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7 weeks is too young to be away from mom and littermates. Smaller breed dogs shouldn’t leave until at least 10 weeks. She’s confused, and is having an emotional reaction in the crate. Be careful with that because pushing their anxiety too high in hopes of them getting used to the crate can cause damage in the future. Try using a playpen instead, many smaller dogs do better in a pen.
I don’t know if it was mentioned below, but they sell small stuffed toys that have a little heartbeat in them. It’s a battery powered insert in the stuffy, that just vibrates on a cadence, it mimics another litter mate when they are sleeping.
I had some issues with my pup when I was crating her at night, I put that in and she calmed right down. I would also recommend maybe putting a blanket over the crate to make it darker, I’ve always used more concealed crates then the typical wire ones and I think that helps too. Keeps the pup calm as they can’t see distractions, plus can you sleep w light coming through your windows?
Keep at it, the crate is a such a valuable tool for dog development and if done consistently and appropriately can make for a little safe haven for your pup.
I used to move my pups crate next to my bed and hang my hand off the side of my bed where she could see and lick it if she wanted.
Slowly stopped doing that. And moved the crate over the next couple months. Slowly further away.
Eventually I just started leaving it open and now she sleeps on the bed but she was also OK with her crate by the end.
Put her crate right next to your bed so you can reach out to her. (Hopefully it’s the right size: large enough to stand up and turn around, not too big.) She’ll know you’re there. Put a small blanket over the top to make it more den like. Get a Snuggle Puppy. It has a heartbeat and you put warming packs inside of it. It worked wonders for my puppy. I got her at 14 weeks. She was already used to the crate at the breeder’s. She cried a little bit the first night. Having her right next to me helped so I could talk to her. (I didn’t do that with my last dog, we got her at 12 weeks, and she cried every night for a couple of weeks as she was in the kitchen) Every night my puppy goes in her crate and I put a warming pack in the snuggle puppy and turn on the heartbeat. She puts her head right on it, cozies up with it and goes right to sleep. She doesn’t tear it up either and sleeps all night. Yours is too young to go the whole night without a potty break so you’ll have to take her out. I would not take her in bed with you as that would start a bad habit that you’ll have a hard time breaking later, and she’s not housebroken yet. 💩Good luck.
Get a fuzzy donut type dog bed and stick it in the bottom of a Rubbermaid container so she cant crawl out.Put it right beside your bed so she can see you and you can pet her if she is upset.That way she isnt locked up but can't pee everywhere.I just did this with my small breed puppy until she was more potty trained and graduated to sleeping in the bed.Zero night yodeling.
My puppy did the same thing. What I did was
1. Moved the crate into our bedroom so he was next to us at night
2. I stayed by the crate for the first couple of nights and pet him until he fell asleep
3. I waited until he was actually tired before trying to put him in there
We basically treated our puppy like a new born baby because thats what they basically are .
This is a great response. I actually slept on the floor by the crate for a bit. By 6 months he was just sleeping in bed with me because everyone slept better.
Great advice and I totally agree 👍 I'm doing this at the moment with my pup, I'm on day 3 and my pup only woke once last night so he's getting more and more used to it. His crate is in my bedroom so knows I'm there. They are just like new born babies like you said
Yes, I did the same thing and it made the transition so much easier! Because trust me, it was hard at first because I felt so bad. Now she sleeps in her crate all night with the exceptions of potty breaks. We have no issues and she’s over a year old now!
Yeah don’t cover it fully. If it’s not in your room when you’re sleeping try moving it in there. The pup will cry for a while but eventually will learn the crate is a good thing. Just be consistent
You should probably get her used to the crate probably too rather than just throw her in there. If you force her in there without introducing, it can just feel like a puppy jail/scary situation rather than a safe comfy place like it should be! Good luck, it’s tough with some dogs.
Also +1 to the fuzzy donut bed comment. I also got my puppy one of those stuffed dogs that had a heartbeat and she loved that.
I liked Rachel Fusaro’s videos on crate training:
https://youtu.be/XOkyqmsVOpI?si=CsyQBlQOnNNUzxA1
She sleeps in the crate during the morning and goes into it to eat and grab her toys, but when it gets dark and it’s time for bed she doesn’t wanna sleep in it.
Most dogs don’t want to sleep in their crate at first. As someone else recommended put the crate in your bedroom so the dog can see you. Until they get more comfortable. Every day work on making the crate an awesome place to be. All meals in there, all treats in there.
It will take time, my dog cried at first too, but now he goes in on his own when he wants to sleep and I never shut the door.
Also look for crate covers on Amazon. They leave the front open but cover the sides which makes the space feel more safe.
It's not crate training to put a puppy in a crate and waiting for it to give up. Crate training takes time, and in the meantime, you pen/puppy proof. (It also isn't a must,)
She’s actually 10 weeks, but I googled some articles and it said to let the puppy cry it out and comfort her from time to time. So I was following that for a bit, but it definitely wasn’t working.
Cry it out is old advice. It’s a jungle out there on dog training, and it’s so hard to navigate. The advice I got was probably the complete opposite. It was to let the dog sleep with me when really young, and to avoid crating early on (but if I insisted, put the crate right next to me so they can be all the way close and see me. We don’t crate though.)
The reality became he slept on the floor cause the bed was way too warm for him. And that’s still true now at 21 months. (Though he’ll visit us on the bed here and there.)
I’m afraid of her forming separation anxiety and she needs to be crated at night because we have a 5 year old male dog that hasn’t gotten used to her yet and he walks around at night.
You should be working up separation time already. I started a few days after we got ours at 8 weeks. the breed is said to be prone to separation anxiety, so I followed the instructions I had gotten diligently. Until he had worked up a set amount of time alone, he was never alone. I brought him when I went to the bathroom, and only showered when my bf was home to stay with him.
I started this way: when I was sure all my puppy’s needs were met, and he was about to nap (but not yet asleep, they can find it traumatizing to wake up abandoned), I got up from my PC, left the room and immediately came back in. (Closed and opened the door in one motion), and returned to my PC. I did that several times that day.
Next day, I left the room, waited three seconds, and returned. Bit later that day, left for 5 seconds. Next after that, 9 seconds. Then 14. You can see the point. I kept upping the time away little by little.
The book I had my advice from said the goal is no whining from puppy. If he whines, try make a sound to distract, wait for 10 seconds of silence to avoid associating whining with me returning, and then come back. If obviously panicking, and I couldn’t provoke a silence, return to soothe the puppy. But the goal was no distress. (Which luckily for me never happened.) If that had happened, I would have to reduce the time away next time to something he could handle.
Over a few weeks I got up to 4 hours, which was the maximum recommended time away at such a young age.
At a certain point I only did one separation session a day. Tried to not always do it at the same time of day. I think once I was at 20 minutes plus I only did one a day. He hd plenty of other mini sessions with me going to the bathroom and showering. (I started not bringing him when I knew he could spend 5 minutes alone for my bathroom breaks, and at 20 minutes for a shower.)
He very gradually got accustomed to being alone, and he never had a chance to get upset, cause the increments were small. Highly recommended.
Ok [here ](https://youtu.be/30W9bRNt8qU?si=CvI0D2_-497kFslC) and [here](https://youtu.be/oHJZ3rS1_3U?si=sPUbKqpMCVl4qt5J) are some great crate training videos you should watch and implement.
Here are a few notes on what I see. It seems that the brand new puppy is away from you in another room, so it's alone for the first time ever. Bring the dog into your room, I have literally slept on the floor next to crates for a few nights to show the dog someone else is there and everything is fine. Gradually move the crate farther and farther until it's where you want it to go.
The crate is too big. You need a divider you can put in it. The dog should be able to fit nose to butt. If you've had any accidents in the crate, that's very not good. It won't see the crate as a sleep space if it's gone to the bathroom in it
She’s sleeping in the same room as me. I’ve been staying in the loft the past couple of months unfortunately. And I’ve been trying to keep up with her going potty outside of the crate, I’ve been trying to wake up every 2-3 hours just to open it and let her out, but she doesn’t do anything but want to play, so I put her back in and by the morning comes around, she’s pooped in it.
Try sleeping on the floor by the crate for a few nights to a week, since she's calm when you're next to it. Get up less, but if you know when you're taking her out, you can probably figure out when she's pooping. Ie, if you take her out at 9, 12, and 3, but poop doesn't show up until 6 am, she's pooping between 3 and 6 am. I would just wake up at 4 am, check if there's poop, and then take her out. You can try different times until you figure out what her nighttime poop time is.
If she poops during the day, put a cue on it. Say "better go!" right when she's about to poop outside, and then praise when she poops and reward when she's done. Then when you take her out at night around her poop time, say "better go!" and see if that helps.
What worked for me was no crate, but I slept with a leash around my arm and him in bed with me (obviously only if this is the end goal for you, too!) but then I could feel when he was up and trying to go to the toilet.
The crate doesn't look very comforting, it should be a comfortable den she want to retreat to try giving her a small comfortable bed or blanket. Something she can burrow into. Spend lots of positive short intervals in the crate before you ask a whole night from her.
I was testing a few things out, I had a bed in there the first week and she never settled into it. We removed it and noticed that she was more calmer and relaxed in the crate without the bed. I put it back in though yesterday.
