[greenflower]

hi,

i really need some help/advice with how RocketDog and i conquer settling at night in his crate. i'm using the crate because he will have periods of time at home while i go out to work. i have a spanish style kitchen which i made and it has no cupboards so everything is on shelves. the crate will be needed untill i feel he is less likely to think my kitchen is a stagbar. i am lucky enough to be able to do most of my work from home but i will still need to go out and do my community visits. i also really want him to sleep at night in my room and i thought i would use the crate to increase the opportunity to get used to it and save my carpet from pee n poo.

on his first night he was brilliant. i settled him in my room in his crate with his blanket smelling of his litter and a blanket over the top. i did the same routine the following night although he took a little longer to settle. the third night was not so good. OMG he can howl! i wondered if he was distracted because he could see/hear me rather than comforted by it. i tried him downstairs last night and caved in after 2 hrs of him crying. i cant do the "try really hard to leave him". at what point do you cross the line of "its for his own good" to highly stressed dog? the pee/poo are no longer on the "why use the crate at night" list. how do i help my dog?

ps. i try and keep him active at night to wear him out.

pps. the daytime is freakin brilliant. him and i are fast becoming good buddies which is a breakthrough for a "non dog person".

help!

 

[marzy]

u have to make sure he's knackered. before he goes in crate
put a teddy in there for him to sleep with and a warm hot water bottle
they have left all there litter so feel lonely


with our boycie....
he hated the crate in the kitchen!!
we persevered ...... we used to leave door open on crate when he's 4 5 months old in kitchen when we went out ......he'd sleep in there then.....until completely potty trained then we removed crate
he now sleeps upstairs on his bed xxx
just try different things ...
but only if it suits u....
good luck
marzy xx

 

[Laura(L)Izzie]

I know what you mean, Poppy wouldn't settle either, so now she sleeps in the bedrooms on a blanket with Izzie & is great & as long as she goes for a wee 7 a poo before bed she lasts until morning now as well

Good luck! I hope you find something that works for you :/

 

[DONNA]

Buddy dint really like the crate either but you have to persevre if this is where you want your puppy to sleep by getting him out of the crate (im assumeing thast what happened?)your teaching him the longer he crys you will eventually come.

Every puppy will cry when first in the crate i had Buddy at the end of the bed for a few nights and everytime he howled i would tell him to sssh or i would even lie next to him on the floor but never take him out of the crate it only takes a few days and they get used to it ,i then put the crate downstairs yes he cryed but it was more a whimper and it didnt last long .Once your in a routine he will be happier.

It does get easier i must admit i found it hard it is just like having a new baby .

 

[andypandi]

We gave up putting Milo in a crate at night as no matter what we did or where we put it he howled continually. He now sleeps on his bed in our bedroom. He does wake us if he needs to go out but otherwise sleeps fine.

Funnily enough, he is happy to go in it if we go out but will not tolerate it at all if we are in the house, which can be a pain if I need him in one place so I can do some work.

Hope you manage to find a solution that you are happy with.

Andrea

 

[greenflower]

thanks guys,

do you use a water hot water bottle? i dont think RocketDog understands wimpering he goes straight for high volume, high intensity howling. my shhh(es) get louder to compensate for his volume and last night he didnt leave enough of a gap to hear me. im going to sleep right next to him tonight so fingers crossed. oh lordy! lucy X

 

[Kaz]

Oh no, I hope you get into a night time routine soon - after havinhg such a lovely day time too

Benji only likes his crate when he is v sleepy, but sometimes will cry. If I want him to settle quickly I turn off the lights (apart from a dim one for me to see when I leave him) and sit on the floor next to his crate. No touch, no talk, no eye contact - I turn my head away from the crate (apart from having a sneaky peep under my arm when I think he is settled). This has worked quite well - I don't do it all the time as I don't want him to need me there to settle each time. Once he is curled up, I sneak away - hey presto!

