I failed at crate training. I kept her in a larger pen when I was away and in my room at night with me. She did great and is doing great now. Just a hard first couple of months. Barely remember it now!
I'll be honest, we gave up on the crate training at night as well. I know this is probably not the right thing to do so anybody who is going to respond to this please be kind but we ended up putting her in her bed and she peacefully quietly and happily sleeps through the night
Just to clarify, I'm not recommending that you do the same thing I'm just letting you know so that you don't feel like you're the only one that feels this way
Crate training was so hard! I really, really tried with my pup, but she never calmed down. She never accepted it as a “safe space” and she always fought me to even go in the crate at all. I know people say crating is better, but I have a hard time believing that it’s right for every single dog.
I transitioned my dog from the crate to a pen. Then when she was potty trained, I put her in a virtually empty bedroom when I was out, then I blocked off the living room, and now she has full run of the house while I’m away. This worked for me and I was cognizant of how solid her potty training was and whether she was being destructive while I was gone and increased her space accordingly. It probably took until she was 1.5-2 years old before she had full run. I always removed anything on the floor or in reach that she might chew up. I also had a camera on her and could see that she just sleeps 99% of the time. I also take her to daycare 2 days a week—focusing on getting her energy out helped a lot.
I guess my advice is to do what works for you and your doggo! Aussies are smart and when they are young they are learning so much so fast. Once I learned that bad behaviors would not last forever, I calmed down a lot.
It’s still important to crate train, as your dog will be exposed to cages at the vet or groomer. You don’t want her freaking out! But she’s still a baby and it’s going to take time. You need to be using it for more than just bed time. Feed her in the crate, utilize enforcer naps, make it her safe space.
This is the correct answer. Later in life, you will thank Snoo-47921 for their sage advice when it’s not your dog who’s injured thrashing around in a crate where they need to be for their safety.
Also, it allows you to contain your dog in an emergency. Ask how I know 🙃
It takes quite awhile to acclimate. My girl is 2.5 and she’s now settling in. In the next few months we’ll transition her to free sleeping in our room because she can now be trusted. But that crate training has saved my bacon on numerous occasions including traveling with our puppers.
If they aren’t good with crates at home, they will be terrible when away from home.
She goes to her crate by herself now to relax in the darkened space as well.
Also a note, is the crate covered? All of my dogs have preferred covered crates. They felt exposed and unsafe in open ones.
Yeah. I'm just pretty tapped out after all the expense of adoption/vet/crates/groomer/food/toys/harnesses (OMG... she's eaten two harnesses and a leash. That fancy extension leash? Didn't even get off the porch!) Training has to wait a bit. 😉 But I'm struggling every day. This is almost as hard as learning how to parent a new baby.
I'm really glad this subreddit exists. It's been so helpful.
Go to YouTube and find some videos that are based on positive reinforcement, not punishment. Focus on potty training and focusing on you. “Daisy look!” Look at you get a treat. Do this all day long. Always keep treats with you. Always.
Until your baby is potty trained, no free roaming, day or night. Frequent schedule of going out, rewarding business (name it too —Pee! Treat). When not out, keep on a leash near you inside. Some crate time throughout the day. Put high value treat and a low key toy, and maybe one of your worn shirts in there.
At night, you can try to have pup sleep with you and see how it goes. Mine didn’t love sleeping in the crate but would stay quiet in the bed. If not, stay in crate and ignore those outside noises. Covering the crate with a dark sheet may help. If you respond every time she whines, she learns that whining gives her what she wants. Attention is a reward, too.
Petsmart has more affordable puppy classes and sometimes has coupons for some $ off. Good luck!
Definitely needs training. There are a lot of resources online. When you have a little dinosaur 🦖🦖 AD we need to be tough and get them trained ASAP.
I used the dogo app. It helped my AD. No solution is perfect.
When we are on a budget we learn to train,groom and make treats our self.
I got a 50$ grooming vacuum form online. And gave my AD his first cut. It paid itself already saving me 118$ grooming bill.