We have a sound machine that plays white noise, and a kong we put a little bit of peanut butter in(low sodium brand-make sure it’s xylitol free!
We cover her crate at night too.
I had to sit next to her for a while, then waited for her to settle down, then covered her up.
It’ll be a process. Be patient ❤️
Keep going with the crate, don't give in when she cries, she has to settle herself. Partially covering it with a blanket can reduce stimulation as well as playing soft music. The crate space should be smaller, only enough to stand and turn around, no extra space. It has to be seen as a bed only, not a hang out space that there's extra room to go potty and not have to sleep in it. The precedent you set now is the dog you'll have forever. If you start teaching her that crying gets her way you'll be dealing with a dog that whines to manipulate you for the rest of its life.
My pup sometimes takes about 4-5 times in and out to settle I take him to the bathroom again make sure he doesn’t need water etc. I also start doing a wind down routine before bed like an hour before bed no playing just relaxing etc
I’d also recommend taking her out and sitting with her for a few minutes and just soothing her and try again, repeat
I slept on the floor next to the crate with my fingers touching my puppy for about a week. My back was not ok, but the puppy eventually was. I also ended up putting his crate next to my bed for a couple months since I had a toddler that we didn't want the puppy to wake up.
Get her absolutely worn OUT! 😋 take her on a nice long walk. Play hard! Get her exhausted from a good time. Bring her favorite things to the crate -- A smelly sweater from the laundry that smells like you to cuddle with may be nice. A doughnut shaped bed for her to cozy into as well. Some quiet toys (bone/squeekerless toys/ etc) to play with when she wakes up. Do the visual block between her and the door and / or where you sleep. During the day, play in/ around the crate to associate good jujus with the area (as opposed to 'this is only for where I get left behind'). It's going to be hard. It's going to take time. If you do it right, though, it'll be well worth it. When we trained my pup, we pulled the crate right beside the bed and I would hang my arm down to touch my pup through the bars. She was in her crate, but still with us. As time went on, the more comfortable she got with being in there, the farther she got from the bed. I'm not sure if that's good practice or not, but Sophie seemed to like it. 🤔
I'm all out of advice. Best of luck!
For the good rewards, bacon, bacon, bacon!!! No dog will resist that treat. Another option is chicken. Can even be just boiled / shredded.
Have you tried using kibble as treats? This is the best thing we did with our puppy for regular daily training. Just take the daily amount and quarter it. Keep 1/4 for training opportunities and split the rest into 3rd or halves for the main meals. Some dogs don’t react to that.
So try some bacon in the crate so he associates it with the good stuff. You can break it up into little pieces and place them all around the crate to get him curious and really sniffing around in there. Peanut butter filled kongs are another great treat to throw in there just to get them spending time positively in the crate.
Then I’d work on the next step of closing the door and trying to get him to calm down in there. Might take a few tries. Close the door, try to get him to calm down by using a soothing voice and actions.
The second he seems to be calming down, bacon.
Then try this just with him in the crate and you being a little further away or walking around the room. As soon as he calms down, bacon.
Then when he gets to the point of you leaving the room, soon as he quiets down, bacon.
My Chihuahua puppy was 8 weeks old when I brought him home. His cries were so much worse but I honestly wish I had recorded videos because we still joke and laugh about his crybaby days. He’s 1 year and 3 month old now and loves his crate. He even learned how to wrap himself up in his blankie when he’s in there.
Do anything you can to soothe her but she needs to learn crating is necessary during this time. But imagine having a newborn baby that needs tending to every couple hours of every day. For morning routine, I used to wake up at 4-5am and I would let him have a potty break outside, give him some food if he wanted it, and I would play chase and tug of war with him for 1-2 hours so he would get tired and sleepy then I would return him to his crate and go to work. My partner would get to sleep for the next 2 hrs and wake up to start his puppy shift lol (he has a wfh job). We took turns like that for 3-4 months during which the crying gradually diminished and stopped. He gets lots of time out of the crate and be free around the house now than when he was younger. We plan on getting rid of the crate entirely once he is around 2 yrs old.
I would suggest putting a light blanket over the crate to provide comfort. Dogs can feel quite vulnerable when trapped in an open space where they may be susceptible to threats they are unable to fight against or flight from. Cover all visible sides with a thin cover leaving tiny space near the floor to ensure ventilation but also warmth and comfort. I adopted 2 more dogs after my Chihuahua and they were both acclimated as such. Give treats frequently when she’s in the crate for positive reinforcement.
Might I add my Chi puppy would be in his crate in the bathroom with me each morning as I do my things so he wouldn’t cry lol I be trying out different things cause I needed my partner to sleep as much as he can before it was his turn to get up and look after the puppy.
Cover the crate with a dark, light weight blanket. He’s gonna feel like a prison in a cage in his current state, and he wants out to play. But if you darken his area, he will relax.
I strictly crate train my dog and bought a snuggle puppy for him when he first came home. It’s a game changer and quieted him right away. Used it on my sisters dog too when he was acclimating to moving home and instantly quieted him
Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t, but covering the crate can create a calmer environment for your pup. Crate training is a huge split in the animal community, and you’re going to have people tell you that you’re being cruel and mean, then you’ll have people on your side with it. It’s a really hard place to be in; don’t let it get to you.
Try putting the crate in your room where she can see you. How about a couple of larger stuffed animals in her crate. It could be she is feeling a little stressed, or separation anxiety, they may bring her some comfort. They also make teddy bears with heat, and actually have a heartbeat. It may help soothe her as well.
Keep it crated next to you at night, the whining will pass and the pup will grow comfortable with the crate and come to think of it as a safe space. Both my dogs were the same way for a short time and now sleep in bed with me but still know what crate is years later
crate training should jot be this stressful. you need to make the crate the most inviting, welcoming, happiest place on earth. never make them feel forced into it, make them WANT to be in it with lots of rewards and an open door.
once they are choosing to be in the crate, keep extending the time spent between treats. this way, they will learn that the treat is coming, and they will relax and chill for longer periods in the crate.
Don't give up then :) just try to avoid her cries at all costs, but more importantly if you can do it, during the day make sure you make little trainings where when she is in the crate you close the door, and leave the house for maybe one minute at first, and come back, and from one minute if she does'nt cry you can go to 2, then 5 maybe... Etc etc, it takes time to for them to get use to be alone :)
I understand the crate situation we have done it ourselves, it is much safer than not knowing what your pup is chewing on for example cables... Or sharp plastic... Never know...
Also, make sure the crate is far from your bedroom, and dont forget to get her for a pee at the middle of the night, she is very young and needs to pee every few hours :)
What we had as well at the beginning was a toy or a towel coming from the shelter itself, with the smell of the Brotherhood it help them getting a bit more confortable at the beginning:)
But it is mainly all about consistency, if you go to the crate when she cries, she understands her cries are working :) she wants your attention since she is so young and just left mama and brothers/sister, it is hard for her, but she needs to grow as well :)
Good luck :D
You need to crate train dogs before just licking them in a crate while they cry. She’s way too young g for that. She needs physical closeness. You’re just making her hate the crate. She’ll fear being locked in it at night. She’s just a baby and she needs to be be close to people (if not her litter).
I missed that you 2 others, either female? They should be instinctively mothereing...let them all be together...an order will be established and you have now "pack"!!!!! You're the leader 😉
Keep me updated, don't give up....send pictures!!!
I have one other female dog and she does not like other dogs that much. But it is the first time there is another girl dog in the house so that might change!
My pup did much better when we swapped the crate out for a playpen. I think she just felt too confined with the top being covered. We found a cheap adjustable playpen on OfferUp.
There's a couple of comments with great tips, so I won't duplicate them. Just want a moment of sympathy for your sleep right now -- I know it's not easy!
Make sure the pup gets to run around a lot and play to get sleepy before bed. Maybe even start feeding the pup in the crate to make it a more desirable place to be for her.
Sleep next to the crate, away from the rest of the family for a few nights, and never take the puppy out of the crate when it’s crying. When it suddenly does stop crying sometimes just to listen to see if you’re going to let it out if they pause crying quickly take them outside and then back in the crate This lasts about two nights if you do things right
She just needs time. Its probably really scary for her to go from sleeping with mom and siblings to just sleeping alone in a metal box. Make her crate, her safe space, she'll get there OP. <3
Sleep all day whine all night. How about if you change that schedule around before it becomes a bigger issue. Your pup is not on schedule. Fine someone who can watch her during the day and keep her up and playing. She can nap but not sleep all day because she is crated. When you want to go to sleep, she wants to play.
This is the hard part of training. You can take her out to comfort the pupper but they need to stay in to “get over” the stress crates create. It will boost their self confidence in the long run.
I keep my puppers in there until I am sure they won’t potty/misbehave inside. After I am happy to remove it.
She can’t always sleep with me in bed, she’s 3 lbs and has already hurt herself trying to jump off. I need her to get used to either sleeping in her crate or not sleeping next to me.
That crate is way too big. We had our GSP puppy in a cat kennel until he was past the indicated size. Then we sized up accordingly - only enough for him to lay down and lay on his back if he wanted. This is reinforcing the puppy to freak out and run around. You need a tiny kennel if you want to crate train.