I hope you find something that works for you quickly, Kaz xx

 

[lady amanda]

It can be tough, I slept on a couch in view of my dog for 3 weeks as she would not sleep through the night if she couldnt see me....so what we did was week one, right in view of the crate, week two beside the crate but still in view, week 3 not in view but still in the same room, week 4 she slept downstairs....now that she is a year old....on weekends she gets to sleep in our bed with us...lol spoiled pooch

 

[MillieDog]

Have you tried putting a T-Shirt or some other article of your clothing in with him. You need to make sure it is well worn so he can smell you. Smelling you and being 'close' to you may help him settle.

Works with Millie

 

[DONNA]

How did it go last night any better??

 

[greenflower]

Oh Donna, Julie, Amanda, Kas, Andrea, Laura and Marzy,

HE WAS BRILLIANT!

i went through the bedtime routine but left the a small lamp, and the TV on very low. i took off all my clothes and popped them in the crate. he jumped in after them, lay down and prompty feel asleep. i slept on the sofa as i didnt need to sleep right next to him. i woke him up at 7ish because i needed a wee.

i am made up! thank you all so so much XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

[Pollypiglet]

Hi Lucy these first few weeks are challenging aren't they? Hattie has a strong personality and is not best pleased when I want her to do something she doesn't like she lets me know long and loud! I try to have time out sessions during the day and if she has a mad puppy five minutes if I feel she is getting too hyper I insist she calms herself down. It is all a bit of trial and error but he may be overtired and also if he spends all day with you his anxiety at being seperated will be quite strong. Having a puppy makes you appreciate the way an older dog adapts to your lifestyle. Our pups are both very young and have undergone a massive change in routine. It is a matter of working out what suits you best, and that is the problem!! Good luck keep in touch and we can compare progress or lack of it!

Have just seen your update took me so long to post this (site kept logging me out) you have got the answer. I will try the clothes thing as well although Hattie does settle there is a bit of protesting but it is getting less!

 

[andypandi]

So glad you had a good night Lucy, hope it continues!

Andrea

 

[Janev1000]

Aaah - that's good. I think after a few days of settling in, he'll be fine and will start to forget his Mum & litter mates and will start to accept your way of doing things. I find it easier if I totally cover the crate with a blanket with just an inch or so at the bottom. I am sure it makes him feel more secure. He seems to be more unsettled when he can see out of the crate. But's that's just my experience and I know they are all so different. He is put at night where we can't hear him (if only whimpering - I am sure we would hear anything louder!) for 8 hours and he's usually asleep and dry when I come down in the morning, so that makes me feel better that he doesn't seem distressed. They can adapt really quickly and seem to change by the day!

 

[MillieDog]

Well done Lucy
Sounds like you tried everything in one go. So glad it worked otherwise we might of run out of ideas.

So whats next? Back into your bedroom as originally planned.
My Millie sleeps outside our bedroom door. She was originally downstairs in the front room, when we were using the crate. But at 5 months I decided she didn't need to be in there anymore. She'd already adopted our bed blanket when she came into our room during the day, so I just moved it into the hallway. She was fine. Now she has her own bed as I needed my blanket back!

Hope tonight is as successful

 

[DONNA]

Fantastic news well done dx

 

[Laura(L)Izzie]

Oh Donna, Julie, Amanda, Kas, Andrea, Laura and Marzy,

HE WAS BRILLIANT!

i went through the bedtime routine but left the a small lamp, and the TV on very low. i took off all my clothes and popped them in the crate. he jumped in after them, lay down and prompty feel asleep. i slept on the sofa as i didnt need to sleep right next to him. i woke him up at 7ish because i needed a wee.

i am made up! thank you all so so much XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well done! You seem very happy that it worked Hope it stays that way! xx

 

[greenflower]

its 9:50pm and the night is fast approaching. i wonder how it will be tonight (ill let you know in the morning). i was so happy this morning following such a brillaint night.

 

[marzy]

so glad it worked last night !!!
it'll be a breeze tonight ....... fingers crossed ....
just keep to same routine ....!!go girl

xxxxxxx
marzy xx

 

[DONNA]

Hope last night was just as good??

Buddys taken to going to sleep in front of the front door (its freezeing in the hall and he's like a big draft excluder!)When i go to bed i have to chase him round the house to get him to go in his crate lol (he's fine when in there but it makes me laugh ,warm comfy crate or cold stone floor?)