Sorry this is so long.

 

[gracielou]

Put treats in before you put her in there also just one or so depends on what your putting in there she will find it and think wow this is great :!:

 

[kim26]

Use anything that she likes. A piece of chicken, cheese, there are all kinds of doggy treats you can buy. I like to give a bigger piece of something so it is really rewarding to them rather than one little small piece of something. Doc really likes these Jerky Treats that I buy him. They are about 6" long and soft and edible. I buy a big container of them at Costco and the container lasts a long time.

Hang in there!

 

[movistar]

it has been my experience that crating is a great thing. puppies introduced to crating love it and find a great place to be by themselves.... like a little safe home.

but.... not all dogs like the crate. the experience I have had with a rescue dog leads me to believe that dogs that have been left alone in a crate for extended periods of time have issues with crating. It is not a safe place, it is a sad place for them.

what I found that worked for me is a bathroom (a guest room would work or any other larger than a crate area). don't know if that is a feasible solution for you, but it seemed to work for me. it was so sad to see my dog be so anxious about the crate that I felt sorry for him and put him in the bathroom one day (with toy, food, water, blankie) and even though he fussed a little it seemed he settled faster and then he learned it was his place. I think the crate reminded him of his previous unhappy living situation and the bathroom was his new happy pleasant living situation.

try not to get stressed, these little handsome babies are smart and feel your emotions. remember too if he barks or whines, he is not in pain and you are doing the right thing so take a deep breathe its early on for both of you, this will work out

 

[kim26]

I think movistar makes a good point. I had been thinking about suggesting another place to confine her. I use the laundry room with Doc.

 

[Jac]

These are all really good suggestions.

I agree that not every option works for every dog...but before you give up on the crate, you might want to try a couple of the suggestions first...why? Because when you leave your pup (and you will have to sometime, for overnight vet care or emergency kenneling) she will be so much better off if she is comfortable in a crate.

You could also try leaving the crate door open most of the time and putting really yummy treats in there (hotdog pieces are always a winner with my dogs)...then let her come and go as she wants to...save the yummy treat for this purpose only so she knows that the only way she gets this is to go into the crate. Then, when you shut the door, drop hotdog bits in with her (without any fanfare or talk or consolation) as you walk past. You could say, "kennel up!" when you put the treat in the crate.

Finally, you could reserve her favorite chewy (bully stick, bone, anything long lasting) for the crate. That would be the only place she gets that particular treat.

Soon, she will look forward to "kennel up!"

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

 

[nalasmom32]

Unfortunately there isnt another room she can be in. I just dont know if she can ever get over this.

 

[Jac]

Hi Nalasmom...I can imagine your frustration...there is nothing worse than having a baby (human or canine) cry or make noise a lot...still, with all due respect, I must say that Nala is also going through a lot...she is new to your family and is trying to find her way, trying to fit in, and trying to understand what you want from her.
She is very vocal that she doesn't want to be in her crate.
As I mentioned above, and others have mentioned, there are other possible solutions...you don't need to put her in another room. That was only one option...not a requirement.
I think that you might benefit from contacting your breeder and discussing this with them. Maybe they have ideas for you.
From reviewing your posts, it just appears to me that you are really stressed with having the new puppy...I think that maybe your puppy is picking up on this stress.
I am not being judgmental at all...I know how hard it is to deal with a barking puppy...still, like any baby, it takes more than a couple of days to teach the puppy what is expected of her. Your patience is important right now if you are to get her trained, otherwise, your frustration might just make the process harder on you both. I strongly suggest that you contact your breeder.
Don't get discouraged with this advice...we are only looking at the posts that you have written...I know that we are not there and we can't possibly know how hard this is on you. But keep asking for help...maybe one of these ideas will be the right one for you.

 

[kim26]

I definitely think she can get over this. It probably won't happen in one day, but I think she will adjust. I really think the treats will help and Jac's method sounds excellent. After watching the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan, it is EXTREMELY rare to not be able to fix something. He says he's only had a couple of failures with extremely aggressive and abused dogs. His shows are on the National Geographic channel on Fridays throughout the day if you can watch them. He has one episode where he helps a family get their dog to stop barking during the day. They live in an apt. and will have to get rid of the dog if they cannot get it to stop barking. Even though the dog was never crate trained, they work with it and it learns to be quiet and stay in the crate. I forget all the steps they took, but, it worked. It wasn't an instant change, but, I think it only took a couple of days. His shows are often repeated so, if you can get that channel, you might be able to catch this episode. Even without seeing this show, though, I think the treat method will probably work. And what you are doing with waiting until she stops barking before letting her out.

 

[dshell74]

peanut butter in kong

I usually have a foster dog, and, peanut butter in kongs is a great positive distraction. They only get this special yummy treat in the crate. Good luck!