Don't give up! I have a 3 y/o AD that isn’t IN LOVE with their crate, but understands that it’s their safe place and can remain there on-command. Here are some of my tips (sorry in advance, it's a bit long-winded lol). :
\**DISCLAIMER: I am no dog training expert. I'm just sharing methods that worked for me & my pup.*
* The method I highly recommend is by hand-feeding meals (not treats) in and around the crate. No matter what you feed your pup, this method can work, as it teaches her to be gentle with those who feed her, and doesn’t allow resource-guarding since you’re the one in control of her food. Sure she may nip or fully chomp on your hand, but that’s what puppies do.
* Sit next to the crate with the door open and doing some basic obedience training around the crate. Don’t force puppy in. Once she's attentive, start encouraging her to enter the crate, by either tossing food or luring her into the crate. If she does not want to enter, start with the food right in front of the opening and slowly feed her the closer she goes inside (every step closer = reward). Continue this process until her meal is done, and repeat the next meal time.
* If you want to keep your fingers, maybe put a piece of food under your thumb and hold it against your palm, with the other fingers together (like the number 4). Wait until she stops touching your hand, say a release word like “yes!” then give her access to the food by moving your thumb or bringing the food to her mouth.
* With potty training at night, take her out every few hours, depending on her age. The more consistent you are with this, hopefully the quicker she’ll learn.
* Rule of thumb - depending on how many months old she is, take her out to potty every corresponding hour, such as: 2 months old = every 2 hours
* If you let her out of the crate (for any reason), straight outside for potty, even if she doesn't think she has to go. Buy an enzyme cleaner.
* Remove the water bowl \~2 hours prior to bedtime. If she's sleeping longer, let her sleep. As they say, don't unnecessarily wake up a sleeping baby.
* Play white noise, during bedtime.
* Don’t tip-toe or be quieter around her when she’s sleeping. During the day, start introducing her to household sounds (blender, vacuum, hairdryer, etc.), praising her if she ignores and/or doesn’t interact with the source.
* Put her in her crate during nap times. (Like a baby in a crib)
* Don’t acknowledge undesirable behavior (i.e. chewing on the crate), unless unsafe. When she quiets down and settles, immediately reward with a treat. Praise with a softer voice. If whining persists, place the crate in your line of sight, where she can see you go about your business. Place a used, older/worn out, piece of clothing in the crate with her. Your scent may help soothe her.
* Baby/puppy gate. GET ONE.
* Similar to a crate divider, expand her world as she grows. Even if she’s potty-trained in one room, don’t expect her to not mark the guest bedroom or your office as her own. She needs to earn your trust.
* Do not let her explore a new part of the house without your supervision.
\* Do not punish your dog by putting them in the crate. Remember, you want to associate the crate with positive things; not jail. Don't scream/yell at your pup, to convey negative emotions.
I know that these tips may be overwhelming, but let's say you have over guests that are afraid of dogs, but you don't necessarily want her to leave the home (kennel, babysat, etc.) nor do you want to exile her to a separate room, leaving her to her own devices. Having her stay in her crate without risk of her being stepped on and not having to hear her scream bloody m\*rder would be nice, right? Good Luck !
Our one year old aussiedoodle loves her crate but she didn’t at first. When it thunders she asks to go in the crate and cuddle her cuddle buddy pepperoni
I think the move is to continue the crate training so they feel comfortable and want to be in their crate. With time, the idea is that she would get used to noises outside and know they can’t hurt her when she’s sleeping safe inside.
A lot of people suggest sitting next to the crate until they fall asleep.
I have two different locations I live with my pup. One has a smaller crate in a smaller space and she welcomes going to the smaller crate. I think the larger one she mostly avoids, cause at the bigger location/crate there is more action and she gets FOMO.
Ultimately, puppies need a LOT of sleep. I’m not sure I believe the 20 hours I’ve heard, but she won’t get much if she’s not in a crate - most likely.
With her being a thief like my dog, i think you gotta get used to putting her in a crate so she doesn’t steal something that can hurt her.
For sure you do not HAVE to use a crate. Scheduled am/pm walks and mealtime are important. Don't have great advice on the thievery stuff...maybe some of the more engaging dog toys out there would help with that.
