Crate training my labradoodle

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Has anyone great luck crate training their labradoodle. I know he's a dog first so dog training methods should work, but my 9 week old f1b labradoodle just cries most of the night. No one in my house is getting sleep. I've literally tried all the gentle tricks to get him accustomed to his crate but after 2 weeks he still hates it. Any suggestions?

[Stella]

Susan Garrett's Crate Games DVD is a must!!

Where is the crate at night?

Your puppy is just a baby, is away from his family and is probably scared to sleep alone. A Snuggle Puppy or something similar might help, even just a small hot water bottle and a ticking clock can calm some puppies - makes them think there is another dog with them.

[Stella]

You might need to buy your husband some earplugs!! If you can have the crate in your room, put it up on a chair so it is level with the bed. That way he can see you and you can put your hand against the crate to reassure him. As he gets more settled you can slowly lower the crate, over a few days, until it is on the floor and then gradually away from the bed.

If he has to stay in the kitchen (which is what I did with my doodles because of allergy concerns) I would definitely recommend the Snuggle Puppy. Make the crate the place that all good things happen to him - feed all meals in there, put him in there for periods during the day with treats, a kong, toys etc.

If you haven't joined already, another good resource for you would be the Puppy Madness group within this site.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

1.   put a used shirt of yours into the crate so he can be comforted by your scent.

2.  get a puppy Kong, fill it with kibble/water paste mixture, freeze. Give it only when he is in the crate.

3.  put him on the foot of your bed for sleeping instead of a crate. Of course that is where he will sleep for the rest of his life..... :-}

[Frank & TeddyToyDoodle]

(1)  If you go to sleep the same time as him, consider having his cage right near your bed.  I put Teddy's cage on a table so he was literally just 6" from my bed, separated by the cage bars.  He was eye-level with me on my bed.

(2)  Unfortunately, even that turned out to be not good enough after about 2-3 weeks.  I go to bed very late -- like 3 AM on average and since I live in a condo, I didn't want to wait him out on his barking at that time.  2 minutes can seem like 20 minutes when you have neighbors sleeping for hours.  So I gave in and let him sleep in my bed.  Single, with a Queen Size, I have plenty of room.  Not sure about you and your husband -- maybe at the foot of the bed ?  Put pillows on the floor if you do this in case he falls off.

[Frank & TeddyToyDoodle]

As I understand it, a dog's functions "shut down" while sleeping.  Even if not potty trained, the dog should be OK in the bed with you or your son.  However, when he wakes up in the morning you literally will have only 2-5 minutes to get dressed, get him ready, and grab all your stuff before he has an accident.

But after a while, I found myself with 10-15 minutes and even more time before Teddy would panic.  The puppy/dog does learn to hold it in.  But up to about 4 months you have to move very quickly in the AM as soon as he wakes up.

Now, Teddy wakes up and plays with toys in the bed or takes a nap if we both exit the bed.  At 6 1/2 months, he sometimes doesn't ring his potty bell for 3 hours after we get out of bed.  Close to 12 hours between breaks !

[Valery]

When crate training our doodle, we sometimes put a sheet or blanket over the crate. That did help quite a bit. I can't remember now how long it took for him to get adjusted, but I think it was several weeks. He would whine a lot. 

[Frank & TeddyToyDoodle]

I think that helps.  Again, I would have tried that too but I just went straight to having him sleep with me.  If I lived alone in a house and didn't have close-by neighbors, I probably would have let him bark a bit and not surrendered.  LOL