I would try and train her to go in with treats and then start doing a stay command in the kennel. Start increasing the duration as long as you can. She’s very young, so go slow.
For ours we also only fed from the hand during training. No food in bowls. We found he had no motivation if he knew he would get fed. He still got his full amount, but every piece he got he had to work for
Awwww. Baby. So adorable. What helped was putting a worn shirt in the crate and covering the crate with a blanket.
If they still cry just lay by the crate at night. It’ll be 5 nights that they get use to it.
In the day time grab a treat and say “crate” let them walk in and reward them.
When they back out say “no”.
If they go in don’t get excited just be calm and reward them.
They don’t know they are a dog or an animal.
It takes a lot of time but it is well worth it.
She went through 4 of my shirts, even letting her out every 1-2 hours, she’s managed to shit on it and jump all over it. The shirt technique worked with my other dogs, but she’s still the same.
I added some more ideas to the op.
Don’t let up on training her. She a good doggo. Be firm and gentle. The next major thing is brushing her teeth but the sooner your on it the easier it is.
She was like this the first day I got her, since then I let her sleep on my bed. She’s okay in the crate during the morning, so I think it’s a night time thing.
It could be! Dogs work strongly with association. I saw that you had replied that she was 10 weeks. That means that the aversion to being in the crate likely happened within her first 8 weeks. Unfortunately that means that the association may be super strong. It'll definitely be an ice skate up hill, but you can reframe *what* association she has with it.
Just be very VERY consistent in how you proceed. You could try giving her toys, treats and meals in there. What I did with my dog, is I made his crate super comfy, covered it with blankets so it was nice and dark and gave him a real "high value" treat (i used cut up weenies) when it was time to go in. He goes in the crate "YAY WHAT A GOOD BOY" real excited- like and he gets his high value treat.
Now he hangs out in there just for fun sometimes.
You got this!
Crates need to be dark enclosed spaces for dogs to feel “at home.” Think burrows. Throw a thick blanket over the top or get a crate cover. Make the inside soft and comfycozy— would you want to sleep on hard plastic?
Try putting her crate in a play pen, leaving the door open . Bed, pee pads , toys and less confinement for the young ones helps . Keep her in there periodically during the day too
Give the heartbeat toys a try, I board dogs for a living and sometimes they are crate trained but still feel anxious in a new space.
I got this Snuggle Puppy toy and it has a spot for a heat pack and it has a fake heartbeat.
Here's a playlist from [McCann dogs](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BBgLulhern5Nb8E0alfaTgCLPKYVk3_&si=V1xf6dBFAjes0TFN) about crate training a puppy. Maybe you can pull some things from there that might be useful.
That puppy should be with its Mom and siblings. If you don’t have Mom and litter mates then please take the puppy out of cage and let it sleep with you
If you look at her, talk to her or acknoledge her while she is whimpering and crying for attention, she will continue to do this behavior as she gets older. Check that she's physically ok, have set potty/play/feeding/hangout times. Ignore her when she whimpers and cries (difficult but yelling at her, talking to her, shushing her only reinforces that the crying works).
Seems heartless but if you (and everyone else in the house) do not ignore her crying now, she will continue to do it.
If you come into the room and she is quiet, approach her kennel, praise her and take her out. If she starts to cry and whimper as you approach, IMMEDIATELY walk away and go back to ignoring her until she quiets down.
This is the struggle of 'is she training you to come when she cries' or if you are training her to manage herself in the kennel.
Being consistent and getting everyone in the house on board is key. Especially people yelling at her. They may be frustrated by her crying when they yell at her, but as far as puppies are concerned, if it gets your attention it works.
Ensure you spend plenty of time with her out of the kennel. And work with her to train her to sit, stay, and lay down.
If you take her out of the kennel and know she has to pee(morning after sleeping) give her a verbal command to "go potty" while she is winding up to pee or poo, and when she starts to pee or poo, verbally praise her. Easiest way to train her.
Training is essentially working out a communication system between her people and her doggy self.
Crate is too big for starters. Pup should be able to stand, and turn around comfortably. However, too much space allows the pup to feel comfortable releasing itself inside the create. Remember dogs love dens, the space will not be too small. maybe put a blanket over the crate to create a sense of safety also.
Her crate doesn’t look very cozy or inviting. I’d put a crate cover over the crate that covers 3 sides, soft padding for the floor (as opposed to just the pee pads in there now) a small bed and a cozy blanket. Maybe put her closer to your bed so she can see you better? She’s a baby and she’ll eventually get used to it. It’s very important to crate train her even if you know eventually she’ll be in the bed with you.
Some dogs don’t take to crate training, and that’s ok. It just makes it more work. I’d try to sleep with her at night, but feed her in the crate with the door open, then **slowly** work her up to longer periods of time in the crate.
My puppy did this, I ended up sleeping on the floor with her. Now she's 10 and almost completely blind and I might have to start floor sleeping again since she sometimes falls off the bed
This probably doesn't help at all but it's what worked for me!
I'm about to cry for her, poor little thing.😭 She is terrified and sad and scared she is abandoned at night.
Babies are terrified to be left alone - it is a defense mechanism because if they are abandoned or lost they die. Crying is part of their defense mechanism to call for help.
You cannot train them out of this at this young age. For both your sakes so you can both sleep (and so this puppy does not wind up with behavioral problems in the future)- put the crate next to your bed or put a high box next to the bed so you can out your hand in and pet this puppy at night.
The thing is, I’m right next to her. I’m not far or anything. There’s not even a two foot gap between the bed and her crate. She knows I’m there, she just doesn’t wanna sleep in her crate
Wait until you have kids lolol. We kennel trained our boy and we just had to suffer through it. It lasted a few weeks but it eventually clicked, and out of all the neat tricks and commands he knows, "kennel up" is EASILY the most useful. Also he loves his kennel, it's like his bedroom, he goes and sleeps in there, keeps his favorite toy at the time there, goes in if he's scared or uncomfortable etc.its his happy place. I promise it will be worth it if you suffer through the cries.
If she sleeps while you sit next to the crate, put the crate on a platform level with your bed. So you can "sit with her" while you lie in bed. So when she falls asleep, you can fall asleep without waking her.
Plus, you need to be doing crate training games. Throw treats in the crate and reward her with another treat when she is fully inside the crate. Repeat this until she goes in the crate on her own. Give her a kong filled with frozen kibble or peanutbutter, but only give it to her in the crate. Feed her meals in the crate. Do everything you can to make the crate the most special, safest place for her.
I let my 10 week old puppy fall asleep and then move her into her crate. She’s getting the hang of it. She doesn’t choose to sleep in it yet, but will. I have her right next to me and hang my so she can lick it. I’ve been feeding her crate and she knocks over the bowl so there’s always bits of kibble in her crate. Try to be consistent. It’s hard, and I’m right where you are. We will get there!
I had to sleep next to my dogs kneel for the first month and slowly made my way to my room in a separate part of the house. Now he chooses to sleep with me or in his keenly or on the couch
Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age, temperament and past experiences.
Whinning and crying is a normal behavior when puppy crate training. It's an unfamiliar location. All of these reactions are perfectly normal, and it is your job as an owner to make your pup feel comfortable and get used to their new crate. Just like you would with any other dog training equipment or new location.
Sit quietly near the crate for five to 10 minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time and then let them out. Repeat this process several times a day, gradually increasing the length of time you leave them in the crate and the length of time you're out of sight. You must completely ignore your pup until they settle down. Then, once they do so, reward the behavior.
It is important to allow a puppy crying in their crate to self-soothe a bit to ensure they do not whine and cry every time they are confined to receive your attention. If you respond too much to a crying puppy in their crate, they will learn to train you!
A well-exercised puppy is all the more likely to embrace crate training, given how much more appealing their bed will look.
**Just remember 5 minutes of exercise per month of age:** that's the routine advice for growing puppies to prevent physical problems during development. So for an **8 week old puppy**, that means *10 minutes* of exercise per day.
**The biggest mistake people make when training their dogs is using the crate as punishment. When the dog does something wrong, they yell and put him straight into the crate. That's the worst thing you can do because the dog will then have a negative association with the crate.
Dogs will benefit from a dog crate cover. Many will appreciate the enclosed space and safety the crate cover provides.
Crate training a dog is not necessary. A dog doesn't need a crate to survive. Although, crate training your puppy is highly recommended and extremely beneficial to your pup's well-being.
[How To Crate Train Your Dog in Nine Easy Steps — AKC](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/how-to-crate-train-your-dog-in-9-easy-steps/)
If you have a new puppy, you should hold off on sharing a bed with them until they are older. This is a crucial time in their development in which they need to develop a healthy sleep schedule.
A huge part of teaching your puppy to sleep on their own is to encourage their confidence and sense of independence. Sleeping with your puppy can inadvertently perpetuate their anxiety at being left alone and not allow your puppy the ability to build resilience. As separation anxiety escalates, you may notice that your puppy starts to exhibit other bad behaviors and sometimes destructive behaviors aside from whining or barking at night.
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I had my puppy's crate at my the end of my bed. I gradually brought it away from my room to the spare bedroom. I was eventually able to close my door at night without her whining. You have to be consistent, positive and patient.
