Training my golden doodle. I'm having a problem crate training my golden doodle. She will be 10 week old tomorrow. I need some help

[Eileen Hinchliffe]

Do you have any suggestions as to crate training my little sweetheart. She doesn't like the crate and when she cries at night my heart is sad. Please help!!!

[Nat]

Eileen, when I got Bamboo 3 years ago he cried too. What I did was put a clock that made the tic tac sound beside his crate to remind him his mummy's heart beating. I also put in his crate a bottle of hot tap water to sooth him a little bit more and the toy he came with. I did not hear him the next night at all except to go potty at 5 am. But you have to ignore his crying cause just like a real baby his gonna feed on it and you will never be able to train him to sleep in his crate. The magic word is "patience". Give him time to adjust to his new home too. Good luck!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

It would NEVER occur to me to leave a human baby alone in it's crib to cry for an extended period of time...It's been scientifically and behaviorally proven that children left to "self soothe" grow to become insecure and neurotic adults with low self -esteem because they are conditioned to believe that their cries for assistance will always go unanswered...They feel unworthy....

Now in regards to puppies and dog training...I can only go by what I have personally experienced...Some dogs just don't acclimate to the crate....some love it....but I wouldn't want to put any dog through unnecessary stress for an extended period of time insisting that they "learn" how to accept the crate it they don't take to it...I mean REALLY!..The crate is designed for human convenience...not with the dogs well being in mind....It goes against their instincts as pack animals..

I happen to have an extremely confident, calm, good natured, well mannered dog with no neurosis` or bad habits who trained very easiliy.....He spent one horrible night in the crate and never went back in it.........Would it have been easier for me if he had taken to it?....well..SURE!....Would it have been the best situation for him?.....No.....

A good way to introduce the crate may be to block off an area like the kitchen with gates and place the crate inside that area with the door open.....That way the pup can get used to being inside without being confined to it....

[2fbh0gfp1tgnd]

I believe it really depends on the dog... if one is a chewer... if not in the crate.. whats to stop them from destroying your house or injesting something that may need to be removed surgically.

[Tamara & Giada]

I agree.....I could NEVER let any of my puppies OR human babies cry it out!!

[Debbie V & Daisy]

I have never been successful crate training. To lazy I gus. My pups have always been housebroken pretty fast. I'm going to give it a try this go around. I've been reading all of the suggestions so we'll see how it goes. I've never had a place to bounce ideas off of or ask questions. DK has been great for so many things.

[Karin and Cooper]

My question to you all is: what time does your doodle go to sleep? We've only had Cooper for a few days and he seems to be adjusting well. He's only 8 weeks old. We are early to bed, early to rise people..so he's usually in his crate asleep by 9. He gets up 2-3 times a night. He's up and ready to play hard by 4:45 when my husband is up. He is actually ready to play when he cries to go out in the middle of the night! He does crash pretty hard a couple times between 6-8PM. It's hard to stop them as they really are so little and need their rest. He's OK with the crate but he doesn't love it. I work from home so he's hanging out with me and not in the crate. I am thinking I should have the crate upstairs with me and place him in there when he's napping. Thanks for any advice!
Karin

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

HI Karin!
Kachi always wants to go to sleep around 9:30pm or so. He sleeps in our bathroom, but I always leave his crate door open in case he wants to crawl inside it. When he was Cooper's age, and he slept in his crate with the gate closed, he would be fired up on all cylinders in the morning, and ready to play (this was before we could take him for walks)before 6:00am. Now that he is older, I often hear him playing quietly in the early hours of the morning, but like a good alarm clock, I can count on the fact that two paws, and a wet nose, will be up on my side of the bed at 6:05am letting me know its time to get up! And just like a snooze button, I tell him "Off! Not yet", and he let's me sleep for a few more minutes before he tries it again!

[Karin and Cooper]

Thank you Liza! You are just a lifesaver for me. I love hearing all of Kachi's stories. Cooper seems to go for about 9-9:15 bedtime. He was up at 5:15 this AM but I'll take it as he slept through the night again. A good pee and poo before bedtime does wonders!! We are dying to take him on walks but have 8 more weeks to wait. He does so well and then he'll have some bad times. All part of puppyhood. My poor 7 year old loves yet is terrified of him because of the nipping. I had a bit of a breakdown today what with trying to work from home/kids home/Cooper being Cooper. I feel better now though. Thanks again for everything Liza, you really are fantastic!