# Has anyone else failed to crate train their dog???



## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm really struggling with crate training. Well, not crate training as such, just leaving Roxy the 14 week old pup alone in a crate. She is fine sleeping in there and also if I need to put her in there during the day as long as I am within her sight.

Yesterday I put her in her crate and popped out for half an hour, when I came back she was out of the crate (I had forgotten to lock the door  ) and it was the first time she hadn't screamed the place down (according to my neighbour)...I'm now considering leaving her in one room plus hallway with my older dog when I go out rather than putting her in the crate.

What do you think? I almost feel like a failure but if Roxy continues to scream the place down we will be in trouble as our landlord made it clear if there are any complaints about the new pup he would have no choice but to 'review our contract'


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## grandad (Apr 14, 2011)

Emraa said:


> I'm really struggling with crate training. Well, not crate training as such, just leaving Roxy the 14 week old pup alone in a crate. She is fine sleeping in there and also if I need to put her in there during the day as long as I am within her sight.
> 
> Yesterday I put her in her crate and popped out for half an hour, when I came back she was out of the crate (I had forgotten to lock the door  ) and it was the first time she hadn't screamed the place down (according to my neighbour)...I'm now considering leaving her in one room plus hallway with my older dog when I go out rather than putting her in the crate.
> 
> What do you think? I almost feel like a failure but if Roxy continues to scream the place down we will be in trouble as our landlord made it clear if there are any complaints about the new pup he would have no choice but to 'review our contract'


Put her in the crate with a kong filled with peanut butter. the door can be closed or open. She should take a long time to devour the kong, it'll take her mind of you and seperation. Do it everytime you want to use the crate for a period of time.


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## missmoomoo (Jul 23, 2011)

you should also only give this kind of treat when you are absent! as if they have it too often it isn't much of a reward  Also build up the time that you are out the room with her locked in the crate. Start off with say 10 mins, go back when she is quiet let her out and reward. Also practice putting your coat on or picking up your car keys etc so she doesn't associate this with you leaving the house. What breed is your pup?


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Emraa said:


> I'm really struggling with... leaving Roxy the 14-WO pup alone in a crate. She is fine sleeping in there
> and also if I need to put her in there during the day, *as long as I am within her sight.*


work on the 'out of sight' issue ASAP, whenever U are home; she comes in from a walk, 15-mins crated 
with U out of the room *and she has* a nice bit of busywork: half of brekkie frozen in a Kong.

make the Kong-pacifiers up ahead of time, wrap or bag one each time U use the one on hand.
she has to get her tongue in there to get the yummy stuff out - if she eats kibble, add 1/3 the volume of dry 
kibble as water, or use the water from steaming vegies, etc; the whey from cottage cheese is good too, 
or yogurt, LOW-salt gravy thinned with water [watch the fat content: pancreatitis!], etc.

up to 1/4th of the stuffing can be gourmet additions: preferably stinky, high protein goodies, or low-carb veg. 
shredded carrot, pureed pumpkin, pureed squash, diced broccoli... tuna tidbits, low-fat cream cheese, 
shredded mozzarella... etc.

a food puzzle is another option: a Busy Buddy, Squirrel Dude, Buster Cube...

a huge tree-like broccoli stem [waste from Chinese restaurants] was among my Akita's favorites: she'd peel the stem 
[which i SCRUBBED with a brush to clean: here in the USA they put *antifungal powders* on broccoli, 
which is water-repellent & does not wash off - it must be scrubbed till the stem looks 'shiny'], 
leaving the green bark in strips, & eat the crunchy white sweet middle. :lol:


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

‪Crate Games Part 1: Zelda 13 wks‬‏ - YouTube

this is part 1 of 3 - NOTE that she uses a wire AKA show-crate, which i don't suggest. 
they provide no sense of privacy, allow too much visual stim, & leave the dog living in a goldfish bowl: 
trapped in the open.

when dogs 'den' in our homes, they go under tables, behind sofas, under beds, into closets - 
they want enclosure, and an overhead, not a wide-open visual field but security.