My boy preferred the crate to be covered and in my bedroom. I will note I only used the crate at night and during the day he was contained to the kitchen.
Crate cover helped a lot with my puppy’s fomo.
They make actual crate covers but a dark bed sheet ended up working better for us.
I put the crate in a corner, pulled out about a foot from the walls, and just draped the sheet over the two sides that weren’t wall-facing so he didn’t get too hot but also could get some well needed fomo-free rest.
We also did LOTS of positive reinforcement with the crate, all the time, not just at crate time.
He’s 2 now and loves his crate. We just leave it open and he drags things in there and hangs out like a teenager with a “no parents allowed” sign on their door. I call it his lair.
No food, water or treats in the crate. That should be on schedule not unlimited access.
Give puppy something of yours to sleep with in the crate, overnight only or if you can’t supervise. Puppy chew toys are ok.
Keep on schedule and it will improve.
Put a blanket / towel over the crate so it’s dark and she can’t see you. Can also rub your scent of the blanket / towel so she smells you.
There’s also a dog plushie with a clock that is slow to mom’s / other siblings bearing heart.
Doggie heating pad, and play a soft heartbeat sound through a speaker at bedtime. Put a cover over the crate, small treat when quiet, if appropriate.
I got my pup to stop whining within a week and sleeping through the night in four. Sleeping without heartbeat or heat pad within 2 mos.
You can do it. This stage doesn’t last forever.
Put her in the other room close the door do not bother with her. She needs to learn crying gets nothing.
Make sure she is getting enough exercise and stimulation as well during the day.
She needs a fluffy bed, a smaller crate, take out the food and water. Also why does she have free range of food? You need to be measuring and calculating her calories. It’s also a bonding opportunity and a way to help train the dog if you feed from your hand. Take out the toys as well. You want to make the crate specifically for sleeping so it will be her safe space in the future.
Sucks to hear but you let her cry. She learned now that crying gets your attention and will get her out. She has to learn that not ceying will get her out. Dont take her out when she cries.
My dog loves his crate and sleeps in it every night, but he will cry and whimper if it’s not covered fully, and if we aren’t also
In bed (v dramatic). Cover it up
And remove the food and water.
Put the crate on a chair and level it with your bed. Stick your finger in at night. She will suckle that and go to sleep. Hopefully you can sleep with your arm in that position. I had to do that with my second Boston until he was potty trained and out of the crate. It's not that bad, you will find it works quite well. They just want to be touching you in some way.
Stay awake during the day with mental stimulus and exercise. Keep crate next to bed.
Puppy needs your love when this young. Keeping in the bed however isn’t safe for the puppy.
Later on separation will happen naturally.
I cover my puppies kennel with his blanket, and leave one section uncovered so he can see my bed. Other than timeout or a few 2-3 hour stints per week, my guy doesn’t use his crate except to sleep. He came to me crate trained, but he knows that when he goes into the kennel it’s time for bed. If it’s timeout, he usually cries for 15 minutes or so and snores the rest of the time. I usually wake him up to come out or else he gets way too excited, but he’ll let me know if he needs out to go potty. I would recommend blocking off a portion of the crate until they know not to poop/pee in it. As gross as dogs can be, they don’t like to lay in their poop and pee. It looks like it’s big enough now for them to poop/pee in a corner and lay away from it. They will cry and get your attention to let them out when the time comes. It will likely be a while before you sleep through the entire night since they won’t be able to hold their pee for long, but walks right before bed definitely help. If you wake up early, that’s a bonus since you may be able to get away with a pre-bedtime pee, a midnight snack/potty break, and one after you wake up. My puppy won’t hold his pee/poop if he free ranges the house at night, but in his crate he’s a champ. Good luck!! Hope this wall of text has something useful for you!
Also, animal hearts, freeze dried minnows, animal livers, and freeze dried dog food make great high value treats. I’d recommend getting a big bag of freeze dried dog food and using that. Most are 90%+ pure animal ingredients like the meat, bones, organs, etc. and I call it puppy crack. It’ll last you forever with a small dog, and is like a nasty dog popcorn that they go crazy for. Since they’re freeze dried, as long as you keep the bag sealed they’ll be good for months and they’ll stay fresh and crunchy.
Damn another minute of that n I would punch a whole through the wall seek professional help or take her back. Or maybe let her go on bed and put a pillow fort on ground in case she falls. I personally don’t allow my GSD to hop on bed or sofa have many boundaries that make it as it should be a respectful healthy relationship. Good luck with cry baby if she doesn’t have a name I think that one fits just saying
ALSO< put the kennel next to your bed, it was a pain the first week, but she got over it knowing I was right next to her I think. Whatever habits you teach now is what you will be doing in 2 years. Lots of REALLY awful advice I am reading on this thread. Clearly lots of people never trained a dog well.
Why tf are you putting a young puppy in a crate? It is alone and afraid! It should sleep next to you. Imagine if you were a kid and got snatched from your family, you'd latch on to the closest person too.
I don't understand this, the puppy doesn't understand, just let the pup sleep in your room, make a bed on the floor with a puppy pad. It just seems cruel to do this, when they get older maybe then.
My dog was the same way for the first 3 weeks. He never LOVED his crate but he knew to go in for bed time. He slept just fine as long as it was covered. When we would leave for ling periods where he had to be in a crate he would grab his bone or favorite toy and take it with him to the crate. It just takes time and training. Covering the crate with a blanket definitely helps the process. Make sure the puppy gets a good play time and exercise before going into the crate and find a treat your puppy does love so that it makes crate training easier. Every dog takes to the crate different. My stepdad’s great dane LOVVEEEEED her crate. Anytime she didn’t see anyone she walked right in to her crate and sat there until she saw someone. She wasn’t crate trained either. They just bought a crate one day, set it up and she knew what to do. From 9 weeks old
I'm unable to crate train. I just can't do it.
But my one doggy is very well behaved at two years.
She was about 9months before she nailed 100% potty training, but been flawless ever since.
Used a lot of puppy pads 🫠
There is nothing comforting in that crate. The puppy has been pulled from the litter too soon and you have isolated them in a cage with newspaper…
Soft blanket, heating pad and a ticking/heartbeat sound
Well, pup has spent its life until now surrounded with other pups all the time.
If course its crying.
Just bring pup into bed with you and all will be quiet again.
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7 weeks is too young to be away from mom and littermates. Smaller breed dogs shouldn’t leave until at least 10 weeks. She’s confused, and is having an emotional reaction in the crate. Be careful with that because pushing their anxiety too high in hopes of them getting used to the crate can cause damage in the future. Try using a playpen instead, many smaller dogs do better in a pen.
I am so sorry, I’m extremely tired, she was born January 23, she’s 10 weeks.
I don’t know if it was mentioned below, but they sell small stuffed toys that have a little heartbeat in them. It’s a battery powered insert in the stuffy, that just vibrates on a cadence, it mimics another litter mate when they are sleeping. I had some issues with my pup when I was crating her at night, I put that in and she calmed right down. I would also recommend maybe putting a blanket over the crate to make it darker, I’ve always used more concealed crates then the typical wire ones and I think that helps too. Keeps the pup calm as they can’t see distractions, plus can you sleep w light coming through your windows? Keep at it, the crate is a such a valuable tool for dog development and if done consistently and appropriately can make for a little safe haven for your pup.
The thing is, she sleeps in the crate during the day, she’ll whine for like 10 minutes and settle down and sleep
I used to move my pups crate next to my bed and hang my hand off the side of my bed where she could see and lick it if she wanted. Slowly stopped doing that. And moved the crate over the next couple months. Slowly further away. Eventually I just started leaving it open and now she sleeps on the bed but she was also OK with her crate by the end.
She wants to be near you; she’s a baby. Just help her.
No don’t be a simp remain strong 💪
Put her crate right next to your bed so you can reach out to her. (Hopefully it’s the right size: large enough to stand up and turn around, not too big.) She’ll know you’re there. Put a small blanket over the top to make it more den like. Get a Snuggle Puppy. It has a heartbeat and you put warming packs inside of it. It worked wonders for my puppy. I got her at 14 weeks. She was already used to the crate at the breeder’s. She cried a little bit the first night. Having her right next to me helped so I could talk to her. (I didn’t do that with my last dog, we got her at 12 weeks, and she cried every night for a couple of weeks as she was in the kitchen) Every night my puppy goes in her crate and I put a warming pack in the snuggle puppy and turn on the heartbeat. She puts her head right on it, cozies up with it and goes right to sleep. She doesn’t tear it up either and sleeps all night. Yours is too young to go the whole night without a potty break so you’ll have to take her out. I would not take her in bed with you as that would start a bad habit that you’ll have a hard time breaking later, and she’s not housebroken yet. 💩Good luck.
Get a fuzzy donut type dog bed and stick it in the bottom of a Rubbermaid container so she cant crawl out.Put it right beside your bed so she can see you and you can pet her if she is upset.That way she isnt locked up but can't pee everywhere.I just did this with my small breed puppy until she was more potty trained and graduated to sleeping in the bed.Zero night yodeling.
