Hi, I'm all new to owning a puppy and I am just after some advice in regard to crate training my little rascal. I have got a 9 week old girl who has been with us for about a week and a half. She has made loads of progress in this time: only going toilet outside, learnt a few commands already etc. She sleeps in her crate in the night (without fuss) and we only have to let her out once to pee which is fantastic but the problem we have is trying to crate train her in the day. I have been giving her a kong and placing it in the crate to keep her busy, but she completely trashes the crate while eating the kong! She can obviously still smell the food even when the kong is finished so she tears up all the blankets looking for more and then whines once it is finished. I have just been practising leaving her for 5 mins etc. I don't' make any fuss about her trashing the crate but it seems that when it is trashed she doesn't settle. Does anyone have any suggestions of what I could use instead of a kong to settle her down to being left alone. The added problem is that I work from home so she has created quite an attachment which I know can make crate training a little bit harder. She is rather hyper puppy and is very much into her food. This has caused some problems that if you have a food smell on your hands she will go after it, no matter how many times you ignore her, distract her or tell her to sit. It also causes problems with her training because once training is finished she will just sniff around all the room continuously or sniff your hands or pockets where the treats are. I try to finish the training with a game with her favourite toy but she just doesn't have eyes for it when she gets a whiff of food. What could I do to focus her on something that isn't tasty?!
Re: A Puppy Whirlwind! Hello there and welcome! My pup - now 5 months - went through a phase of crate trashing. She would dig up her bedding and then sit there looking perplexed at the hard, shiny plastic layer she had just discovered. I didn't take much notice, I'm afraid - and after a few times of falling asleep under her crate pad and bedding, she stopped doing it... As to the treats, I did find things improved for me when I bought a proper treat pouch. When she saw me put it on, her focus was instant, and when she saw me take it off and hang it back up... it was quite clear to her that the session was over for now and she stopped searching for more food treats. Having said that, my coat pockets all have kibble in them! ;D Enjoy her - they grow soooo quickly! Clare
Re: A Puppy Whirlwind! Hi there and welcome! I agree with Clare, this is a stage that will pass… Just keep the times when she is in the crate short for now, and increase them very slightly and very slowly. What's her name?
Re: A Puppy Whirlwind! Strangely enough I was thinking a treat bag might help! Thanks I will try it out. She is called Mabel, although most of the time she is known as Mischief. I can't believe how much she has grown in such a short space of time! She is currently chasing a plastic bottle all around the living room.