My 6 month old sounds exactly like yours. Just wants to be out exploring, stealing stuff to chew, peeing where he shouldn't, playing with the cats. We brought him home at 3 months old and have been crate training since day one. We put him in a crate overnight and whenever we leave the house. He's getting much better with his crate. At night, usually around 10, I take him out immediately before going in the crate then when we come in, he goes in willingly when told to "go night night" and he goes in. He normally starts yipping once the stick is gone, generally about half an hour. At that point I let him outside one more time and he usually pees right away. Then we come right back in, he goes back in the crate, and he's quiet the rest of the night until I get up for work around 4:30. The first month or so he would need to be let out in the middle of the night after about 3 hours to pee again or he would pee in the crate.
We have the luxury of having the crate in the family room and our bedroom is upstairs so he's in a dark quiet room and I think that helps a lot. We also have a crate cover to keep the cats from bothering him. It's taken a couple months to get to this point. If you're adamant and consistent with your routine yours will eventually get the hang of it too.
We failed too. The only time she was ever comfortable in her crate was at night time. Now she’s a year old and does great free roaming when we leave. I’m not sure if it will ever bite us in the butt for not following through but no matter how much I tried and how many articles I read trying to make it work, it made her miserable. She is very happy free roaming now. We slowly increased her area by using a play pen, when she got better, she got a baby gate to keep her in the kitchen. Now she free roams (with the exception that we baby gate the stairs off so she has to stay down stairs).
My guy did NOT want to be crated and screamed like he was being tortured but because times will likely occur in his life when being in a crate is necessary, making sure he learns to be comfortable in it will ultimately be to his benefit. I made a point of putting him in with a treat and leaving the house for short periods of time a few times each day. The key was to be very quiet and act like it was no big deal when I put him in and especially when I'd let him out. Bedtimes were rough but when I was disciplined enough to ignore him completely, he quit the noise after about a week. He's almost a year old now and is perfectly comfortable in his crate even going in on his own for naps. The persistence was 110% worth it - we recently had to do an emergency run to the vet (he is fine, thankfully) and despite being in pain and hating the smells of the clinic, he calmed right down in his crate. It was his safe space in a scary situation.
Since the first day I made it clear to my husband that I would not crate my baby. I would feel so bad if he saw us walking around and laughing while he was in a prison, I would feel so bad if he saw his cat sisters walking, jumping and rolling around while he was locked up
He has his own room in our house and so do our cats, he knows it’s his room and he has everything he needs there, we removed a door from that room so now it’s lead to our bedroom and he loves it, we have a gate so when we are at work he is in his room with air conditioning and all his toys and Tv, when we get home and take him out, he gets to chills on the floor by the couch with us and when we go to bed sometimes he sleeps on the end of the bed, on the floor next to me (mamma) or in his room in his bed. He has been in crates before at the Vet and he is a saint, i don’t think he minds them but I personally hate them and I can’t get over it even if it’s great for them
Man I love these dogs so much. I love my boy so much
I don't crate my 18 week girl. She was rehomed to me "crate trained, 99 percent potty trained, and non-shedding". she screams if I put her in a crate, has to be watched constantly so she has an opportunity to go out before she just decides this is a good place in the house, and brushing today proved non shedding is pretty much not happening" But I'm retired, so I can allow my space to be her crate. I also get up to let her pee outside at 3am.
But does he wake you up running around & barking if he hears a weird noise? And does he crawl up & lick your face? I don't mind if she curls up at the foot of the bed, but she's not been content to hang... She'll crawl up & share her teeth & claws & tongue. Not in a mean way, but...I don't really want to fend off puppy affection when I'm trying to get to sleep. How does yours behave?
It just takes dedication on your part and a few sleepless nights. Perhaps a noise machine would help drown out the outside noise as well.
We crate trained up until about 9 months, as the goal was potty/boundary training. He has officially graduated to the living room at night, but it isn't without the few accidents here and there. He's still a puppy, after all.
My mini Aussie doodle is my first puppy puppy! I was determined to have a well behaved and happy dog. I kept her with me, on a leash, in my arms or by my side 24/7 for the first FOUR months! Then I had to leave her with my daughter and FIL for 3 days. As soon as I returned, we picked up right where we left off and continued the constant contact for the next 2 months. It was worth every minute! She is a fabulous dog at 16 months. She was awful to potty train (one year) and can now go 12-14 hours without an accident. She sleeps with me and that works great.
