'Crate' training puppies?

We got our miniature schnauzer pup on Sunday and put him in a crate straight away. Unfortunately he gets hysterical if left downstairs in it at night but unsurprisingly is as good as gold in our room, we will gradually move the crate out as he matures.

During the day he loves staying in his open crate but interestingly it seems to control his separation anxiety if left alone during the day. These pups often create merry hell if left alone but we've tested it and he simply retires to his crate and settles down.
 
mistercrabb said:
Our Cocker Spaniel wouldn't stay in the crate without crying (constantly, throughout the night). We gave up because he wasn't getting used to it.
So it might not be for every dog? I can't see it doing any harm though.
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They're supposed to cry at first, did you wean him into being alone for increasingly longer periods of time?


Crate training is great, it's not cruel and it gives the dog a small safe place he feels is his own.
 
Kamwah said:
They're supposed to cry at first, did you wean him into being alone for increasingly longer periods of time?


Crate training is great, it's not cruel and it gives the dog a small safe place he feels is his own.
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Yep, initially they will cry during the night. Could even last for weeks, but eventually they get used to it and it becomes their own private den. We have a couple of spaces for our puppy... one is a travel crate that stays open during the day and is closed with him in it at night. He's fine with it now.

The other is a puppy playpen for when we're out of the house. It has another bed, toys etc. and he'll happily take himself in and out of it when the door's unlocked to grab toys or lie down while we're around.
 
Do you mean a big cage/crate he can walk around or a small travel crate for the car?

If you mean a big one then we put our beagle puppy in one at night, he took about a week to start liking it but now at night when its bedtime he actually goes to it and walks into it by himself.

Then you can shut the door on him and you don't hear much of a peep.

For the first week just sit in front of the cage with the door open, when he nods off close the door quietly and if he's fast asleep he should stay quiet.
 
Out of my 4 dogs one of them has a cage/den she thinks of it as her turf and as far as we can tell 3 years now, she loves it. it's like her private space.. only locked at night time, open all day and she chooses either there or the couch during the day/evening.

She's a small dog, Miniature Pincer and it's quite a big size for her. enough room for a bed, water and paper if she needs it.. Always used to think the idea was cruel but seeing her in there has changed my mind.. We have a throw over it as well, and once she's in for the night we just pull it down over the front as well.
 
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We've got a crate for our dog, she only gets locked in it when we put the crate in the back of the car to travel. Other than that, it's just a bed for her that she comes and goes as she pleases. She sleeps upstairs in her basket at night.
 
Thought I'd tag on to this old thread instead of starting a new one! We're collecting a puppy in a few weeks, our first, and wanted to crate train her but I had a few questions.
  • Where the crate will be (in the kitchen), I'm not sure we would hear her cry in the night when she needs a wee, so would it be better to keep the crate in our bedroom at first and slowly move it downstairs to the kitchen? Or is that just encouraging the dog to want to sleep with us every night?
  • Did you introduce the puppy to the crate on the first day you brought him/her home?
  • Did you feed him/her in the crate as I've seen mixed opinions on this.
 
We put the crate in the kitchen and cotton wool in our ears....didn't work very well! I wouldn't put the crate in the bedroom, she might think it's her bedroom. We were very strict about this, the dog now sleeps on our bed!
He went into the crate as soon as we got home, I don't think we fed him in his crate although I've heard somewhere it encourages them to be clean.
 
tsinc80697 said:
  • Where the crate will be (in the kitchen), I'm not sure we would hear her cry in the night when she needs a wee, so would it be better to keep the crate in our bedroom at first and slowly move it downstairs to the kitchen? Or is that just encouraging the dog to want to sleep with us every night? Part of the point is that you just ignore them. It's incredibly unlikely that they'll pee where they sleep.
  • Did you introduce the puppy to the crate on the first day you brought him/her home? Yes.
  • Did you feed him/her in the crate as I've seen mixed opinions on this. Nope.
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We tried to use it as a replacement for a bed too, just with the door open to try and make it appear to be a more friendly place. Seems to work OK and she doesn't pee inside now!
 
Thanks!

I know you're meant to ignore them if they are whining but surely an 8-10 week old puppy can't hold its bladder all night and would whine to say they need to pee?
 
Ok My experience.

We crate trained our Beagle from day one. (You tube some videos of what Beagles get up to if they are left alone, free to roam the house)

It only takes a few days so don't be worrying that it seems harsh.

He would be in his crate with the door shut any time that we weren't petting/playing or training him. (every time he went in his crate he got a small treat too)

We would let him out to go to the toilet periodically. This next bit we found very important. Every time he went for a wee/Poo we said "Go for a wee" whilst he was about to start.

He would go for an evening walk and then he would be crated for the night. ( just to be clear he wasn't in the crate 20 odd hrs a day)

After a couple of days we knew when he wanted a wee and would let him out of his crate to go to the toilet. Again EVERY time he was about to start we said "Go for a wee"

Fast forward to now (6yrs old) His crate is his bed. If hes not on his day bed or lying in the only bit of sun shining through a window he's normally found in his crate. At about 22:30 at night he comes and finds us and gives us that I want to go to bed look (he still gets a treat at night) We say go for a wee and he legs it outside cocks his leg and then bolts into his crate, Usually sliding to the back he's in such a hurry.

Calling it a crate is fine. Its only wrong if you call it a cage..lol
 
tsinc80697 said:
Thanks!

I know you're meant to ignore them if they are whining but surely an 8-10 week old puppy can't hold its bladder all night and would whine to say they need to pee?
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If thats the case then you have to wait until they have been quiet for 5 mins then let them out. They will learn VERY quickly that if they moan you let them out.

Dog's only beg at the table because 1 person fed them once at the table.
 
My brother and his girlfriend have a black labrador who is crate trained. He goes in there when they're out of the house and I think he sleeps in there as well. He's totally cool with it, goes in when he's told to, no bother.

She works nearby, though, so she takes him for a lunchtime walk, which probably helps.
 
My dog loves her crate, she goes in there a lot during the day just to relax. It used to have a divider so when she was a puppy we could make the space smaller. As to toilet training, i bought some cow bells and hung them at the door at nose hight. I used to ring them with her nose everytime i took her outside, so she associated it with going out. This suddenly turned into a pain in the ass, as she would ring them all the time to go out every 5 minutes. But it helped house train her in no time. We put her in her crate if we are going out for a few hours. she sleeps in our bedroom at night.
 
We did it with ours until she was able to hold herself overnight then we just replaced it with a bed and never looked back.

I’d say don’t even use newspaper in the house.

Make sure to take it outside after every meal, every nap and periodically (about 2hrs for a pup) and it’ll get used to going outside.

Training a dog to go on paper then trying to train it to go outside is counterintuitive IMO. If they learn that outside = toilet then it’s easy. Ours never had the opportunity to mess in the house as we took it out the garden from day 1 so it never knew any different :)
 
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