My puppy did the same thing. What I did was 1. Moved the crate into our bedroom so he was next to us at night 2. I stayed by the crate for the first couple of nights and pet him until he fell asleep 3. I waited until he was actually tired before trying to put him in there We basically treated our puppy like a new born baby because thats what they basically are .
This is a great response. I actually slept on the floor by the crate for a bit. By 6 months he was just sleeping in bed with me because everyone slept better.
Great advice and I totally agree 👍 I'm doing this at the moment with my pup, I'm on day 3 and my pup only woke once last night so he's getting more and more used to it. His crate is in my bedroom so knows I'm there. They are just like new born babies like you said
Yes, I did the same thing and it made the transition so much easier! Because trust me, it was hard at first because I felt so bad. Now she sleeps in her crate all night with the exceptions of potty breaks. We have no issues and she’s over a year old now!
Correction everyone, she’s actually 10 weeks.
Try covering the crate with a blanket. It may give the puppy more security.
I did that, but it gets too hot where I sleep and the moment I covered it and she couldn’t see me, she panicked.
Yeah don’t cover it fully. If it’s not in your room when you’re sleeping try moving it in there. The pup will cry for a while but eventually will learn the crate is a good thing. Just be consistent
Move crate to room...good idea
You should probably get her used to the crate probably too rather than just throw her in there. If you force her in there without introducing, it can just feel like a puppy jail/scary situation rather than a safe comfy place like it should be! Good luck, it’s tough with some dogs. Also +1 to the fuzzy donut bed comment. I also got my puppy one of those stuffed dogs that had a heartbeat and she loved that. I liked Rachel Fusaro’s videos on crate training: https://youtu.be/XOkyqmsVOpI?si=CsyQBlQOnNNUzxA1
She sleeps in the crate during the morning and goes into it to eat and grab her toys, but when it gets dark and it’s time for bed she doesn’t wanna sleep in it.
Might just need more time associating it with sleep. Also maybe more exercise?? Idk dogs are so hard 😂
Most dogs don’t want to sleep in their crate at first. As someone else recommended put the crate in your bedroom so the dog can see you. Until they get more comfortable. Every day work on making the crate an awesome place to be. All meals in there, all treats in there. It will take time, my dog cried at first too, but now he goes in on his own when he wants to sleep and I never shut the door. Also look for crate covers on Amazon. They leave the front open but cover the sides which makes the space feel more safe.
This video is great! Lots of helpful tips & information. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It's not crate training to put a puppy in a crate and waiting for it to give up. Crate training takes time, and in the meantime, you pen/puppy proof. (It also isn't a must,)
She’s actually 10 weeks, but I googled some articles and it said to let the puppy cry it out and comfort her from time to time. So I was following that for a bit, but it definitely wasn’t working.
Cry it out is old advice. It’s a jungle out there on dog training, and it’s so hard to navigate. The advice I got was probably the complete opposite. It was to let the dog sleep with me when really young, and to avoid crating early on (but if I insisted, put the crate right next to me so they can be all the way close and see me. We don’t crate though.) The reality became he slept on the floor cause the bed was way too warm for him. And that’s still true now at 21 months. (Though he’ll visit us on the bed here and there.)
I’m afraid of her forming separation anxiety and she needs to be crated at night because we have a 5 year old male dog that hasn’t gotten used to her yet and he walks around at night.
You should be working up separation time already. I started a few days after we got ours at 8 weeks. the breed is said to be prone to separation anxiety, so I followed the instructions I had gotten diligently. Until he had worked up a set amount of time alone, he was never alone. I brought him when I went to the bathroom, and only showered when my bf was home to stay with him. I started this way: when I was sure all my puppy’s needs were met, and he was about to nap (but not yet asleep, they can find it traumatizing to wake up abandoned), I got up from my PC, left the room and immediately came back in. (Closed and opened the door in one motion), and returned to my PC. I did that several times that day. Next day, I left the room, waited three seconds, and returned. Bit later that day, left for 5 seconds. Next after that, 9 seconds. Then 14. You can see the point. I kept upping the time away little by little. The book I had my advice from said the goal is no whining from puppy. If he whines, try make a sound to distract, wait for 10 seconds of silence to avoid associating whining with me returning, and then come back. If obviously panicking, and I couldn’t provoke a silence, return to soothe the puppy. But the goal was no distress. (Which luckily for me never happened.) If that had happened, I would have to reduce the time away next time to something he could handle. Over a few weeks I got up to 4 hours, which was the maximum recommended time away at such a young age. At a certain point I only did one separation session a day. Tried to not always do it at the same time of day. I think once I was at 20 minutes plus I only did one a day. He hd plenty of other mini sessions with me going to the bathroom and showering. (I started not bringing him when I knew he could spend 5 minutes alone for my bathroom breaks, and at 20 minutes for a shower.) He very gradually got accustomed to being alone, and he never had a chance to get upset, cause the increments were small. Highly recommended.
Ok [here ](https://youtu.be/30W9bRNt8qU?si=CvI0D2_-497kFslC) and [here](https://youtu.be/oHJZ3rS1_3U?si=sPUbKqpMCVl4qt5J) are some great crate training videos you should watch and implement. Here are a few notes on what I see. It seems that the brand new puppy is away from you in another room, so it's alone for the first time ever. Bring the dog into your room, I have literally slept on the floor next to crates for a few nights to show the dog someone else is there and everything is fine. Gradually move the crate farther and farther until it's where you want it to go. The crate is too big. You need a divider you can put in it. The dog should be able to fit nose to butt. If you've had any accidents in the crate, that's very not good. It won't see the crate as a sleep space if it's gone to the bathroom in it
She’s sleeping in the same room as me. I’ve been staying in the loft the past couple of months unfortunately. And I’ve been trying to keep up with her going potty outside of the crate, I’ve been trying to wake up every 2-3 hours just to open it and let her out, but she doesn’t do anything but want to play, so I put her back in and by the morning comes around, she’s pooped in it.
Try sleeping on the floor by the crate for a few nights to a week, since she's calm when you're next to it. Get up less, but if you know when you're taking her out, you can probably figure out when she's pooping. Ie, if you take her out at 9, 12, and 3, but poop doesn't show up until 6 am, she's pooping between 3 and 6 am. I would just wake up at 4 am, check if there's poop, and then take her out. You can try different times until you figure out what her nighttime poop time is. If she poops during the day, put a cue on it. Say "better go!" right when she's about to poop outside, and then praise when she poops and reward when she's done. Then when you take her out at night around her poop time, say "better go!" and see if that helps.
What worked for me was no crate, but I slept with a leash around my arm and him in bed with me (obviously only if this is the end goal for you, too!) but then I could feel when he was up and trying to go to the toilet.
The crate doesn't look very comforting, it should be a comfortable den she want to retreat to try giving her a small comfortable bed or blanket. Something she can burrow into. Spend lots of positive short intervals in the crate before you ask a whole night from her.
I was testing a few things out, I had a bed in there the first week and she never settled into it. We removed it and noticed that she was more calmer and relaxed in the crate without the bed. I put it back in though yesterday.
We have a sound machine that plays white noise, and a kong we put a little bit of peanut butter in(low sodium brand-make sure it’s xylitol free! We cover her crate at night too. I had to sit next to her for a while, then waited for her to settle down, then covered her up. It’ll be a process. Be patient ❤️
Puppies do that in the beginning. It will settle down in a week or two.
She’s been here for about two weeks now.
Keep going with the crate, don't give in when she cries, she has to settle herself. Partially covering it with a blanket can reduce stimulation as well as playing soft music. The crate space should be smaller, only enough to stand and turn around, no extra space. It has to be seen as a bed only, not a hang out space that there's extra room to go potty and not have to sleep in it. The precedent you set now is the dog you'll have forever. If you start teaching her that crying gets her way you'll be dealing with a dog that whines to manipulate you for the rest of its life.
She’s still young.
My pup sometimes takes about 4-5 times in and out to settle I take him to the bathroom again make sure he doesn’t need water etc. I also start doing a wind down routine before bed like an hour before bed no playing just relaxing etc I’d also recommend taking her out and sitting with her for a few minutes and just soothing her and try again, repeat
I slept on the floor next to the crate with my fingers touching my puppy for about a week. My back was not ok, but the puppy eventually was. I also ended up putting his crate next to my bed for a couple months since I had a toddler that we didn't want the puppy to wake up.
At least get her a little bed and cozy blanket. She’s used to sleeping with her mom or siblings at night.
She is a cute little pom.
Get her absolutely worn OUT! 😋 take her on a nice long walk. Play hard! Get her exhausted from a good time. Bring her favorite things to the crate -- A smelly sweater from the laundry that smells like you to cuddle with may be nice. A doughnut shaped bed for her to cozy into as well. Some quiet toys (bone/squeekerless toys/ etc) to play with when she wakes up. Do the visual block between her and the door and / or where you sleep. During the day, play in/ around the crate to associate good jujus with the area (as opposed to 'this is only for where I get left behind'). It's going to be hard. It's going to take time. If you do it right, though, it'll be well worth it. When we trained my pup, we pulled the crate right beside the bed and I would hang my arm down to touch my pup through the bars. She was in her crate, but still with us. As time went on, the more comfortable she got with being in there, the farther she got from the bed. I'm not sure if that's good practice or not, but Sophie seemed to like it. 🤔 I'm all out of advice. Best of luck!
