[SureShot]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here. I have gone through the first 3 pages here and done some research on Labradoodles before giving our family it's first addition. His name is "Link", after the legend of Zelda of course , and he's amazing. We just love him so much.

We picked him up on Saturday morning and the 30 min car ride home was like a dream. He just stayed bundled up in his blanked the whole way in my wife's arms and didn't make a peep. Since he's been home there have only been 3 accidents in the house and one was our fault not his.

But all is not perfect. That brings me to my question. We have bought a crate for our young pup and he goes inside it if we are with him and play with him while in it. As soon as we leave the room or even stand up - out he comes. Then when it comes time for bed... well that's where the biggest problem begins. My god... I have never heard a dog make that kind of noise! He barks and yelps and grunts... you name it - he does it. We have done everything we can to try and make it safe and happy for him. It got so bad last night my wife went and slept beside him outside the crate.

Is this normal? We have the crate downstairs right now in the family room where we spend a lot of our time. I am thinking of getting another crate for him upstairs in our room... for when he sleeps. Do you think this is ok... will it confuse him or just give him another place to call home? I'm also not convinced it will solve the problem. Last night we put him in it, while we were in the same room - right in front of him and he wouldn't stop barking and yelping. As soon as that door closes he turns into a different dog.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[angelakj]

It will....

Link needs to learn that the crate is his place and that is is safe and not punishment. I would suggest that you not play with him while he's in there. Start putting him in the crate for short abounts of time during the day when you're not asleep or leaving the house. Shut the door and walk away. When he's been in there for a while and he's quiet then let him out. Make sure there are toys and something to sleep on in the crate. If he falls asleep move him to the crate - he should stay sleeping. He will get used to and eventually love his crate. The other thing you can do is fill a soda can with coins and shake it at him and say "no" when he starts the crying. I think it took Cody about four days of tough love before he got used to his crate. He would still cry sometimes but mostly he was fine. He finally started putting himself in his open crate to rest or just play sometimes. It will get better but you need to be consistant above all - no playing with him or talking to him while he's in the crate during training. Gut it out at night and putting a cover over the crate will help. Each time you go to him when he cries you start the process over and he learns that crying gets him what he wants. Good luck!

 

[Chesterpal]

No advice from me, just a welcome to the world of doodles! Post pictures when you can. I love the Legend of Zelda.

 

[Keith]

How old is Link? I am assuming 8-12 weeks?

When we got Bandit, he was ~10 weeks. For the first week, we kept his crate in out bedroom, and got up halway through the night to let him out. He whimpered and whined, but he did grow to understand what was happening and it was better in just a few days.

Then we transitioned into no mid-night ventures to go outdoors, and put him downstairs into the family room.
Now, its no problem at all, we give the "bed" command and he goes right in and lays down. Except for when we leave or go to bed ourselves, the door stays open, and he comes/goes to the crate as he pleases.
He will be 6 months on the 19th.

HTH

 

[KMO20057]

We jsut got our Sammy 10 days ago and YES IT GETS BETTER!!! After a few nights of howling, she now goes to bed totally quiet. We got the Comfort Zone plug-in at petco which I think helped some, but I also started leavinga fleece blanket (that I am wrapped up in most days on the couch) next to her crate at night so she has my scent with her and is no longer scared. The most important thing is that you NEVER let her out when she is making noise. This will only reinforce that he is getting what he wants when he whines. Make sure he is silent for at least 10 seconds before you take him out.

Hope this helps! Just stick with it!!!! he just needs to learn that there is nothting to fear and you will return to take him out in the morning. This is a BIG change for him and it will take an adjustment period.

