How long to leave dog crying in crate

[ConsternationStation]

I'm trying to teach our 6mo Cocker spaniel to be alone. I spend a lot of time walking, training and playing with her then leave her to her own devices for a little bit then pop her in the crate, act like I'm leaving, lock the front door and sit on the front step. After two minutes I can hear her crying and as soon as she hears me open the front door she stops.

How long should I leave her to cry in the crate? I currently leave her an extra minute or two before returning but I don't know if this is making it better or worse. Obviously I'm not going to leave her for 30 minutes crying solidly.

ok……

@TheGrimSmile
apologies- I thought you were directly quoting me in your reply! So sorry! I can’t work out to delight me post X

Calling the crate a cage and saying they are cruel is ignorance. A crate used correctly, is an excellent way of keeping your dog safe. I’ve used one for my dogs and they have loved their safe space.

And yet so many dogs get to choose their safe space, without being put in a cage.

DDog likes her squishy cushion under my bed, but also the spare bedroom (she can see out of the window) and her bed in the living room to be close to me when I am working.

Her choice. She switches between them according to whether she wants to be close or to have space. She is affectionate and a little bit timid. Never destructive.

Put her in her crate, do your 'leaving the house' ritual - coat on, shoes on, grab keys - then reverse that procedure without even opening the front door. Do this over several days, then build up to opening the front door but not going out of it, closing it straight away; then opening the door, walking out and straight back in; then out, shut the door behind you, immediately open it and go back in; out the door, wait five seconds, go back in. Increase the time outside gradually.

Second this. We used to buy Peanut butter, dog safe type. And she was absolutely fine while we were gone/training

Emotional charged reactions 🤦🏼‍♀️

I'm in awe

I don't think the dog will explode if you shut the crate door I mean it's ridiculous it sounds like you are putting him on the naughty step like a child, honestly, people have gone mad !

I love dogs I have one but this treating them like they are babies or human is ludicrous.

This person in the post above, leaving it snuffle mats, lick mats, Kong toys.. walking it erratically before leaving checking it has nothing to chew on making sure it has a sofa... made me laugh out loud.
I don't mean to be rude but you sound ridiculous.

It's a DOG not a BABY
Yes love your dog by all means but thinking they have the same responses as a human and treating them as such is madness.

My dogs crate is his safe place and his den. It is comfy and the gate is always open so
he comes and goes as he pleases.

Crates are not for everyone but when used correctly they do create a safe, comforting place for your dog.

The DGD can be too loud and boisterous for him with the jumping and singing and dancing. His crate becomes his refuge. He does like to play with them but then gets to overexcited. From his crate he can watch them, to his and their amusement.

Rather than leaving him, you could sit beside the crate and let him sit inside it and come and go as
he pleases to get used to it and then see
it as his den.

You may want to leave him in the crate while you go out for short periods but that can only happen when he sees the crate as his safe place / den.

My sprocker is in and out of his crate all
day. Also teach him ‘in’, when I need him to go in I say ‘in’ and point to the open crate and in he goes, if he doesn’t want to he lets me know.

Sorry ‘she’, I’m always doing that !

I think I can say with confidence that no one posting on this thread is ‘cruel’ to their dog.

Some dogs WILL explode in a cage and hurt themselves trying to get out - bleeding cut gums, hurt paws.

I'm afraid I have to disagree. They are a vital tool if you need to leave a puppy or any dog to keep it safe. Obviously the pup needs to be trained and the time built up gradually. I have worked in welfare for many years. Everybody needs to leave their home sometimes-and keep the dog safe when we do.

Are you able to put the crate in a room in the house that can shut off and then just leave the crate door open for her to go in and out of? Our 6 month old puppy doesn't like being shut in her crate but loves lying in there with her paws and head out the door. The crate is in the utility room with a baby gate on the door, along with her food and water and we have puppy proofed it so are confident she isn't going to hurt herself or get into trouble. She happily sleeps in there at night and is happy to be left in there if we go out for short periods (which we have gradually built up to). If we are going out she is left with a filled kong toy which she absolutely loves and only gets when we go out so she has a positive association with it

Crates are a great tool for short periods for recovery, sports, vet, travel etc. I’ve always crate trained my dogs but it’s taken months and there is no crying or even trying to get out involved as first you make the crate a great place to be then you extend the time with the door open before you think about confining them. I didn’t use one for safety in the house because by the tine pup was ready to be left they’d grown out of the chewing phase 😉

It depends if you want your dog to be totally comfortable alone or just cope. The former takes time and work and it’s a non linear process. It’s solid though and means if there is another stressor the is still ok alone. Coping means just that…until they don’t.