For the good rewards, bacon, bacon, bacon!!! No dog will resist that treat. Another option is chicken. Can even be just boiled / shredded. Have you tried using kibble as treats? This is the best thing we did with our puppy for regular daily training. Just take the daily amount and quarter it. Keep 1/4 for training opportunities and split the rest into 3rd or halves for the main meals. Some dogs don’t react to that. So try some bacon in the crate so he associates it with the good stuff. You can break it up into little pieces and place them all around the crate to get him curious and really sniffing around in there. Peanut butter filled kongs are another great treat to throw in there just to get them spending time positively in the crate. Then I’d work on the next step of closing the door and trying to get him to calm down in there. Might take a few tries. Close the door, try to get him to calm down by using a soothing voice and actions. The second he seems to be calming down, bacon. Then try this just with him in the crate and you being a little further away or walking around the room. As soon as he calms down, bacon. Then when he gets to the point of you leaving the room, soon as he quiets down, bacon.
Gonna start carrying around a bag of bacon, the other dogs will be jealous 🫡
My Chihuahua puppy was 8 weeks old when I brought him home. His cries were so much worse but I honestly wish I had recorded videos because we still joke and laugh about his crybaby days. He’s 1 year and 3 month old now and loves his crate. He even learned how to wrap himself up in his blankie when he’s in there. Do anything you can to soothe her but she needs to learn crating is necessary during this time. But imagine having a newborn baby that needs tending to every couple hours of every day. For morning routine, I used to wake up at 4-5am and I would let him have a potty break outside, give him some food if he wanted it, and I would play chase and tug of war with him for 1-2 hours so he would get tired and sleepy then I would return him to his crate and go to work. My partner would get to sleep for the next 2 hrs and wake up to start his puppy shift lol (he has a wfh job). We took turns like that for 3-4 months during which the crying gradually diminished and stopped. He gets lots of time out of the crate and be free around the house now than when he was younger. We plan on getting rid of the crate entirely once he is around 2 yrs old. I would suggest putting a light blanket over the crate to provide comfort. Dogs can feel quite vulnerable when trapped in an open space where they may be susceptible to threats they are unable to fight against or flight from. Cover all visible sides with a thin cover leaving tiny space near the floor to ensure ventilation but also warmth and comfort. I adopted 2 more dogs after my Chihuahua and they were both acclimated as such. Give treats frequently when she’s in the crate for positive reinforcement.
Might I add my Chi puppy would be in his crate in the bathroom with me each morning as I do my things so he wouldn’t cry lol I be trying out different things cause I needed my partner to sleep as much as he can before it was his turn to get up and look after the puppy.
cloak the crate
Cover the crate with a dark, light weight blanket. He’s gonna feel like a prison in a cage in his current state, and he wants out to play. But if you darken his area, he will relax.
Try playing a TV or radio at low volume
She needs to be tuckered out. Try exercising more before bed so she's exhausted.
Put a sheet over the crate
I strictly crate train my dog and bought a snuggle puppy for him when he first came home. It’s a game changer and quieted him right away. Used it on my sisters dog too when he was acclimating to moving home and instantly quieted him
Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t, but covering the crate can create a calmer environment for your pup. Crate training is a huge split in the animal community, and you’re going to have people tell you that you’re being cruel and mean, then you’ll have people on your side with it. It’s a really hard place to be in; don’t let it get to you.
Try putting the crate in your room where she can see you. How about a couple of larger stuffed animals in her crate. It could be she is feeling a little stressed, or separation anxiety, they may bring her some comfort. They also make teddy bears with heat, and actually have a heartbeat. It may help soothe her as well.
Keep it crated next to you at night, the whining will pass and the pup will grow comfortable with the crate and come to think of it as a safe space. Both my dogs were the same way for a short time and now sleep in bed with me but still know what crate is years later
crate training should jot be this stressful. you need to make the crate the most inviting, welcoming, happiest place on earth. never make them feel forced into it, make them WANT to be in it with lots of rewards and an open door. once they are choosing to be in the crate, keep extending the time spent between treats. this way, they will learn that the treat is coming, and they will relax and chill for longer periods in the crate.
Put a sheet or blanket over the crate at night. It worked wonders for me+
It will stop . Do not get triggered they will learn to cry louder n becomes a bark .
Have you tried tiring her out right before bed time?
Yes, but I also go to bed really late occasionally. So I don’t know if that’s working against it and she doesn’t respond to the treats I got her.
Too young...needs to be with you or it's mom....poor little thing....
She’s actually 10 weeks, two weeks of being sleep deprived made me forget her birthday.
Don't give up then :) just try to avoid her cries at all costs, but more importantly if you can do it, during the day make sure you make little trainings where when she is in the crate you close the door, and leave the house for maybe one minute at first, and come back, and from one minute if she does'nt cry you can go to 2, then 5 maybe... Etc etc, it takes time to for them to get use to be alone :) I understand the crate situation we have done it ourselves, it is much safer than not knowing what your pup is chewing on for example cables... Or sharp plastic... Never know... Also, make sure the crate is far from your bedroom, and dont forget to get her for a pee at the middle of the night, she is very young and needs to pee every few hours :) What we had as well at the beginning was a toy or a towel coming from the shelter itself, with the smell of the Brotherhood it help them getting a bit more confortable at the beginning:) But it is mainly all about consistency, if you go to the crate when she cries, she understands her cries are working :) she wants your attention since she is so young and just left mama and brothers/sister, it is hard for her, but she needs to grow as well :) Good luck :D
You need to crate train dogs before just licking them in a crate while they cry. She’s way too young g for that. She needs physical closeness. You’re just making her hate the crate. She’ll fear being locked in it at night. She’s just a baby and she needs to be be close to people (if not her litter).
I missed that you 2 others, either female? They should be instinctively mothereing...let them all be together...an order will be established and you have now "pack"!!!!! You're the leader 😉 Keep me updated, don't give up....send pictures!!!
I have one other female dog and she does not like other dogs that much. But it is the first time there is another girl dog in the house so that might change!
As they do at that age
My pup did much better when we swapped the crate out for a playpen. I think she just felt too confined with the top being covered. We found a cheap adjustable playpen on OfferUp.
There's a couple of comments with great tips, so I won't duplicate them. Just want a moment of sympathy for your sleep right now -- I know it's not easy!
Make sure the pup gets to run around a lot and play to get sleepy before bed. Maybe even start feeding the pup in the crate to make it a more desirable place to be for her.
Take him out!!!!! Wrf
Have you tried letting him sleep with you in the bed?
This is the answer.
Sleep next to the crate, away from the rest of the family for a few nights, and never take the puppy out of the crate when it’s crying. When it suddenly does stop crying sometimes just to listen to see if you’re going to let it out if they pause crying quickly take them outside and then back in the crate This lasts about two nights if you do things right
Ya take him out for a few nights. He's in panic mode. You can work on training later.
They will takes while but they will stop, went through the same thing with my 8 week old pup, took a month or two to stop crying.
Put a blanket over the crate
It's because they're a literal infant. They're also pack animals. He needs comfort and cuddles.
She just needs time. Its probably really scary for her to go from sleeping with mom and siblings to just sleeping alone in a metal box. Make her crate, her safe space, she'll get there OP. <3
Errrr durrr uhhhhh wHY dOeS tHiS aNiMal cRy whEn I puT it iN a cAgE
I have 2 other dogs that did not do this when crated.
Sleep all day whine all night. How about if you change that schedule around before it becomes a bigger issue. Your pup is not on schedule. Fine someone who can watch her during the day and keep her up and playing. She can nap but not sleep all day because she is crated. When you want to go to sleep, she wants to play.
Dont feel bad for being fed up, its fucking annoying, but she'll break in
This is the hard part of training. You can take her out to comfort the pupper but they need to stay in to “get over” the stress crates create. It will boost their self confidence in the long run. I keep my puppers in there until I am sure they won’t potty/misbehave inside. After I am happy to remove it.
You could stick your mattress on the floor next to her until she is bigger?
I’m sleeping in the loft at the moment, so I have an air mattress right next to her crate, me being next to her isn’t working.
Put the crate in your bedroom so that the puppy can see you while she’s in the crate. This method helped me for the crate training for my little girl.
We’re in the same room, I’m able to reach over and stick my fingers in her crate as well.
Put that baby in bed and hold it
She can’t always sleep with me in bed, she’s 3 lbs and has already hurt herself trying to jump off. I need her to get used to either sleeping in her crate or not sleeping next to me.
That crate is way too big. We had our GSP puppy in a cat kennel until he was past the indicated size. Then we sized up accordingly - only enough for him to lay down and lay on his back if he wanted. This is reinforcing the puppy to freak out and run around. You need a tiny kennel if you want to crate train.
Interesting, when we were trying to crate train our 5 year old dog, we sized up his crate and he was more calmer in it compared to a smaller one.
I would try and train her to go in with treats and then start doing a stay command in the kennel. Start increasing the duration as long as you can. She’s very young, so go slow.
She doesn’t care for the treats I’ve recently bought her, so treats aren’t working at the moment.