 

[Jac]

Hello and welcome!
Yes, it should get better with time and adjustment, although you may have some challenges ahead.
Of course you understand that this is probably the first (and possibly the only) time that Link has been left alone. They are raised with their littermates to cuddle with.
You might want to try to get one of those stuffed animals with a heartbeat (I have not seen them but heard that they work wonders)...but my best advice is this...
Yes, get a second crate! Link probably just wants to be in a room with someone. Most likely he is afraid, lonely, and confused. It isn't his crate that he fears (although he could learn to if he feels "trapped" in it.)
We used to keep our litter in the dining room area of our house, even at night, in an X-pen, they had no problems at all...finally, when we sold all but 2 of our puppies, we moved them to our bedroom and had them sleep in a crate, again not one minute of trouble. We sold one more and it left only one puppy, but she is fine in her crate at night...she sleeps through the night and I don't hear a sound from her.
If you don't want to have him in your room, you could try covering the crate at night with a blanket, but leaving one end open.
Here is a great site for crate training, I hope it helps:
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

 

[SureShot]

Thank you so much to everyone that has given me their ideas and support. It means a ton to me. I'm very new to the puppy thing as I had a dog growing up but he was a pup as I was a baby so I didn't see what went on when it came to raising him.

Here is what I took away from the suggestions given.

1. Do not play with him or acknowledge him while he is in the crate.
2. Put him in for short amounts of time during the day while someone is home.
3. At night, place a blanket over the cage and ignore his crys. He will soon learn this is his bed and a safe place.

I did a bunch of reading with people saying it's good to put him in the crate while your around so he knows it's safe but when trying that - all he did was yelp and bark. Also, last night, my wife and I sat down to eat some supper so we put Link in his crate for 15 min. I would say for 14 min and 50 sec of that he was yelping and crying. I just want to know if this is normal! I just feel like such a bad person for not going and getting him ya know.

Do you think if we were to leave a radio on downstairs softly playing or maybe a night light or something that would help. One of my friends told me to wrap up an old alarm clock that ticks. It is supposed to simulate his mothers heart beating. What do you think?

Again, thanks so much everyone!

 

[Keith]

We often leave a radio on during the day, but not during the night. The night is for him to sleep.

We did the blanket thing for a while and have now stopped. He goes in during meal times for us and has learned to chill and we let him out after we are done and cleaned up.

Beyond that, I think you are doing the right things and within a short period of time, these troubles will be the least of your concerns. :twisted: 8)

 

[SureShot]

Beyond that, I think you are doing the right things and within a short period of time, these troubles will be the least of your concerns. :twisted: 8)

Thanks...... I think *gulp*

Also Keith, are you in the same room with him while you eat your supper or a different room and s/he is by her/him self?

 

[KristanL]

I hope it gets better too!

I just got a puppy as well and am going NUTS with the screaming, howling, barking, crying, yelping, etc. when he's put ANYWHERE away from me. At night he's a perfect angel because his crate is covered and right next to the bed. He sleeps thru the night without a sound, and makes a few soft sounds in the AM when he wants out to potty.

However, during the day, putting him in there and closing the door (to get him used to being in there while I'm home) produces the same deafening cacophony you speak of. I just keep praying it gets better because not only is it hard on myself & the neighbors (yes, he does it outside in his dog run as well), it makes me feel like a horrible parent. I can't even put him in his room to eat his food without him freaking out.

You are not alone! I too hope it gets better :shock:

 

[momothree]

Greetings! For Sage (she is now 11 weeks old and we got her 2 weeks ago), we followed a suggestion we read in a book by Ian Dunbar. He suggested that if you get her/him to love their crate, things are easier. He suggested filling some Kong toys with treats or kibble and then showing them to your dog. Then, place them in the crate and shut the door---with your pooch on the outside looking in at those yummy Kongs. He should go wild with excitement wanting to get in the crate. After a few seconds, open the door and let him in. At first leave the door open while he chews away, then, maybe next time, close the door, but don't lock it. After a while you should be able to lock the door and slowly remove yourself. For us it worked wonderfully. Now, Sage chews away until she gets everything out of the Kongs then ends up falling asleep for a little nap. At first, she would start whining a bit when she was done, but, as the others advised (great advice!) ignore, ignore, ignore. Sage caught on quickly, I'm sure Link will too. Good Luck!