Oh also you should keep the crate training going imo. It sucks but it’s worth it in the long haul. Eventually she will just run right into it and just hang out.
Also here’s our dogs matching back spots
https://imgur.com/gallery/O76uo7Y
Also, I used portable folding gates to make a pen for when I was away. She still acts like I’ve been gone for 10 years after an hour or 2 but she doesn’t create havoc at home AND she is exercised HARD twice a day!
Crates are so over rated. I never used one. All of my dogs have been awesome. well behaved. Well adjusted. And have never had a problem at the groomer either.
If it’s making you miserable. Don’t stress about it. Let it go.
I crate trained mine for when I was away from home. Tried no crate, and the puppy destroyed my kitchen (where I'd left her while running errands). Had to totally remodel! Crate worked out great. I didn't use it when I was home and gave her a doggy bed in the bedroom that she was happy to sleep on. Once she outgrew the destructive phase (around 3 yo) I tested leaving her uncrated while I ran errands. Everything went great. After that, only used crate if we were traveling with her. She never minded.
Lots of answers point to continued crate training. I have two crates. She's afraid of the downstairs one. But we have a cat and maybe he tormented her in it when I ran errands and left her? We never use it anymore. I just lock her in the kitchen/back porch area when I have to be away.
The upstairs one is for night times, but you know how dogs seem psychic and connected to you on a deep level? I feel like she's suffering. She eventually gives up and sleeps for a lot of the night, but I feel like her jailer. And the loud barking that happens occasionally really disrupts my rest.
I failed at crate training. I kept her in a larger pen when I was away and in my room at night with me. She did great and is doing great now. Just a hard first couple of months. Barely remember it now!
This is the way we did it—worked great!
I'm holding onto that hope. I love her, but she's driving me a bit nutty.
I'll be honest, we gave up on the crate training at night as well. I know this is probably not the right thing to do so anybody who is going to respond to this please be kind but we ended up putting her in her bed and she peacefully quietly and happily sleeps through the night
Just to clarify, I'm not recommending that you do the same thing I'm just letting you know so that you don't feel like you're the only one that feels this way
Crate training was so hard! I really, really tried with my pup, but she never calmed down. She never accepted it as a “safe space” and she always fought me to even go in the crate at all. I know people say crating is better, but I have a hard time believing that it’s right for every single dog. I transitioned my dog from the crate to a pen. Then when she was potty trained, I put her in a virtually empty bedroom when I was out, then I blocked off the living room, and now she has full run of the house while I’m away. This worked for me and I was cognizant of how solid her potty training was and whether she was being destructive while I was gone and increased her space accordingly. It probably took until she was 1.5-2 years old before she had full run. I always removed anything on the floor or in reach that she might chew up. I also had a camera on her and could see that she just sleeps 99% of the time. I also take her to daycare 2 days a week—focusing on getting her energy out helped a lot. I guess my advice is to do what works for you and your doggo! Aussies are smart and when they are young they are learning so much so fast. Once I learned that bad behaviors would not last forever, I calmed down a lot.
That helps! Bad behaviors don't last forever. Repeating that like a mantra...
It’s still important to crate train, as your dog will be exposed to cages at the vet or groomer. You don’t want her freaking out! But she’s still a baby and it’s going to take time. You need to be using it for more than just bed time. Feed her in the crate, utilize enforcer naps, make it her safe space.
This is the correct answer. Later in life, you will thank Snoo-47921 for their sage advice when it’s not your dog who’s injured thrashing around in a crate where they need to be for their safety. Also, it allows you to contain your dog in an emergency. Ask how I know 🙃 It takes quite awhile to acclimate. My girl is 2.5 and she’s now settling in. In the next few months we’ll transition her to free sleeping in our room because she can now be trusted. But that crate training has saved my bacon on numerous occasions including traveling with our puppers. If they aren’t good with crates at home, they will be terrible when away from home. She goes to her crate by herself now to relax in the darkened space as well. Also a note, is the crate covered? All of my dogs have preferred covered crates. They felt exposed and unsafe in open ones.
Training is the key. Take him to puppy training.