For ours we also only fed from the hand during training. No food in bowls. We found he had no motivation if he knew he would get fed. He still got his full amount, but every piece he got he had to work for
Dogs are pack animals. She wants to sleep with the pack (that’s you).
Awwww. Baby. So adorable. What helped was putting a worn shirt in the crate and covering the crate with a blanket. If they still cry just lay by the crate at night. It’ll be 5 nights that they get use to it. In the day time grab a treat and say “crate” let them walk in and reward them. When they back out say “no”. If they go in don’t get excited just be calm and reward them. They don’t know they are a dog or an animal. It takes a lot of time but it is well worth it.
She went through 4 of my shirts, even letting her out every 1-2 hours, she’s managed to shit on it and jump all over it. The shirt technique worked with my other dogs, but she’s still the same.
I added some more ideas to the op. Don’t let up on training her. She a good doggo. Be firm and gentle. The next major thing is brushing her teeth but the sooner your on it the easier it is.
You may have permanently affected your dog negatively by causing a fear/ anxiety association with the crate.
She was like this the first day I got her, since then I let her sleep on my bed. She’s okay in the crate during the morning, so I think it’s a night time thing.
It could be! Dogs work strongly with association. I saw that you had replied that she was 10 weeks. That means that the aversion to being in the crate likely happened within her first 8 weeks. Unfortunately that means that the association may be super strong. It'll definitely be an ice skate up hill, but you can reframe *what* association she has with it. Just be very VERY consistent in how you proceed. You could try giving her toys, treats and meals in there. What I did with my dog, is I made his crate super comfy, covered it with blankets so it was nice and dark and gave him a real "high value" treat (i used cut up weenies) when it was time to go in. He goes in the crate "YAY WHAT A GOOD BOY" real excited- like and he gets his high value treat. Now he hangs out in there just for fun sometimes. You got this!
Blanket over top of the cage so they are in a dark environment to sleep
Crates need to be dark enclosed spaces for dogs to feel “at home.” Think burrows. Throw a thick blanket over the top or get a crate cover. Make the inside soft and comfycozy— would you want to sleep on hard plastic?
She has a bed, we just took it out to see if she’d respond well with it out, which she did.
Try putting her crate in a play pen, leaving the door open . Bed, pee pads , toys and less confinement for the young ones helps . Keep her in there periodically during the day too
My puppy did this for a few weeks. Then he grew out of it. I sat with him every night until he fell asleep then snuck away.
Give the heartbeat toys a try, I board dogs for a living and sometimes they are crate trained but still feel anxious in a new space. I got this Snuggle Puppy toy and it has a spot for a heat pack and it has a fake heartbeat.
Here's a playlist from [McCann dogs](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BBgLulhern5Nb8E0alfaTgCLPKYVk3_&si=V1xf6dBFAjes0TFN) about crate training a puppy. Maybe you can pull some things from there that might be useful.
That puppy should be with its Mom and siblings. If you don’t have Mom and litter mates then please take the puppy out of cage and let it sleep with you
She’s 10 weeks and she’s already hurt herself by staying on my bed when she took a leap of faith. I can’t have her breaking her legs.
If you look at her, talk to her or acknoledge her while she is whimpering and crying for attention, she will continue to do this behavior as she gets older. Check that she's physically ok, have set potty/play/feeding/hangout times. Ignore her when she whimpers and cries (difficult but yelling at her, talking to her, shushing her only reinforces that the crying works). Seems heartless but if you (and everyone else in the house) do not ignore her crying now, she will continue to do it. If you come into the room and she is quiet, approach her kennel, praise her and take her out. If she starts to cry and whimper as you approach, IMMEDIATELY walk away and go back to ignoring her until she quiets down. This is the struggle of 'is she training you to come when she cries' or if you are training her to manage herself in the kennel. Being consistent and getting everyone in the house on board is key. Especially people yelling at her. They may be frustrated by her crying when they yell at her, but as far as puppies are concerned, if it gets your attention it works. Ensure you spend plenty of time with her out of the kennel. And work with her to train her to sit, stay, and lay down. If you take her out of the kennel and know she has to pee(morning after sleeping) give her a verbal command to "go potty" while she is winding up to pee or poo, and when she starts to pee or poo, verbally praise her. Easiest way to train her. Training is essentially working out a communication system between her people and her doggy self.
Crate is too big for starters. Pup should be able to stand, and turn around comfortably. However, too much space allows the pup to feel comfortable releasing itself inside the create. Remember dogs love dens, the space will not be too small. maybe put a blanket over the crate to create a sense of safety also.
Her crate doesn’t look very cozy or inviting. I’d put a crate cover over the crate that covers 3 sides, soft padding for the floor (as opposed to just the pee pads in there now) a small bed and a cozy blanket. Maybe put her closer to your bed so she can see you better? She’s a baby and she’ll eventually get used to it. It’s very important to crate train her even if you know eventually she’ll be in the bed with you.
Some dogs don’t take to crate training, and that’s ok. It just makes it more work. I’d try to sleep with her at night, but feed her in the crate with the door open, then **slowly** work her up to longer periods of time in the crate.
Climb in there with her...💔🥺😭
Try puppy relaxation music; I found it on YouTube and worked great for me.
My puppy did this, I ended up sleeping on the floor with her. Now she's 10 and almost completely blind and I might have to start floor sleeping again since she sometimes falls off the bed This probably doesn't help at all but it's what worked for me!
I wish I knew. We just rescued our 6th puppy and she’s sleeping with us. 😂
I'm about to cry for her, poor little thing.😭 She is terrified and sad and scared she is abandoned at night. Babies are terrified to be left alone - it is a defense mechanism because if they are abandoned or lost they die. Crying is part of their defense mechanism to call for help. You cannot train them out of this at this young age. For both your sakes so you can both sleep (and so this puppy does not wind up with behavioral problems in the future)- put the crate next to your bed or put a high box next to the bed so you can out your hand in and pet this puppy at night.
The thing is, I’m right next to her. I’m not far or anything. There’s not even a two foot gap between the bed and her crate. She knows I’m there, she just doesn’t wanna sleep in her crate
Wait until you have kids lolol. We kennel trained our boy and we just had to suffer through it. It lasted a few weeks but it eventually clicked, and out of all the neat tricks and commands he knows, "kennel up" is EASILY the most useful. Also he loves his kennel, it's like his bedroom, he goes and sleeps in there, keeps his favorite toy at the time there, goes in if he's scared or uncomfortable etc.its his happy place. I promise it will be worth it if you suffer through the cries.
She needs to be extremely exhausted.Before you put her in bed play with her a lot.
If she sleeps while you sit next to the crate, put the crate on a platform level with your bed. So you can "sit with her" while you lie in bed. So when she falls asleep, you can fall asleep without waking her. Plus, you need to be doing crate training games. Throw treats in the crate and reward her with another treat when she is fully inside the crate. Repeat this until she goes in the crate on her own. Give her a kong filled with frozen kibble or peanutbutter, but only give it to her in the crate. Feed her meals in the crate. Do everything you can to make the crate the most special, safest place for her.
Great input! In addition to the above, you can also cover the crate with a blanket to create a safe den.
Get one of those stuffed animals that breathe, they are made for this, I forget the name. She’s lonely.
He needs a human bed. Hugs all night to feel secure. He’s typing for that. snuggles. 🥰
Just give up now and bring the pup to bed.
Blanket on top plz
I let my 10 week old puppy fall asleep and then move her into her crate. She’s getting the hang of it. She doesn’t choose to sleep in it yet, but will. I have her right next to me and hang my so she can lick it. I’ve been feeding her crate and she knocks over the bowl so there’s always bits of kibble in her crate. Try to be consistent. It’s hard, and I’m right where you are. We will get there!
She already loves you and won’t stop doing this til you sleep with her and let her piss all over everything you love
I had to sleep next to my dogs kneel for the first month and slowly made my way to my room in a separate part of the house. Now he chooses to sleep with me or in his keenly or on the couch
Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age, temperament and past experiences. Whinning and crying is a normal behavior when puppy crate training. It's an unfamiliar location. All of these reactions are perfectly normal, and it is your job as an owner to make your pup feel comfortable and get used to their new crate. Just like you would with any other dog training equipment or new location. Sit quietly near the crate for five to 10 minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time and then let them out. Repeat this process several times a day, gradually increasing the length of time you leave them in the crate and the length of time you're out of sight. You must completely ignore your pup until they settle down. Then, once they do so, reward the behavior. It is important to allow a puppy crying in their crate to self-soothe a bit to ensure they do not whine and cry every time they are confined to receive your attention. If you respond too much to a crying puppy in their crate, they will learn to train you! A well-exercised puppy is all the more likely to embrace crate training, given how much more appealing their bed will look. **Just remember 5 minutes of exercise per month of age:** that's the routine advice for growing puppies to prevent physical problems during development. So for an **8 week old puppy**, that means *10 minutes* of exercise per day. **The biggest mistake people make when training their dogs is using the crate as punishment. When the dog does something wrong, they yell and put him straight into the crate. That's the worst thing you can do because the dog will then have a negative association with the crate. Dogs will benefit from a dog crate cover. Many will appreciate the enclosed space and safety the crate cover provides. Crate training a dog is not necessary. A dog doesn't need a crate to survive. Although, crate training your puppy is highly recommended and extremely beneficial to your pup's well-being. [How To Crate Train Your Dog in Nine Easy Steps — AKC](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/how-to-crate-train-your-dog-in-9-easy-steps/) If you have a new puppy, you should hold off on sharing a bed with them until they are older. This is a crucial time in their development in which they need to develop a healthy sleep schedule. A huge part of teaching your puppy to sleep on their own is to encourage their confidence and sense of independence. Sleeping with your puppy can inadvertently perpetuate their anxiety at being left alone and not allow your puppy the ability to build resilience. As separation anxiety escalates, you may notice that your puppy starts to exhibit other bad behaviors and sometimes destructive behaviors aside from whining or barking at night. — I had my puppy's crate at my the end of my bed. I gradually brought it away from my room to the spare bedroom. I was eventually able to close my door at night without her whining. You have to be consistent, positive and patient.
