Crate at night only?

Discussion in 'Labrador Training' started by KrisM, Jul 29, 2018.

  1. KrisM

    KrisM Registered Users

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    Right now we are using a travel pop-up crate for at night. We used that with our last dog. We closed it until she learned that that was where she was to sleep then started to leave it open and eventually swapped it out for her bed when she could be trusted. She was really good with it from the start. However, this new puppy, Sadie (black lab), so far she hates it. We only use it in the bedroom for sleeping. I’m wondering if we should get a regular crate?

    Also, my husband goes to work at different times during the week. He’ll be taking her out in the morning but when we tried to put her back in her little crate, she wanted no part of it. Sometimes he has to leave around 7 which is fine, I can get up with her but some days he leaves at 5:30 and that’s too early. Because of his wacky schedule, I figured I could feed her around 7 or 8 in the morning. Well, today she was up at 6:30, I got up and took her outside but couldn’t get her to lay back down. So he got up with her. She was a pistol until I got up and fed her around 7:30 and guess what, now she’s sleeping!

    So my question or problem is do I get a regular crate and how do I get her back in it on early mornings and how can I get her on a feeding schedule in the morning? Any thoughts or ideas? Or do I just have to go with it until she learns more?? Help!!

    Also, as soon as I can figure out how to post pics on here with flickr or something, I post pics of our little devil, I mean angel. Lol.
     
  2. pippa@labforumHQ

    pippa@labforumHQ Administrator

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    I would probably go with it for now. You could try feeding her when she wakes, or getting your husband to put her back in her crate with a frozen Kong after the early morning wee, but it can be hard settling a small puppy back down again after they have slept all night and are ready for some fun :). I find most of my Labs lose interest in early morning games once they get to six months or so and are happy to go back to sleep after being let out, but puppies, not so much! I doubt if using a different kind of crate will change her mind...
     
  3. Keithmac

    Keithmac Registered Users

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    We feed ours in her crate and she will get a treat for going in if we have to go out during the day/ work etc.

    Sometimes she'll go in for a kip during the day for a bit of peace and quiet!.

    Try and add 10 mins to every breakfast time until you get where you need to be, ours eats same time as us 7.30am and 6 pm ish.
     
  4. KrisM

    KrisM Registered Users

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    Well, I went out and bought a wire crate for Sadie. That other one I had was just to flimsy. She goes in it with little objection to sleep at night with the door closed. I might add the crate is in the bedroom. I have had to block off the hallway so she can’t pee in the hall or the bedroom anymore (she is getting better at potty training now). So she doesn’t have access to the crate during the day.

    Today, I put her in her crate with some toys and a frozen Kong while I took a shower. I was out of sight for 5-10 minutes and she cried and barked the whole time! She doesn’t care about the Kong or the toys and she went potty before I put her in there.

    Is there a way to get her used to it and ok with staying in the crate in the room by herself? I can’t feed her in there, I can try treats but like I said, she didn’t care about that. Do I leave her in there for a bit and let her cry, like you would a baby? It seems cruel and I don’t know if she’d think it was punishment. I can’t move her crate because our house is small and there’s no room for it in the kitchen or living room.
    We really need her to be ok with this so my husband and I can eventually leave to go to the store or a meeting for our business together not like now where one of us has to stay home. Any advice would be great!
     
  5. Stew

    Stew Registered Users

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  6. KrisM

    KrisM Registered Users

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    Thank you Stew.
     

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