Susan Garrett's DVD is excellent, BTW.


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## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for the input but treats/distractions don't work - she completely ignores them, and I have tried pretty much everything - kongs, nylabones etc. She loves these treats when I'm around but when I'm gone it's like nothing else matters  All she can focus on is the fact there are no humans around (she doesn't care which human by the way, so it's not that she's obsessed with me)


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## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

If she's previously made a fuss and she's been let out of the cage then voilá her behaviour was rewarded by being allowed to come out and spend time with humans.

Duke used to get extremley excited when I came home, he'd whine and all I could hear is his tail banging against the crate.
What I did was I'd walk into the kitchen where the crate was but I wouldn't look at him, I'd totally ignore him. Put some shopping away etc, then as soon as he was calm I said "Yes!" went to open the crate. However, he'd start again when my hand touched the crate - so I said "uh oh" turned away and continued to ignore him. RInse and repeat until I could get the cage door open without him barging through, he'd be there waiting calmly until I released him using my release command. It didn't take too long 


Make a game out of it, make it all positive and fun and exciting. Have him in the crate and close the door, as soon as it's closed - you open it again and give him lots of fuss and treats. In again and close the door for one second, again open the door and lots of fuss.

Keep it only about 5 minutes long, but keep extending the time limit of when the door is close when you're in the room. Once he's relatively okay with a good 20 - 30 seconds or so, move out of the room and then come straight back in to let him out. Do this again and again, extending the time you are outside of the room. For the last one get something uber fab, kong, fish, liver cake, puzzle ball etc and give him that then leave the cage open.

This is just an example of one day to do this, this is how I did it with Duke and it worked really well for him.

We are going to start to crate train our newest pup who is 13 weeks old, he's going to be staying with a PF member at the end of this month so least I could do is make things easier for her lol.


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## grandad (Apr 14, 2011)

Emraa said:


> Thanks for the input but treats/distractions don't work - she completely ignores them, and I have tried pretty much everything - kongs, nylabones etc. She loves these treats when I'm around but when I'm gone it's like nothing else matters  All she can focus on is the fact there are no humans around (she doesn't care which human by the way, so it's not that she's obsessed with me)


your going to have to teach her that being on her own is okay. She may have had to much human attention during her informative weeks and now she's realiant on them. 
You need to start leaving her on her own in increments, minutes at a time and build up gradually. Even if it means going out the front door and coming in the back door. During the day leave her alone in a room whilst you are about the house. Be nochallant about it, she should start getting used to it.


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

I would agree that a kong or other treat does not always work. My dogs are happy enough being left but they totally ignore any toys or treats I leave with them until I come home.

I am afraid I do not agree with ignoring a dog that is pleased to see you. How would you feel if you greeting someone that lives in your house with a big smile and a hug and they turned their back on you and totally ignored you till you gave up trying to interact and sat down feeling very upset.
The first thing I always do when I come home is greet the dogs - always have done and always will. And I have never had a dog that minds being left or gets OTT when I return.


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## grandad (Apr 14, 2011)

Blitz said:


> I would agree that a kong or other treat does not always work. My dogs are happy enough being left but they totally ignore any toys or treats I leave with them until I come home.
> 
> I am afraid I do not agree with ignoring a dog that is pleased to see you. How would you feel if you greeting someone that lives in your house with a big smile and a hug and they turned their back on you and totally ignored you till you gave up trying to interact and sat down feeling very upset.
> The first thing I always do when I come home is greet the dogs - always have done and always will. And I have never had a dog that minds being left or gets OTT when I return.


It works for some, but not for others. Reading your dog is the most important skill you can have when owning a dog.


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## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

NicoleW said:


> If she's previously made a fuss and she's been let out of the cage then voilá her behaviour was rewarded by being allowed to come out and spend time with humans.


We have always followed the rule not to make a fuss when we get home, I just back away my shopping or whatever then let her out of the crate and straight out for a wee, only then do I say hello but not an OTT fuss.


