Hi, I am from Australia. I will be picking up Enzo, a Labradoodle, in 2 weeks. He will be 8 weeks old. I don’t think that I will be able to crate train him in time for his first night home. I do not want to put him into the crate until he goes in on his own and is comfortable with being in the crate. Should I put him to bed in a box next to my bed at night until he is comfortable going into the crate on his own?
Welcome to the forum! A box next to the bed works well for the first few days for lots of people. There is also always the option of putting the crate next to your bed, if you have room. You must be really excited about your impending arrival, do update us with a picture when he comes home!
Hi, thanks. I am very excited, doing lots to get ready for the big day. I do have room next to my bed for the crate. It it ok to physically put the puppy into the crate if he does not yet know how to go in on his own?
Hi and welcome, how exciting. Yes we put the crate right next to our bed and put our pup in and closed the door. She cried a bit and we just put our hand down and reassured her, letting her sniff our fingers. We also put a teddy in with her that we had put our scent all over. This really worked for us as now she loves going in her crate on her own. Good luck
Thanks, I will try putting Enzo in the crate next to my bed. It’s good to know that I can reassure him when he cries that I don’t need to ignore him. I will make sure that I don’t take him out of the crate when he is crying.
Enzo came home for the first time yesterday. Had a couple of short sessions to charge the clicker. I put some kibble in his crate and he actually went in a couple of times. After I put his blanket which had been in use with his litter mates, that the breeder provided, he even went and slept in the crate for short periods. Last night I move the crate into the bedroom, put Enzo in it closed the door and turned off the lights. He whined and barked a little and then settled down to sleep . Took him out to the garden twice for wee wees during the night. All in all a good first night. Thanks for all your advise. I have a question about one of his behaviour. He humps one of my pillows and a couple of times humped my knee when when I sat down to play with him. I had not thought that this behaviour started so young. Enzo is only 8 weeks old. Is this normal?
