Puppy refusing to sleep in crate

[happymummy2010]

My 6 month old puppy settled well in the crate at first when we got him, but over the last few weeks he is flatly refusing to settle in the crate. We have tried leaving him (last night he barked for over an hour) and tried sleeping next to him, but still he barks and cries to get out. We are worried this is disturbing the neighbours, so we end up letting him sleep on the sofa. I don't have too much of a problem with this apart from he goes to the toilet on the floor. We tried getting up at 3am this morning to take him outside but we were too late..
Has anyone else had this issue. I'm not sure if we should persist with the crate or work on the toilet training so he can sleep on the sofa ?
ideally I would like him in the crate, but I can't see how we get him back in there
Any tips ?

What breed is puppy?

Sleep nearer puppy so you can let pup out when it needs the toilet.

Is the crate very big?
I'm interested he tolieted there - are you asure that he is not barking as he needs to go out to toilet? Odd to toilet in his bed unless crate is massive.

A 6 month old puppy should be able to hold his wee overnight, but if puppy is able to move around at night then they will have to be taken out. You might have to go back to basics taking puppy out at say 1/2 am.

Thanks for the replies.

He is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

He didn't toilet in his crate.. he went on the living room floor when we let him sleep on the sofa. He has never toileted in his crate, hence ideally I would like to get him back sleeping in there, but he just won't settle.

Looks like we will have to accept he sleeps on the sofa and get up earlier at night to take him outside so he doesn't toilet on the living room floor.

Dogs like to move about when they sleep so they can regulate their body temperatures. If you watch them, they'll go from under the blanket, to on top, to stretched out, to curled up etc.

Unfortunately if they're in a crate they can't necessarily do that and that can cause problems.

Is the crate the right size? It's not too small for him now he's a bit older?

Let him sleep in the living room/on sofa if he is more settled there and you are happy with that. Get some more puppy pads and put them by the living room door just in case you miss his middle of the night wee.

Let him sleep on the couch, and set your alarm for before he did a wee last night. Then, when he knows you are letting him out to wee, you push that time forward slowly so he’s holding it longer and longer.

Thanks.
I think his crate is still ok in size. It's the medium one from Pets At Home. He has a bed, blanket and two cuddly toys in there.

Can puppies hold on to poo as long as wee ? He did both last night..

How does he indicate to you during the day time when he needs the toilet ? Are you shutting him in the living room or is he in a position to come and 'tell' you? I understand that some dogs can regress a bit around 6 months and you need to revisit initial training .

If he’s going to the toilet overnight then you need to be close to him so you know he needs to go and can let him out.

Him toileting could be separation anxiety. How is he in the day if you leave him ?

We rarely leave him alone during the day, but he is usually happy having a nap in the living room in the afternoon whilst I work in the dining room. Last night he settled well on the sofa when we went to bed, but he wasn't happy to be left alone once I had cleared up the wee and poo at 3am, so I ended up lying on the sofa with him.

The other issue I have if we do take him out to toilet in the evening once it gets dark, before bed or during the night (we tried at 3am last night) he barks and howls, which again I worry disturbs the neighbours.
We installed a light in the garden but he still barks and howls !

You need to make the crate a place he enjoys being. Start feeding special treats or chews in the crate. Also try and instigate a day time nap in the crate so that he gets used to being in there in the daylight. Then at night when it is dark he will be less scared. At night put the crate in the room with you if he needs to see you nearby. Take a torch or lantern with you to toilet him at night to increase the lighting to reduce his fear, head torches are good for this.

How long they can hold it (or not) really varies from dog to dog. A lot also depends on their meal times and when their last meals/walks are.

If he can hold it in his crate but not when he's loose, it could be a bit of separation anxiety, especially if he settled when you were down there with him.

Is it an option to have him sleep in with you, at least temporarily?

We could try moving the crate into the bedroom with us, but the cat sleeps on our bed, so not sure the dog would settle.

I think I will sleep downstairs with him tonight, starting with him in the crate.. but I be he doesn't settle and ends up on the sofa. At least I may be able to get him outside before he toilets on the floor. It will also be interesting to see if he still gets up to toilet whilst I'm in the room with him.

Thanks for all the advice.. will let you know how I get on

Our dog wouldnt settle in a crate, we abandoned it and let him in our bedroom, once he could jump on the bed we put a stair gate at the door and he slept on the landing. Hes 19 months now and usually starts in our bedroom and ends up on the tiled kitchen floor! . He did regress a bit with toilet training, possibly around 6 months so it could just be that, or a fear period kicking in and he wants a bit of mums reassurance!.

Take him out on the lead so you can stop him barking, and take a torch so it’s not so dark.

When a puppy goes out to go to the toilet you go too! Use a lead if necessary. One of mine was a barker and we couldn’t let her out unsupervised for months!

Your response to my question regarding the breed has made me smile a lot. I had a strange feeling you might say he was a cavalier. We have had two and they were both like yours. The thing about cavs is that they are very, very people loving and want to be with their owners all the time. Probably trying his/her luck, being six months old. To be honest, we tried crate training ours but, no matter what we tried, they still barked at night unless they were allowed to sleep on the bed with us.

No harm in trying to be persistent though. We may have just been a bit weak willed (or very tired!!).
If I was getting another I would seriously consider getting it a friend of the same breed at about that age as they tend to like same breed companions almost as much as human company and I would hope they might settle for nights together.

Update..

We had no luck with the crate, so he ended up sleeping on the chair in the living room, whilst I was on the sofa. He slept well mostly but woke up at 2am and 5.10am. I took him outside and he did a wee and poo both times.

I just need to work out how to get him to sleep longer without needing to toilet, so I can start leaving in the living room alone without messing on the floor.

It might be that he won’t go in the crate because he knows he can’t hold his wee overnight, so I would get a vet check. If he has been dry overnight and now can’t I’d first want to rule out anything physical

What time do you feed in the evening? Move time of food and take him for a last walk to make sure he’s gone?!