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## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

grandad said:


> your going to have to teach her that being on her own is okay. She may have had to much human attention during her informative weeks and now she's realiant on them.
> .


Quite the opposite. She and her sister were dumped at around 6 weeks and up until 9 weeks spent her time in kennels


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## Wagtime (Mar 21, 2011)

Hi - just seen your post and couple of things spring to mind. Firstly, you're not a failure because you haven't been able to crate train your pup yet! I have an ex-puppy farm breeding bitch who never EVER likes to be put in an enclosed space - to the point of hysteria and terrible stress. Not every dog likes being enclosed, even if they have no real reason for it.

The other thing is if you have an older dog that is out of the crate and you're locking the pup in while you are out it's no wonder that she's not responding well. Unless there's a very good reason for it, I'd leave the crate door open and let her wander with your other dog. You can still work on training her to use the crate but it needs to be fun and less stressful for you and for Roxy.

Hope this helps!
Sara


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## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

Wagtime said:


> Hi - just seen your post and couple of things spring to mind. Firstly, you're not a failure because you haven't been able to crate train your pup yet! I have an ex-puppy farm breeding bitch who never EVER likes to be put in an enclosed space - to the point of hysteria and terrible stress. Not every dog likes being enclosed, even if they have no real reason for it.
> 
> The other thing is if you have an older dog that is out of the crate and you're locking the pup in while you are out it's no wonder that she's not responding well. Unless there's a very good reason for it, I'd leave the crate door open and let her wander with your other dog. You can still work on training her to use the crate but it needs to be fun and less stressful for you and for Roxy.
> 
> ...


Thanks Sara, I did wonder if it had anything to do with her being put in kennels when so young, maybe being put in a crate alone reminds her of that abandonment? 
I had considered putting my older dog (Bella) in a crate with her (partitian or not) but it isn't really an option as Bella has never been crate trained herself and don't think she'd take too kindly to it after being left to roam since 4 months old.
Roxy is clean indoors and doesn't get up to too much mischief. I was a little concerned about leaving them together in case Bella gets fed up with her


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## Wagtime (Mar 21, 2011)

I'm sure that Bella will tell her when she's had enough. And can you imagine being stuck in the crate with Roxy giving it large? Poor Bella 

Give it a try leaving them both out. You can still leave a treat in the crate but with the door open. That gives either of them a chill out space if they want some peace and quiet. And try and leave without too much of a fuss if possible. Don't get too stressed yourself as Roxy will pick this up. Eventually she'll follow Bella's lead and will be fine.


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## grandad (Apr 14, 2011)

Emraa said:


> Quite the opposite. She and her sister were dumped at around 6 weeks and up until 9 weeks spent her time in kennels


Which you didn't say in your original post. Still 3 weeks stuck in a kennel is still a traumatic time for a youngster. Especially if she has had no interaction. No wonder she has an issue. 
i'd keep plugging away and makin git a game and making it fun.The crate will become part of the household furniture and be accepted.


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## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

Wagtime said:


> I'm sure that Bella will tell her when she's had enough. And can you imagine being stuck in the crate with Roxy giving it large? Poor Bella
> 
> Give it a try leaving them both out. You can still leave a treat in the crate but with the door open. That gives either of them a chill out space if they want some peace and quiet. And try and leave without too much of a fuss if possible. Don't get too stressed yourself as Roxy will pick this up. Eventually she'll follow Bella's lead and will be fine.


This is what was stressing me too, poor Bella trying to chill out peacefully and this little pup kicking off! Bella always seems so relieved to see me when I get home!

Will try this and see how we go, Roxy sleeps happily in her crate I will continue to do this as well as 'time out' in the crate.

If it works well it will be a relief for us (and our neighbours!!)


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## Wagtime (Mar 21, 2011)

How's it going with Bella and Roxy? I'm sure Bella is pleased to see you not "relieved" lol!!!


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