When my dog was a puppy and still at the chewing stage we left her in a playpen type arrangement. She had her bed, toys and water available but didn’t have free access to the house. She hated a crate but was fine with this.

Yep. They can be a life saver, literally. It’s a useful tool to have in a box of many.

My dogs never ever were crate trained and were still fine in the crate when one recovered from her leg surgery and other from cancer treatment. Vets with both surgeries never asked were they crate trained

I made sure to make crate a nice place to go. Toys, blankets, treats for going in. I'd leave the door open but just like with a toddler establish a set routine for leaving so they get to know it and therefore get to know you come back.
I'd make sure to pop out and run errands every day even if just 10 mins. Your dog probably knows you're still outside, they're not stupid.
I went to the shops or post office or something. Every time I'd tell them my leaving phrase and shut the door of the crate. Cover it a bit so it's more like a cave, give them a treat.
Make sure not to make a big deal about coming home again. Just walk in and open their crate door. Don't talk or make eye contact until they're calm. Then tell them what a good boy or girl they are.
Make it longer when you are confident they are coping.

I'll know because he'll be happy to take himself off to a different room to nap or to have a chew rather than needing to be with me all the time. He's starting to do this now, but he's not quite confident with it yet. You go ahead and leave your puppies scared and lonely and call it preparing them. I like my dog, so I'll wait till he's ready.

That’s great! Not every dog would happily go in one if they weren’t used to it.

One of ours would but the younger, needy one would probably be most annoyed. Thankfully, she’s been used to it since day one.

As I said, it’s a tool if you ever need it.

this is what i was getting at - thank you!
worded it much better than me!

prep the dog - some dogs are yes highly prone to separation anxiety I have one of those types. But they are not, ive left/prepped etc not a peep when i go out.
I have cameras on at all times to check, they literally cannot wait for me to go out to sleep.

OP you have two separate things to train, the crate training and the leaving alone.

It took a year of training before we could leave our dog and be confident that he wasn’t going to be barking/causing damage/crying.

First the crate training. Have you got a cover or blanket over the top of it? If not, do cover it. It makes it feel like a safe den.
Leave treats in there randomly for pup to find, make it a happy place to be in. Close crate for few minutes at a time (with treats) just while you’re wandering around the house. Pup should be relaxed and laying down. I said bed every time I put our dog in, now when I say bed, wherever we are in the house or garden, he runs straight to bed!
When pup is happy with this and relaxed in his crate. Go out of front door, come back in immediately and sit in same room but ignore him. Repeat several times. He should remain relaxed (probably inquisitive for a while, but wait until he’s relaxed laying down before opening the crate.

It takes time and patience but I now have a dog who chooses to go spend time in his crate as it’s his happy place and is absolutely fine and relaxed when we’re out for a few hours.

Some people do just leave them to cry/bark but that is cruel to both the dog and neighbours, and just results in an unhappy anxious dog.

You’re doing the right thing taking it slow op.

To add to my previous post OP, mine was a chewer as a pup, destroyed skirting boards and furniture hence why we crate trained. He out grew the chewing phase and now we leave him home alone with free run of the house. Still useful having him crate trained for when we have lots of visitors or workmen in the house.

Weirdly mine didn’t chew when we left the house despite being a massive chewer. Mine is a cocker too and we started leaving him at 5 months, for 10 minutes then 15 then 20 etc. He would just snooze on the sofa and occasionally look out the window. We tried crate training and really persevered with it but he just simply doesn’t like it. He’s now 10 months and I can leave him for 4 hours if I need to (which has only happened once) but usually it’s half an hour or an hour here and there.

Do you have a camera? I found it really reassuring leaving him loose for 10 minutes knowing I could see him on the camera and check he wasn’t getting up to no good. It was only about £20 from amazon but links up to your phone and I’ve found it invaluable for peace of mind.

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I wasn't looking to debate using a crate or not. I'm not being cruel by using it but rather keeping her safe. The insinuation that crate training a dog, which many do, is cruelty is quite frankly insulting. I'm sure every single person who has crate trained their dog isn't doing it to be cruel. That being said, I appreciate that it doesn't work for everyone or every dog. To each their own.

She is comfortable in her crate (she just took herself in there two minutes ago after a wee play in the garden), she happily sleeps there every night. It is her safe space when DC are being a bit full on. It's simply the act of leaving the house (and sometimes the room) that I'm trying to work on, and will take all the advice given here on board to accomplish this. I do have a camera, the crate is set up with a cover (den-like), she's left with the radio on, and often peanut butter in a Kong or lickimat.