 

[Jannie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. You will get lots of great advice here. I have checked in almost every day since we got our pup back in December.

I see you live in London. I am in Grand Bend. Did you get your dog locally?

We used two crates for Sadie, one in the kitchen / family room and another in the bedroom. We soon got rid of the one in the kitchen and just used one at night. And shortly after that, we started letting her sleep in our bedroom in her basket with the bedroom door shut. She has never had an accident in there.


Things will get better and very soon. I'm amazed at how much Sadie has learned in a few short months. Hang in there, and visit this forum often for sage advice and sympathetic ears.

 

[Jac]

Hi Kristan,

I wonder if you might have some luck if you leave the crate door open and just toss treats into the crate, saying "kennel up" or something like that...and every time you toss treats in (doing it often, with the most yummy treats available) you say the same thing...leave the door open so that your pup can come and go as he wants to, not feeling trapped.

Soon you can start to close the door, a little at a time, leaving it so that he can push it open and get out. Then leave it closed all the way when he sleeps, but leaving it open for him to push when he has to.

If he doesn't feel like he will be kept away from you or is being punished, maybe he will learn to love being there.

Good luck! (Please take a look at the link that I gave in a post above, it is a really good one.)

 

[2doodsmom]

This really will get better. The crying is hard to bear right now and you guys will figure it out together, especially with all this good advice.

The only thing I would add: I keep a container of tiny treats on top of the crate and every time I put my doods in the crate they get a treat. Now, if I forget to treat them, they remind me - and that's the only fussing I hear in the crate these days!

 

[SureShot]

Wow - this place is such a HUGE help. Thank you so much.

I am going to try all these practices and report back in a week or so on this topic. I really hope thing start to look up and my wife doesn't need to sleep beside the cage anymore She's such a softie... I might have to tie her down to make sure she doesn't sneak downstairs in the middle of the night!

 

[Keith]

Also Keith, are you in the same room with him while you eat your supper or a different room and s/he is by her/him self?

We typically eat at the kitchin nook table, which is within sightline of his crate.

 

[KristanL]

Thank you

GREAT News! I came home today and came in the door and my 9 week old puppy only made a few squeeks!!! I feel like giving him a steak! On the down side, he didn't eat his food, but he wasn't freaking out like normal. IT'S REALY PROGRESS:!:

That sound you just heard was a huge sigh of relief from one tired mommy.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and concern. I really appreciate it.

 

[SureShot]

Kristan... I hear you!!!

This maybe a little victory but tonight, while my wife and I were eating supper we crated up Link across the room from us. Well after about almost a min of wimpering and other noises he just sat there, then layed down and didn't make a peep!!!!!

It was like we won the lottery - at least for a moment anyway

Now we go for night #2, with the me and wife upstairs sleeping, not laying beside his crate... now let's all pray this goes ok!

 

[KristanL]

WOOHOO!! Good for you!! I hope all went well last night!

Now on to the biting problem.....

 

[susan]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of great information and suggestions. Our puppy, Biscuit, is 4 months old. We brought him home at 8 weeks. We knew he would have to adjust and when he went into his crate. We closed our bedroom door, turned on a fan and let him cry it out. We made sure he was quiet before we even went into the room to let him out. We did leave a light on for him at night. And, he still does not like the dark. But, am I glad we did this. His crate is his safe place. And I can see that he's really starting to go there now. When he's tired he will pace in and out of the crate like he wants to lay down but just can't yet! I still have to put him in and close the door but he goes right to sleep. He has only slept in his crate.

So, it gets better. But, you go from crying to the crate to biting to peeing to biting to more peeing. Enjoy. They are more work than a baby. Now, I am starting to see my dog emerge. He's absolutely wonderful and he was worth every tear along the way.

Enjoy.

Susan