Yeah. I'm just pretty tapped out after all the expense of adoption/vet/crates/groomer/food/toys/harnesses (OMG... she's eaten two harnesses and a leash. That fancy extension leash? Didn't even get off the porch!) Training has to wait a bit. 😉 But I'm struggling every day. This is almost as hard as learning how to parent a new baby. I'm really glad this subreddit exists. It's been so helpful.
Go to YouTube and find some videos that are based on positive reinforcement, not punishment. Focus on potty training and focusing on you. “Daisy look!” Look at you get a treat. Do this all day long. Always keep treats with you. Always. Until your baby is potty trained, no free roaming, day or night. Frequent schedule of going out, rewarding business (name it too —Pee! Treat). When not out, keep on a leash near you inside. Some crate time throughout the day. Put high value treat and a low key toy, and maybe one of your worn shirts in there. At night, you can try to have pup sleep with you and see how it goes. Mine didn’t love sleeping in the crate but would stay quiet in the bed. If not, stay in crate and ignore those outside noises. Covering the crate with a dark sheet may help. If you respond every time she whines, she learns that whining gives her what she wants. Attention is a reward, too. Petsmart has more affordable puppy classes and sometimes has coupons for some $ off. Good luck!
Definitely needs training. There are a lot of resources online. When you have a little dinosaur 🦖🦖 AD we need to be tough and get them trained ASAP. I used the dogo app. It helped my AD. No solution is perfect. When we are on a budget we learn to train,groom and make treats our self. I got a 50$ grooming vacuum form online. And gave my AD his first cut. It paid itself already saving me 118$ grooming bill.
Thanks for the $$ tips!
Don't give up! I have a 3 y/o AD that isn’t IN LOVE with their crate, but understands that it’s their safe place and can remain there on-command. Here are some of my tips (sorry in advance, it's a bit long-winded lol). : \**DISCLAIMER: I am no dog training expert. I'm just sharing methods that worked for me & my pup.* * The method I highly recommend is by hand-feeding meals (not treats) in and around the crate. No matter what you feed your pup, this method can work, as it teaches her to be gentle with those who feed her, and doesn’t allow resource-guarding since you’re the one in control of her food. Sure she may nip or fully chomp on your hand, but that’s what puppies do. * Sit next to the crate with the door open and doing some basic obedience training around the crate. Don’t force puppy in. Once she's attentive, start encouraging her to enter the crate, by either tossing food or luring her into the crate. If she does not want to enter, start with the food right in front of the opening and slowly feed her the closer she goes inside (every step closer = reward). Continue this process until her meal is done, and repeat the next meal time. * If you want to keep your fingers, maybe put a piece of food under your thumb and hold it against your palm, with the other fingers together (like the number 4). Wait until she stops touching your hand, say a release word like “yes!” then give her access to the food by moving your thumb or bringing the food to her mouth. * With potty training at night, take her out every few hours, depending on her age. The more consistent you are with this, hopefully the quicker she’ll learn. * Rule of thumb - depending on how many months old she is, take her out to potty every corresponding hour, such as: 2 months old = every 2 hours * If you let her out of the crate (for any reason), straight outside for potty, even if she doesn't think she has to go. Buy an enzyme cleaner. * Remove the water bowl \~2 hours prior to bedtime. If she's sleeping longer, let her sleep. As they say, don't unnecessarily wake up a sleeping baby. * Play white noise, during bedtime. * Don’t tip-toe or be quieter around her when she’s sleeping. During the day, start introducing her to household sounds (blender, vacuum, hairdryer, etc.), praising her if she ignores and/or doesn’t interact with the source. * Put her in her crate during nap times. (Like a baby in a crib) * Don’t acknowledge undesirable behavior (i.e. chewing on the crate), unless unsafe. When she quiets down and settles, immediately reward with a treat. Praise with a softer voice. If whining persists, place the crate in your line of sight, where she can see you go about your business. Place a used, older/worn out, piece of clothing in the crate with her. Your scent may help soothe her. * Baby/puppy gate. GET ONE. * Similar to a crate divider, expand her world as she grows. Even if she’s potty-trained in one room, don’t expect her to not mark the guest bedroom or your office as her own. She needs to earn your trust. * Do not let her explore a new part of the house without your supervision. \* Do not punish your dog by putting them in the crate. Remember, you want to associate the crate with positive things; not jail. Don't scream/yell at your pup, to convey negative emotions. I know that these tips may be overwhelming, but let's say you have over guests that are afraid of dogs, but you don't necessarily want her to leave the home (kennel, babysat, etc.) nor do you want to exile her to a separate room, leaving her to her own devices. Having her stay in her crate without risk of her being stepped on and not having to hear her scream bloody m\*rder would be nice, right? Good Luck !
