Need help

[1sttimepuppytroubles]

Hi everyone . I need a lot of advice about my 10 week old golden retriever. We have had him over a week now and for the 1st two days I slept down stairs with him . Obviously now we are back in work we need to go to bed so bought a crate and thought it wouldn't be an used for him to go in there in the nights . My other pups in the past straight in no issues and slept all night . He has been going mental for a good hour but finally stopped . I got up for work at 3 got him out fed him he done his business and we had half an hour play and cuddle then I put him back in . Again screaming going crazy . I left for work and now my partner has phoned saying he's woke him up and just won't stop but my partner has left for work too and said he could hear him across the road when he was in his van ! Any advice would be welcomed . I'm at my wits end . He is also very attached to me . I have had time off work and have been together 24-7 😬. I treat him like a baby so maybe I have made a rod for my son back ? Another issue we have is food ! He obsessed with that too we can't eat with out him screaming at us and trying to get it . I was eating two nights ago and he lunged at my face and scrammed my neck . Thankyou

Crate training takes time and patience, you can't just stick him in and expect him to like it, he's a baby.

Who is with him whilst your both at work?

You can't just shut a 10 week old puppy in a crate and go to work!

Wow. Cant believe you are leaving him in a crate to go to work at 10 weeks. He is probably scared and anxious. How long will he be in the crate for?

My daughter is at home with him so she will be up at 7 with him then my mother is picking him up to take him down her house until I pick him up . He will never be left alone all day in the crate only for us to sleep .

You are risking separation anxiety, he can't go in the crate. Someone will have to be with him until he is trained to go in there happily.

@crossstitchingnana

You are risking separation anxiety, he can't go in the crate. Someone will have to be with him until he is trained to go in there happily.

Thankyou so much for your reply I have just been on FaceTime to my daughter I phoned her to wake her up he was quiet as soon as he heard my voice in loud speaker he started going mad again so she has him out down stairs and he's happily playing . Can you please advise me on crate training him please . I love him to bits and just want him to be happy

Perhaps crate training isn’t for him. It doesn’t suit all puppies. Mine hated it. We had a pen instead.

Well I'm glad you're not leaving him alone.

There's a Facebook group called Dog Training Advice and Support. Join and read the Guides. There's a huge section on puppies, including a chapter on crate training. He needs to view his crate as his safe place, not somewhere he feels sad.

Does he need to be in a crate? I had a similar issue with my dog when I got him, I tried everything but he was absolutely terrified of it, infact he was terrified of being in any enclosed space, including a single room with the door shut. I tried letting him have free roam of downstairs while we were out and he's been absolutely fine since - he seems to be happy if he can see out of the window so he knows what's going on. Saying that, he was a rescue so I'm unsure what he's been through before I had him. He was also already toilet trained which helped, I'm presuming it will be more difficult to do that if you're still training your puppy!

Proper crate training can take a while. We started on day one with our puppy, we would keep the crate door open, throw a treat inside, give him a command to sit and then when sitting nicely, let him go in crate to get treat.

We had a dog pen with the crate inside it, that worked well.

If you don't need him to be in a crate, try leaving him in a pen instead so he has space to move and play.

www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/puppies-dogs/crate-training

I’m not a cage user but you could try putting it upstairs by your bed as that may help him to settle .

He's probably terrified of the crate. You can't just shut him in and leave - it has to be gradual! For all he knows you're leaving and never coming back.
As for the food, again, they need training. They don't behave perfectly right away. There's a lot of hours and money involved in training a puppy.

3am he was fed? And playtime and cuddles? No wonder he didn't want you to go. 3am is dim lights, minimal chat, out for a pee on the lead and back to bed. If you need to leave in the early ours of the morning then maybe you can set up the sleeping arrangements differently so that you don't disturb him. Also no feeding from the table ever, sounds like he can't cope with that.

Hours

IF you want to use the crate, sleep with him next to you with the door open for a couple of weeks at least.

Feed him in his crate with the door open

Regularly drop treats in his crate for him to find.

Do not lock the door until he happily chooses to go into the crate.

If you are both out at work this will be very hard for you to achieve as you need to have positive interaction with the crate during the day.

If he does need to go out for a wee at night minimal interaction no games just out for wee and back to bed. DO NOT feed him at night time but make sure that he does have access to water throughout the night.