[waterfif]

I am a new member of the forum and a new, rather frazzled, cockapoo owner. My wife and I bought a cockapoo from a reputable breeder and she is a beautiful, placid and loving little girl who just wants to be with us.

Our problem however is getting her used to her crate. On night 1 she whined, but we deployed ear plugs and she quietened down after 45 mins. Night 2 however was a little more disruptive. She managed to get on top of her crate and jumped over the pen wall. I'm not sure how we can reconfigure the pen to prevent this from happening and I'm afraid she'll do herself a mischief.

After attempting to encourage her to get in the crate it appears that there are too many negative associations. I'm now tempted to try and use a bed in the pen rather than a crate.

Any ideas or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[DONNA]

I take it you werent locking the crate door?? This could be the problem ,id lock it and seperate it in half with vetbed one end and puppy pad the other .

My puppy never liked going in and to make it easier at first i would wait until he was really sleepy around 10pm and put him in there,and also put a blanket over the top to make it all cozy.

It does get easier and after afew days im sure she'll be fine ,also its a good idea to put her in the crate in the day for a while sometimes when your in the same room and sometimes when you go out this will also help.

 

[lady amanda]

We locked her in her crate from day one....we had 3 nights with an accident and never again.

 

[kendal]

lock the crate door so she doesnt risk hurting herself. put a kong or something in with her with peanut butter or cream cheese in it. get up around 2am or something if you think she will need out, however if she is still sleeping dont wake her. the point of the crate is for her to learn to hold her toilet so dont put puppy pads in he crate.

if you are taking her out dont talk to her just out and back in bed again. the more fuss you make of her the more atention she will want.

she is just pushing to see where your braking point is. keep up the hard work and you will get there.

 

[waterfif]

Thanks for all your replies

Many thanks to you all for replying - we were at sixes and sevens this morning.

I have re-assembled the crate as all of the responses are fully in favour and have made sure that she goes in to the crate whenever she settles down and looks sleepy. The door of the crate is locked as suggested and although there were a few whimpers, she calmed down soon enough. She has been in the crate for two stints of around an hour to an hour and a half during the day and she seems to be getting used to it. Fingers crossed for tonight!

Again, many thanks Cockapoo boffins!

 

[waterfif]

Wow! What a change! Maddie (11 weeks old), slept well in her crate last night and only awoke when we got up.

The crate is separated in to half vetbed and half puppy pad as suggested and the door is locked. Getting her used to this during the day really paid off. We are leaving the radio on during the day when she is on her own and used a night light last night to make the night seem a little more gentle and friendly.

Long may this continue! Many thanks again. The results speak for themselves.

 

[Sezra]

Glad to here things have improved and Maddie is settling down.

 

[DONNA]

Yipee well done !!!