Crate Hate - Behavior Change

[Stacey]

My almost 5 month old boy decided 2 nights ago that he only wanted to sleep about 3 hours in his night time crate (in our room) and then wanted out. He repeated it again last night.

Both nights I took him out to go potty the first time he would not calm down. He did and then I put him back in his crate with no play or love but he just barks and whimpers upon going back in. Last night I had to force him back in - not pleasant for either of us. He usually just walks in and lays down. Such odd behavior.

He has been very good in his crate until this point. He usually stays in the crate from about 11pm to 6:30 am no problem. We have never had an accident in a crate. This dog has held his pee since we brought him home at 10 weeks. I know he can hold it throughout the night - no problem. I do not think his whimpering and barking has anything to do with bathroom issues.

I was thinking his teeth were bugging him or growing pains.

Last night my husband removed the dog at about 4 am and put him in his downstairs crate so we could get some sleep. He seemed fine in the morning and I appreciated the sleep after not getting any the night before. I did not hear him crying, but that does not mean he didn't. I just did not hear it.

Now my husband wants him to sleep in the downstairs crate every night. I do not like this idea. I think he would be happier in the room with us. I am also concerned about knowing if he is sick or needs help - he is still a baby. I do not know if he is ready to roam the room if we are asleep though. I think he would get into trouble.

Has anyone else had a dog that was fine in the crate turn on it? Maybe he is ready for a dog bed. a night. I do not want my doodle to feel unloved and lonely. But, my husband said he would leave the room if the dog did not.

Any suggestions?

[Lia & Pippa]

Pippa stopped sleeping well in her crate around that age as well. She would start getting up for the day at 5:30 or 6am. It didn't seem to be an issue of holding her bladder either she would just start whining in her crate and I'd take her out and she'd be really resistant to go back in when we came inside which had never been the case before. I read here on doodlekisses that some dogs seemed to get too warm in their crate (especially if you have a crate pad/blanket) in there. I think that may have been Pippa's issue but when I tried to take the pad out she refused to go in the crate (she doesn't like change apparently). So we ultimately decided to try and see how she did sleeping on our bedroom floor. We closed the doors and her lay down next to the bed on the hardwood. She sleeps so much better now! Pippa has never been much of a chewer or mischievous so it worked for us to keep her out. She much prefers to sleep on the cool hardwood then on a doggy bed. Good luck!

[Erin & Maizey]

It was right around this age that Maizey did something similar - she would bark in the middle of the night as if she had to go out (and at that point was sleeping through the night) and as soon as I would open the crate door she would look at the back door but then run over to her dog bed or to the couch and curl up. After a few consecutive nights of this, I dog proofed my bedroom, moved her dog bed up there and she's been sleeping up there ever since (with my door shut so she can't free-roam).  She's 6.5 months now and it's worked out pretty well.  Maybe your little guy just wants to sleep on a dog bed? 

He might also not be tired.  I found that as Maizey has gotten older, her need for exercise has increased exponentially.  If she goes to doggy daycare and spends the day running around with other dogs, she will come home, lounge around all evening then sleep all night until about 8 and sometimes later.  It's kind of crazy.  Some days she just has a dog walker and I have to really tucker her out at night to make her good and tired so sleeps all night.  Doodles have a remarkable reserve of energy.  Maybe you should try getting him really tired and see if he sleeps in the crate all night then?

 

Hope this helps!

[Carol and Banjo]

Banjo did this out of the clear blue when he was younger and we found he just didn't want to be in his "upstairs" crate.   He slept happily in the downstairs crate right up until about 20 months old at which point he started sleeping on our bedroom floor.    I didn't like that he wanted his "independence" away from us but it seemed to work out for all of us in the end.

