Crate training - advise please

[ThisMorningWentBadly]

I’ve got a 12week old puppy (that we’ve had for a week) and am trying to crate train her. Over night is going really well, yips and whines on and off for about half and hour and then quiet all night.

During the day I can get her in it if i’m in the room - so she’ll stay with minimal fuss if i’m ironing next to it. The only time i’ve left her in it to go out she barked for the 20 mins I was out.

Should I keep leaving her for short periods during the day. Or back off?

Please help me not wreck the dog.

At 12 weeks it's nothing to do with the crate so just keep doing what you are doing in that regard. It's great she is happy to be in it all night and to rest during the day.

Very few puppies cope with being left alone at 12 weeks old (crate ir no crate) and the crying is entirely normal. At that age they cannot fend for themselves and so have a survival mechanism to cry (scream!) for help when they are alone. She is basically saying "help! I am lost, come find me!" and so the cries are very loud to increase the chances of you hearing her.

Just keep practising leaving her for very short periods of time (anything between 1-20 mins at this age). Providing the experiences are not too traumatic for her, she should learn that nothing terrible happens when she is left alone. Just be aware that this can take up to a year or so, depending on the dog.

Thanks. So i’ll keep leaving her for little bits of time a couple of times a day and also keep training when I am in the room - I will end up doing more ironing that I thought possible at this rate.

I don’t mind it taking time to get there, I just don’t want to end up with a dog that can’t be left without going nuts.

Just trying another day time crate outing. I thought i’d stay so I knew how much noise she makes. Lots. This is so hard.

In that case you need to not be leaving her yet. Is she distressed if you leave the room without her?

Elfpup was stuck to me like glue for the first few weeks. I couldn't do anything without him in tow.

Yes she doesn’t like it if I leave the room.

The was a brief pause in proceedings so I went to get her.

Going into the crate needs to be a nice experience for her so put little puppy treats etc in there for her and always praise her when she goes in there. Never use the crate as punishment or tell her off for not going in there. Not assuming you do any of these just some advice maybe leave it open during the day when you're there for her to go in and out of to get used to it rather than just putting her in it and shutting the door. If you're putting her in there and then staying in the room then when you go out and put her in there it'll be quite confusing for her, especially as she's still so young. It's quite a long process but as long as nothing is forced and she's always praised for going in there then you should get there.

Have a look at the files here www.facebook.com/notes/dog-training-advice-and-support/congratulations-on-your-new-puppy/1607688335913384/

We nicknamed Elfpup Velcro pup for a while... he is a whole lot better now but he was not left at all for the first month or more.... It was a very tough period and not one I enjoyed much

So were you with him overnight as well? (Sorry if I this is a really thick questions)

Only for the first couple. We then moved the crate outside the bedroom door so he could still hear and smell us. It took about 10 days moving him progressively further away to get him to sleep alone in the kitchen.

He wouldn't sleep or even go in it during the day though - he had to be on my lap or on my feet! I didn't push it. Let him sleep where he wanted and just transferred a very sleepy puppy to it when I went to bed! I left the crate door open and he was confined to the kitchen with a stair gate.

My partner gets up for work about 90 minutes before I do so he'd go down, feed the pup and let him outside for a wee. For a few days I got up with him and started the day. After a couple I didn't! When he left he'd put the pup back in the kitchen. First day had a few quiet whimpers (just a few - maybe a minute) and I'd call down to shush him. He'd invariably put himself back to bed then until I got up. And that is how life has continued. Now he's most offended if he's expected to get up before 9am.

He still doesn't use his crate during the day unless he's shut in the kitchen whilst I'm out. I have a second bed in the sitting room for day time use but he much prefers the sofa or a chair!

I have an 8 month old puppy now who is a superstar, loves his crate now and treats it as his refuge.

When he was really wee, I left the radio on and put his blanket and one of my t-shirts in with him overnight.

During the day I put him in the crate with a small treat and a toy for really short periods of time while I was still in the house but not in the room.

When in the room, I left the crate door open and randomly dropped small treats during the day that he went in to find.

When I had to leave him for a bit longer (after about two weeks of doing all that) I put his blanket over the back of the crate and again put the radio on.

Neurotic puppy mummy I am I left my phone recording the first few times to see how much noise he made! About 5-10mins the first time and about 2 minutes after that.

I have no idea if this is good advice or was the right things to do but it worked for us

Thanks.