Hi all! I'm new on here. I've got a 3 1/2 month clumber puppy who I am trying to crate train. She goes in and out of the crate quite happily but won't usually choose to sleep in there. At night she will go in at about 11 - 11.30 through to 7 - 8am without any issues. However, if she goes in the crate at all during the day and I go out of the room, she cries and cries. I am working on click for quiet from Pippa's article and she will now go about 3-4 minutes maximum reliably in the crate before barking. But if we pop out to the supermarket for 20 mins, she is barking away when we come back and the neighbours have made a comment about whether we know that she barks a lot (whilst mentioning that their labrador never barks ) I leave her with a kong or other indestructible toy when I leave her in the crate but she doesn't tend to relax once I have left. When doing the click for quiet training, she spends most of it sat by the door of the crate looking for me to come back. Any help please?
Re: Crying in crate during the day only I would have thought that by 3 months she would have grown out of it - is the crate new or have you used it from day one? (I'm assuming you picked her up at 8 weeks ish?) The generally advice is to let her cry it out, but if it's causing noise issues for neighbours that's not really possible. Have you tried just sitting next to the crate with her in it? Just so she knows you're still there. And then when she's quiet let her out. Try this for shirt periods throughout the day, or have the crate next to the sofa while you sit and watch TV or read, again your proximity will reassure her. Leave her in for ten minutes or so and then when she's quiet, let her back out. Gradually build up the time she's in there for, and move the crate further away, or yourself further away. Kind of how you would have the crate by your bed overnight and move it away as the pup gets used to it - just transfer it to the day time.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Hello and welcome to the forum from me and my four spaniels, one of them is a Clumber! Do you pop her into the crate for short periods while you are in the room with her, to feed her or for a little nap? If she has another bed outside the crate I would take that away and make the crate the only sleeping place for her. Start with very, very short periods just a minute or two and gradually build it up from there. The jump from 3-4 minutes while you are still in the room to 20 minutes on her own is too steep. Have you had a look at the puppy section of the forum? There is lots of help and advise you might find useful. I am really curious about you little pup, my Ziggy and your little girl are the only Clumbers on the forum! Please tell us a little bit more about her, is she working bred or from show lines, what's her name, and do you have any photos?
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Thanks both. She is called Maisie and I've had her for about 3 weeks (I got her slightly older). She is from working lines (the Zurick's in Exmoor). I'd post a picture but I'm not sure how. She's completely happy in her crate if I'm in the room and will have naps in there - although she does prefer to try and sleep next to my feet. I feed her in the crate and there are after treats dropped in there so going in there is a rewarding experience. She is completely happy to be there overnight and settles quickly but during the day she just won't let me leave her in the crate. If she is happily sleeping in the crate and I get up and leave, she sits up at the edge of the crate and will cry after a few minutes of me leaving the room.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Now I am really excited, because I do know your pup and I will have photographed her. ;D Is her mum Isla or Jess? Debbie had two litters on the ground at the same time. You could try and give her a frozen kong, something that requires a little bit of time to eat and will keep her occupied for longer. Put one of those in the crate with her and leave the room just for a minute then come back, if she is still busy with her kong go out again for another minute, and so on.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only She is Jess and Titus' litter - not many markings and a permanently sad expression. I haven't tried her on a frozen kong so I'll try that. She finishes normal kongs very quickly...
Re: Crying in crate during the day only What a lovely coincidence!! It does sound like she's developed a bit of anxiety over being left and you are rightly very motivated to make sure it doesn't get worse. I agree with the suggestion from Heidrun to go back to basics and start with really short times and tasty chewy things that will last. Kind of 'yo yo' the time up and down so you're not always leaving her for longer and longer. Gradually increase the average time she's left but include some shorter times. You can include many sessions in a day. Include periods of time where you're still in the room, elsewhere in the house or in the garden. To be successful that'll mean never leaving her longer than the time you've built up to....so, you might need to leave supermarket trips till someone can come and hold her in the car or wait at home with her.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only [quote author=clumpup link=topic=6242.msg81930#msg81930 date=1401094758] She is Jess and Titus' litter - not many markings and a permanently sad expression. I haven't tried her on a frozen kong so I'll try that. She finishes normal kongs very quickly... [/quote] Isla is Ziggy's sister, Jess is unrelated but Titus and Ziggy are both Sedgehurst Clumbers, so even though Maisie is not Ziggy's niece they are related. She could be this little girl who is out of Jess's litter.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only How exciting to have another clumber on the forum! Welcome! Welcome! I recently crate trained my boy at 10 months (he is 15 months now). I used this programme but spaced it out to be over a week, not a weekend: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Heidrun - that's Maisie! Permanently sad expression caught perfectly on camera! Thanks for all your advice - the link looks really helpful. I think we need to build it up really slowly now she has started to make a fuss during the day. It just seems so frustrating as she sleeps absolutely fine in there with no fuss during the night. However, I suppose I should really be grateful - barking during the night is even more antisocial!
Re: Crying in crate during the day only This will be all so new and so different for her. Is she your only dog or do you have another dog? She is only used to being with lots of other pups and adult dogs so being on her own is something she has to learn gradually! I have a few more photos, I will post if you like. I remember her well because I saw and played with the pups several times a week. She is a very sweet little girl, not as bold as the little bitch pup from Isla's litter. I posted a photo yesterday of Boris who is Maisie's brother, he is a little clown!
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Oh she is just so adorably gorgeous.....more puppies, clumber ones to boot, what are you guys trying to do to us!!!!! *swoon* Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you are home
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Just popping by to say hi and welcome and what a wonderful turn of Forum Fate that you've come across Heidrun and she has caught your lovely girl on film for us all to admire! Maisie is beautiful,so cute .Heidrun takes some amazing photos,when we finally stopped nagging her to open a Training Bootcamp for our dogs ....we attempted a full on assault for her to take commissions to photograph our dogs!so far she hasn't caved but I guess that's because she's busy enough training her own lovely brood! Welcome and enjoy the forum Angela x
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Try leaving a radio on or the TV....that has helped me with Cooper (11 weeks----actually, almost 12!). Took him about 10 minutes to settle even with the radio at first but now I can leave and know he thinks there is someone in the house....if you can get a talk radio station, even better! Good luck!
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Maisie is simply gorgeous. I still leave the radio on for Tatze if we leave her during the day.
Re: Crying in crate during the day only Hi and welcome! Maisie is just lovely. Leaving the radio or TV on definitely helps with the feeling that they have been left alone.