[Gail and Bailey]

We got our Bailey at 6 month of age and she had never been crated before.  I wanted to crate train her because I felt she would be safer in the house when we were away, if she was in a crate.  She did fantastic in the crate during the day for an hour or two when we left and for the first 5 days she slept in the crate beside our bed without complaining.  Then on the 6th night she rebelled. After I made sure that potty issues were not the reason, I knew to not give in to her so my husband left for the guest room and I rode it out with her and she finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning.  The next night was the same but the fussing was shorter.  She still did not mind the crate during the day so I couldn't figure it out.  I finally decided that since I had won in the "battle of the wills" up until that point that I could now see what happened if I did not crate her at night. She happily curled up at my feet and slept peacefully.  I kept our door shut so I knew she would be in the room.  After a few months she has decided that she likes to sleep on the floor at the foot of the bed for part of the night and then move to our closet.  She always quietly comes up on the bed between us right about the time we wake up. It is perfect.  Funny thing is,  she is very content to be put into her crate in the daytime.  I guess she likes the treats she gets and she takes the time to have a nice nap. I would think that if your dog is potty trained for all night, that you could let him decide where he is comfortable sleeping....(so long as you and hubby are comfortable with his choice.)  Just my humble opinion.

[Rachel and Ollie]

Ollie did this too at this age. He was totally fine with the crate and then one day out of the blue he did not want to stay in at night. I knew he wasn't hurt or sick or anything and I don't really have anywhere else to put him (apartment living) and he definitely would have gotten into trouble if I left him out of the crate. He is a good boy, but will randomly have an accident or eat a hair dryer. So when he started whimpering and wanting out I just told him "no" very firmly and then ignored him. It took a little while (and I hated it), but he calmed down and was totally fine with his crate.It felt like a child whining about bed time lol 

[Stacey]

Thank you for all the responses.

Last night we put Rapha in his "downstairs" crate and he seems to have done great. ( I slept like a baby so I am not too sure.)  But he was not whimpering or barking in the morning.  He just waited nicely for my husband to let him out.  He was very sweet and happy to see us.  

Maybe he likes the downstairs crate better for some reason.  AS long as he stays happy, I think we will keep him in there at night and transition him into a dog bed into our room when he gets a little older.

By the way, he is definitely teething so I think that is aggravating his crate behavior.  Last night he was trying to get a tooth out and his mouth was bleeding.  Poor guy!  I feel so bad for them when they hurt.  

[Theresa & Duncan]

This is so ironic because we literally had this EXACT problem with Duncan last night. I posted about it in the forum, and a DK reader was kind enough to refer me to your post. Duncan has been really good about going in his crate, but last night you would think we were trying to send him into a vat of hot oil! He cried for hours and we hardly got any sleep at all :(. It is actually comforting to see that others have experienced this and my pup is not a total nut. I mentioned our issue to my dog walker, and she said that it is very common for puppies around 6 months old to go through something called "Fear imprinting". I am attaching a link that talks more about it, but here is the gist which sounds EXACTLY like what some of us have experienced:

"Second Fear Imprint Period (6 - 14 Months) The Second Fear Imprint Period is similar to the one that occurred during the socialization period, but, it is much less defined. It occurs as dogs enter adolescence and seems more common in males. It is often referred to as adolescent shyness. Your dog may suddenly become reluctant to approach something new or suddenly become afraid of something familiar. This behavior can be very frustrating to the owner and difficult to understand because its onset is so sudden and, seemingly, unprovoked. If you notice this behavior, it is important to avoid the two extremes in response: Don't force him to do or approach something frightening to him and don't coddle or baby him. To get through situations that make your dog fearful, be patient, kind, and understanding. Desensitize him to the object or situation by gradually introducing him to it and using food rewards and praise to entice him to confront the fearful object or situation. Do not coddle or reassure him in any way that will encourage his fearful behavior. Do not correct him either. Simply make light of it and encourage him give him food rewards as he begins to deal with his fear better. Make sure you lavishly praise his attempts! This phase will pass. " http://www.doberman.org/articles/puppy.htm

This also makes me feel a little better :). Tonight I am going to spend some time "reintroducing" Duncan to the crate with treats and see how it goes!

[Stacey]

Thanks for sharing that.  i have to say that Rapha has done very well the last two nights in his other crate.  we have gotten really god sleep and everyone appears to be happy for now.  

it is good to know about this second fear imprint period.  

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Perhaps you have thought of this already, but maybe there's something about the crate that you have downstairs that he prefers.  Is it different than the one up in your bedroom?  If it is, why not swap them, so that he can be in a crate in your room at night?