Hi everyone, Im new here so apologies if I have put this on the wrong thread. On Friday morning brought home a gorgeous chocolate lab puppy, he is adorable and already seems to know his name which makes me feel like he will be quick at picking things up (fingers crossed). I just wondered if I could have help/ advice with the following: - I'm trying to crate train him and he is not dealing very well with it. At night he goes in it and crys/ howls a lot before finally going to sleep (I do try and tire him out before bed). He wakes up in the middle of the night but soon settles again which is fine. Then in the morning he wakes me up howling which is fine beacuse I know he needs toileting but I still dont want to re-inforce that if he does this he will be let out. - I have the crate in my living room (large and open planned) which he will scream the place down if I put him in here (only for a short time to get him used to it). Did I mention that I live in an apartment so it is EXTREMELY difficult for me to do the whole wait it out thing with him. Today I have kept the crate in my room, let him fall asleep at my feet then put him in the crate away from the noise of the living room/ kitchen. He has gone in it and fell asleep again straight away with no crying? What does this mean?? - He is also very bad in the car in his crate, Ive had my sister with me feeding him small treats so he associates it with seomthing positive but he crys and howls the whole way! If anyone has advise or help with the above please let me know, anything will be appreciated!! x
Hi @Stacey811 From your description it sounds as if you should start crate training from the beginning and proceed through each stage.. Jo Laurens has written a very good article on crate training.https://thehappypuppysite.com/crate-training-a-puppy/ Work your way through the various steps. Don't rush it because your puppy has already had a less than comfortable introduction. Re the car does he get upset if the puppy is in the car without it moving? I can't work out from your description whether he is sensitised to the car or is getting motion sickness. More of a description is required. Exactly when does the crying start.
Thank you for your reply. Brilliant, will check out this article thank you for that. Within the car he only cry’s when the car is in motion. When the car stops at traffic lights he isn’t too bad and he seems to cry less after around 10 minutes in to the journey. When we brought him home we had an hour drive but kept him on my knee. He hardly cried the whole hour when he was close to me which is why I say my sister near to him the first time in the crate. X
Hi @Stacey811 Really odd behaviour in the car. Here is a speculative reply. Have him wear a car harness clipped into the sit belt. He sits on the back seat by himself When you are driving completely ignore the whimpering unless he becomes distressed. It may be the case that when you stop he gets attention. The crying may be a bid to get your attention when you are driving. And in particular, on your first trip your sister dispensed a constant supply of food and attention. You may have conditioned him to expect food/attention when the car is in motion.
Thank you for your response again! It is really strange, took him in the car today and instead of having him in a crate we put him in a large plastic tub with his blankets in. He had a collar on with a seat belt harness/lead and still just fell straight asleep. When he's tired he is fine in his crate and can be left alone but when hes in a playful mood and I need him to be in his crate he just howls. I've tried waiting until he's tired until we do a car journey but again he howls. It must be attention he wants!?
Hi @Stacey811 Well I think we now have a plan. If you need him to be in a crate while in the car then practise crate training while the crate is in the car. Read through Jo Lauren's crate training article https://thehappypuppysite.com/crate-training-a-puppy/ except the stages will be modified for being in the car. For example, in the first stage you will encourage the dog to be in the crate placed in the car with the crate's door open. The car will not be moving. And so on.
With crate training at first, you generally need 2 locations the crate is in - by your bed (for night), and also wherever you want it to end up during the day. You can move the same crate, or you can have 2 different crates. The best time to work on crate training is during the day, when other people are out of the house or building and no one is trying to sleep. Sit next to the crate until the pup is fine with that stage. There will be a stage of noise-making and that is perfectly normal and the pup needs to learn it doesn't work (so needs to try it, to learn that). But you can try to set these training sessions up to be at times when they least inconvenience other people. You can leave a note or a card under the doors of apartments near yours - maybe a box of chocs too - explaining that you are crate training the pup but it should be over soon, and it's not going to go on forever. That usually makes people more forgiving....