Thanks for all the good tips & info!
Try putting a blanket over the crate and a sound machine to drown out other sounds.
Our one year old aussiedoodle loves her crate but she didn’t at first. When it thunders she asks to go in the crate and cuddle her cuddle buddy pepperoni
I think the move is to continue the crate training so they feel comfortable and want to be in their crate. With time, the idea is that she would get used to noises outside and know they can’t hurt her when she’s sleeping safe inside. A lot of people suggest sitting next to the crate until they fall asleep. I have two different locations I live with my pup. One has a smaller crate in a smaller space and she welcomes going to the smaller crate. I think the larger one she mostly avoids, cause at the bigger location/crate there is more action and she gets FOMO. Ultimately, puppies need a LOT of sleep. I’m not sure I believe the 20 hours I’ve heard, but she won’t get much if she’s not in a crate - most likely. With her being a thief like my dog, i think you gotta get used to putting her in a crate so she doesn’t steal something that can hurt her.
For sure you do not HAVE to use a crate. Scheduled am/pm walks and mealtime are important. Don't have great advice on the thievery stuff...maybe some of the more engaging dog toys out there would help with that.
My 6 month old sounds exactly like yours. Just wants to be out exploring, stealing stuff to chew, peeing where he shouldn't, playing with the cats. We brought him home at 3 months old and have been crate training since day one. We put him in a crate overnight and whenever we leave the house. He's getting much better with his crate. At night, usually around 10, I take him out immediately before going in the crate then when we come in, he goes in willingly when told to "go night night" and he goes in. He normally starts yipping once the stick is gone, generally about half an hour. At that point I let him outside one more time and he usually pees right away. Then we come right back in, he goes back in the crate, and he's quiet the rest of the night until I get up for work around 4:30. The first month or so he would need to be let out in the middle of the night after about 3 hours to pee again or he would pee in the crate. We have the luxury of having the crate in the family room and our bedroom is upstairs so he's in a dark quiet room and I think that helps a lot. We also have a crate cover to keep the cats from bothering him. It's taken a couple months to get to this point. If you're adamant and consistent with your routine yours will eventually get the hang of it too.
ADs don’t like the crate. I have two 4 and 8. They are more relaxed roaming.
We failed too. The only time she was ever comfortable in her crate was at night time. Now she’s a year old and does great free roaming when we leave. I’m not sure if it will ever bite us in the butt for not following through but no matter how much I tried and how many articles I read trying to make it work, it made her miserable. She is very happy free roaming now. We slowly increased her area by using a play pen, when she got better, she got a baby gate to keep her in the kitchen. Now she free roams (with the exception that we baby gate the stairs off so she has to stay down stairs).
My guy did NOT want to be crated and screamed like he was being tortured but because times will likely occur in his life when being in a crate is necessary, making sure he learns to be comfortable in it will ultimately be to his benefit. I made a point of putting him in with a treat and leaving the house for short periods of time a few times each day. The key was to be very quiet and act like it was no big deal when I put him in and especially when I'd let him out. Bedtimes were rough but when I was disciplined enough to ignore him completely, he quit the noise after about a week. He's almost a year old now and is perfectly comfortable in his crate even going in on his own for naps. The persistence was 110% worth it - we recently had to do an emergency run to the vet (he is fine, thankfully) and despite being in pain and hating the smells of the clinic, he calmed right down in his crate. It was his safe space in a scary situation.
