Hello all. We have a 10 week old Black Lab puppy, Maggie. She is our 5th lab over the last 28 years. All of my other puppies crate trained very quickly and easily and Maggie has given me a bit more of a run for my money (maybe because I am more like a grandmother, softy, with this one) Anyway. We have progressed and gotten away from the seperation anxiety and she goes quietly in her crate when it is time for a nap and she is quiet right away, knows I walk out of the room and leave. My issue is that she naps for just about an hour and wakes, I hear her start whining and wait for a quiet moment to go get her and take her out to potty. She sleeps in the bed with us at night and sleeps from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am without a potty. My question is should I after a week, start trying to extend her crate time at the end? I don't want to create an anxiety and for now it is ok that i have to get her out but eventually I will need her to spend a longer time in the crate...2 hours at least.
You need to ensure that you are not reinforcing her whining. At the moment she wakes and whines - and you go back to her. This is a powerful reinforcement for her whining. So she is going to continue doing this and potentially do it more. You, in turn, are worried that she is whining because she needs the toilet and are rushing back to her. If you are worried that she may need the toilet after a certain amount of time in the crate, it is best to set an alarm to remind you to go and get her out the crate and take her out to toilet BEFORE she has woken up and made noise. That way, you are not reinforcing whining. So if she naps for an hour and wakes - set an alarm for 45 minutes, go and wake her up and take her out. After that, you can put her back in the crate - safe and secure in the knowledge that she is now empty and any noise she makes, is not about needing the toilet and can be ignored. Once she is past the age where you think she might need the toilet, then you can safely let whining or noise happen and just ignore it - pups often need to try this out to realise that it doesn't work. But if you think the noise is due to separation anxiety or fear, then there has to be a different approach to leaving her alone. I would always separate out crate training and the puppy being left. I would always ensure the pup is totally comfortable relaxing in the crate in my presence (ie working on a computer in the same room) before starting to leave the pup. That way, if noise happens, I know it's about separation and not about being crated. If you do too much all at once you can't eliminate the variables and you just don't know what causes the noise.
Thank you. I think I was worried about the seperation but it is probably not that because she can be in the crate with me in the room making noise. I dont think she actually needs to potty at that one hour mark either so I think I will let her begin to whine for a longer time. a little at a time i guess. That is what I have had to do differently with this one. Thank you again for your thoughts
I’m pretty sure I purchased the Devil...I’ve had 4 labs. None have caused me more mental anguish than this little girl. The zoomies all day. The biting. She tore a hole in her Kong bed! She screams and barks in the crate almost the whole time she’s in it! She goes through chew toys in a matter of minutes. She’s getting plenty of play time and bathroom breaks. My others crate trained just fine. Not Miss Lili...I’m at my wits end...
It will pass. Have a browse around this site, there are loads of posts on the issues you mention and lots of good advice in them.