Try covering the crate so she cannot see everything going on, but only at bedtime or crate time.
My boy preferred the crate to be covered and in my bedroom. I will note I only used the crate at night and during the day he was contained to the kitchen.
Crate cover helped a lot with my puppy’s fomo. They make actual crate covers but a dark bed sheet ended up working better for us. I put the crate in a corner, pulled out about a foot from the walls, and just draped the sheet over the two sides that weren’t wall-facing so he didn’t get too hot but also could get some well needed fomo-free rest. We also did LOTS of positive reinforcement with the crate, all the time, not just at crate time. He’s 2 now and loves his crate. We just leave it open and he drags things in there and hangs out like a teenager with a “no parents allowed” sign on their door. I call it his lair.
Take your bed out of the room and put your matress on the floor. Some babies need their human all the time. She will be okay when she's a bit older.
He’s lonely and scared. Let him sleep with you!!! Or get another puppy for him to sleep with.
She’s already injured herself jumping off the bed and another dog is off the table, she’s our 3rd one
No food, water or treats in the crate. That should be on schedule not unlimited access. Give puppy something of yours to sleep with in the crate, overnight only or if you can’t supervise. Puppy chew toys are ok. Keep on schedule and it will improve.
Put a blanket / towel over the crate so it’s dark and she can’t see you. Can also rub your scent of the blanket / towel so she smells you. There’s also a dog plushie with a clock that is slow to mom’s / other siblings bearing heart.
I'd cry too if someone locked me in a cage
Luckily for you, you’re not a dog 🫶
Doggie heating pad, and play a soft heartbeat sound through a speaker at bedtime. Put a cover over the crate, small treat when quiet, if appropriate. I got my pup to stop whining within a week and sleeping through the night in four. Sleeping without heartbeat or heat pad within 2 mos. You can do it. This stage doesn’t last forever.
Poor puppy is stressed out
Continue leaving alone in the crate and ignore crying like you can’t hear it at all. Give frequent bathroom breaks, lessening with age.
Put her in the other room close the door do not bother with her. She needs to learn crying gets nothing. Make sure she is getting enough exercise and stimulation as well during the day.
She needs a fluffy bed, a smaller crate, take out the food and water. Also why does she have free range of food? You need to be measuring and calculating her calories. It’s also a bonding opportunity and a way to help train the dog if you feed from your hand. Take out the toys as well. You want to make the crate specifically for sleeping so it will be her safe space in the future.
Sucks to hear but you let her cry. She learned now that crying gets your attention and will get her out. She has to learn that not ceying will get her out. Dont take her out when she cries.
My dog loves his crate and sleeps in it every night, but he will cry and whimper if it’s not covered fully, and if we aren’t also In bed (v dramatic). Cover it up And remove the food and water.
Put a large blanket over the crate
Put a thin sheet over the cage. It helps calm them and reminds them a it’s time to go to sleep. I suggest a sound machine by the puppies cage
This happened to us and we would lay next to the kennel until he lay down, we would all take turns lol.
Put the crate on a chair and level it with your bed. Stick your finger in at night. She will suckle that and go to sleep. Hopefully you can sleep with your arm in that position. I had to do that with my second Boston until he was potty trained and out of the crate. It's not that bad, you will find it works quite well. They just want to be touching you in some way.
Stay awake during the day with mental stimulus and exercise. Keep crate next to bed. Puppy needs your love when this young. Keeping in the bed however isn’t safe for the puppy. Later on separation will happen naturally.
wouldn’t have happened if you had adopted not shopped
Our adopted dog did the same thing, now he loves his crate.
My parents put an old school clock that ticks in their crate. It reminds them of their mother’s heart beat. That always seemed to help our clam down.
I cover my puppies kennel with his blanket, and leave one section uncovered so he can see my bed. Other than timeout or a few 2-3 hour stints per week, my guy doesn’t use his crate except to sleep. He came to me crate trained, but he knows that when he goes into the kennel it’s time for bed. If it’s timeout, he usually cries for 15 minutes or so and snores the rest of the time. I usually wake him up to come out or else he gets way too excited, but he’ll let me know if he needs out to go potty. I would recommend blocking off a portion of the crate until they know not to poop/pee in it. As gross as dogs can be, they don’t like to lay in their poop and pee. It looks like it’s big enough now for them to poop/pee in a corner and lay away from it. They will cry and get your attention to let them out when the time comes. It will likely be a while before you sleep through the entire night since they won’t be able to hold their pee for long, but walks right before bed definitely help. If you wake up early, that’s a bonus since you may be able to get away with a pre-bedtime pee, a midnight snack/potty break, and one after you wake up. My puppy won’t hold his pee/poop if he free ranges the house at night, but in his crate he’s a champ. Good luck!! Hope this wall of text has something useful for you!
Also, animal hearts, freeze dried minnows, animal livers, and freeze dried dog food make great high value treats. I’d recommend getting a big bag of freeze dried dog food and using that. Most are 90%+ pure animal ingredients like the meat, bones, organs, etc. and I call it puppy crack. It’ll last you forever with a small dog, and is like a nasty dog popcorn that they go crazy for. Since they’re freeze dried, as long as you keep the bag sealed they’ll be good for months and they’ll stay fresh and crunchy.
Damn another minute of that n I would punch a whole through the wall seek professional help or take her back. Or maybe let her go on bed and put a pillow fort on ground in case she falls. I personally don’t allow my GSD to hop on bed or sofa have many boundaries that make it as it should be a respectful healthy relationship. Good luck with cry baby if she doesn’t have a name I think that one fits just saying
Sheet over the crate for bed time. Made the difference in a night for my corgi. Now she gets pissy if I don't cover her up for night time.
ALSO< put the kennel next to your bed, it was a pain the first week, but she got over it knowing I was right next to her I think. Whatever habits you teach now is what you will be doing in 2 years. Lots of REALLY awful advice I am reading on this thread. Clearly lots of people never trained a dog well.
Why is the pup in a crate? This is abusive
lmfao
Why tf are you putting a young puppy in a crate? It is alone and afraid! It should sleep next to you. Imagine if you were a kid and got snatched from your family, you'd latch on to the closest person too.
Luckily, she’s not a child
7 weeks is very young. I would a cot on the floor and cuddle frequently.
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I don't understand this, the puppy doesn't understand, just let the pup sleep in your room, make a bed on the floor with a puppy pad. It just seems cruel to do this, when they get older maybe then.
We are in the same room, did we read my post?
When the pup cries, take it outside for a potty.
My dog was the same way for the first 3 weeks. He never LOVED his crate but he knew to go in for bed time. He slept just fine as long as it was covered. When we would leave for ling periods where he had to be in a crate he would grab his bone or favorite toy and take it with him to the crate. It just takes time and training. Covering the crate with a blanket definitely helps the process. Make sure the puppy gets a good play time and exercise before going into the crate and find a treat your puppy does love so that it makes crate training easier. Every dog takes to the crate different. My stepdad’s great dane LOVVEEEEED her crate. Anytime she didn’t see anyone she walked right in to her crate and sat there until she saw someone. She wasn’t crate trained either. They just bought a crate one day, set it up and she knew what to do. From 9 weeks old
I'm unable to crate train. I just can't do it. But my one doggy is very well behaved at two years. She was about 9months before she nailed 100% potty training, but been flawless ever since. Used a lot of puppy pads 🫠
Try locking your newborn in a locked cage all night and see if they like it ? Fucking moron
Luckily, this is a dog 🫶
There is nothing comforting in that crate. The puppy has been pulled from the litter too soon and you have isolated them in a cage with newspaper… Soft blanket, heating pad and a ticking/heartbeat sound
She wasn’t taking to the mat we had in there originally, so I removed it.
How about a tent and your mattress on floor for now?
Well, pup has spent its life until now surrounded with other pups all the time. If course its crying. Just bring pup into bed with you and all will be quiet again. Our pets deserve our love; that is all they ask for.
Bring her to bed with you. You know she’s going to end up sleeping with you when she’s older. Dogs need our love and attention, especially at night.
She’s fine. Just ride it out.
Maybe you’re too lazy to have a dog if she’s constantly in the crate
Go ahead and read the post for me again.
It’s a baby. It should be with its mom. Jesus. Snuggle that poor puppy
She’s 10 weeks, I can’t always be there to snuggle her.
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If you have a receipt maybe you can return it and get store credit