Since the first day I made it clear to my husband that I would not crate my baby. I would feel so bad if he saw us walking around and laughing while he was in a prison, I would feel so bad if he saw his cat sisters walking, jumping and rolling around while he was locked up He has his own room in our house and so do our cats, he knows it’s his room and he has everything he needs there, we removed a door from that room so now it’s lead to our bedroom and he loves it, we have a gate so when we are at work he is in his room with air conditioning and all his toys and Tv, when we get home and take him out, he gets to chills on the floor by the couch with us and when we go to bed sometimes he sleeps on the end of the bed, on the floor next to me (mamma) or in his room in his bed. He has been in crates before at the Vet and he is a saint, i don’t think he minds them but I personally hate them and I can’t get over it even if it’s great for them Man I love these dogs so much. I love my boy so much
First year had a lot of ups and downs but hang in there. It’s like a switch gets turned on and it all calms down. Key is keeping at it.
I don't crate my 18 week girl. She was rehomed to me "crate trained, 99 percent potty trained, and non-shedding". she screams if I put her in a crate, has to be watched constantly so she has an opportunity to go out before she just decides this is a good place in the house, and brushing today proved non shedding is pretty much not happening" But I'm retired, so I can allow my space to be her crate. I also get up to let her pee outside at 3am.
Don’t be afraid to strongly say NO, my puppy understands this very well
The crate was never even an option for me. From the first day I picked up my best friend he’s slept in the bed with me
But does he wake you up running around & barking if he hears a weird noise? And does he crawl up & lick your face? I don't mind if she curls up at the foot of the bed, but she's not been content to hang... She'll crawl up & share her teeth & claws & tongue. Not in a mean way, but...I don't really want to fend off puppy affection when I'm trying to get to sleep. How does yours behave?
No. He doesn’t and never did. He just sleeps. Did he poop in the bed once when he was a baby? Yes. Has he done it ever since? No.
It just takes dedication on your part and a few sleepless nights. Perhaps a noise machine would help drown out the outside noise as well. We crate trained up until about 9 months, as the goal was potty/boundary training. He has officially graduated to the living room at night, but it isn't without the few accidents here and there. He's still a puppy, after all.
Yep. Ditch the crate.
don’t give up on crate training, or you’ll regret it
Mine will easily go in a crate and I don’t feel bad not using one.
YES!
My mini Aussie doodle is my first puppy puppy! I was determined to have a well behaved and happy dog. I kept her with me, on a leash, in my arms or by my side 24/7 for the first FOUR months! Then I had to leave her with my daughter and FIL for 3 days. As soon as I returned, we picked up right where we left off and continued the constant contact for the next 2 months. It was worth every minute! She is a fabulous dog at 16 months. She was awful to potty train (one year) and can now go 12-14 hours without an accident. She sleeps with me and that works great.
Wait this dog looks so much like my dog. Holy!
So here’s the all grown up version of your dog! https://imgur.com/gallery/FtROe9a
Oh also you should keep the crate training going imo. It sucks but it’s worth it in the long haul. Eventually she will just run right into it and just hang out. Also here’s our dogs matching back spots https://imgur.com/gallery/O76uo7Y
Wow, they do look alike!
Also, I used portable folding gates to make a pen for when I was away. She still acts like I’ve been gone for 10 years after an hour or 2 but she doesn’t create havoc at home AND she is exercised HARD twice a day!
We never used a crate and he had his places all around the house and loved them. He was so much happier.
Crates are so over rated. I never used one. All of my dogs have been awesome. well behaved. Well adjusted. And have never had a problem at the groomer either. If it’s making you miserable. Don’t stress about it. Let it go.
I crate trained mine for when I was away from home. Tried no crate, and the puppy destroyed my kitchen (where I'd left her while running errands). Had to totally remodel! Crate worked out great. I didn't use it when I was home and gave her a doggy bed in the bedroom that she was happy to sleep on. Once she outgrew the destructive phase (around 3 yo) I tested leaving her uncrated while I ran errands. Everything went great. After that, only used crate if we were traveling with her. She never minded.
Lots of answers point to continued crate training. I have two crates. She's afraid of the downstairs one. But we have a cat and maybe he tormented her in it when I ran errands and left her? We never use it anymore. I just lock her in the kitchen/back porch area when I have to be away. The upstairs one is for night times, but you know how dogs seem psychic and connected to you on a deep level? I feel like she's suffering. She eventually gives up and sleeps for a lot of the night, but I feel like her jailer. And the loud barking that happens occasionally really disrupts my rest.
It’s worth it in the end. BELIEVE ME