New Puppy and Barking - Crate

[Erin & Maizey]

Hi everyone!

Maizey came home this weekend and I am totally loving her.  She turned 9 weeks yesterday.  Much like everyone who has gone before me down this puppy road knows, she spent the first day or two calm, shy and just checking things out.  Then yesterday she settled in and started with the biting, chewing, barking etc.  One part adorable-ness, one part fur ball terror.  :)  I think I've gotten a handle on what to do for biting for now (read through lots of helpful discussions - thanks) but what I'm struggling with is the crate training and I can't find a discussion directly on point (because of my house layout).  As a side note, for now house-breaking is going really well, since I've been trying to stick to a schedule and she's caught on quickly to the bell ringing (so smart!)

Okay here's the crate situation:  My house is a 2 floor row house with neighbors on both sides (who I now feel like I need to bake cookies for since there's been lots of late night barking already).  I set up her sleeping crate upstairs next to my bed in my bedroom.  She's been sleeping fairly well once she calms down (about 5 hours at a time - yay!) and I usually calm her down by sitting next to the crate and talking soothly and sticking my fingers in.  I've been really good about not opening the door to barking (for now).  Since it's upstairs, she can't go in and out all day because she can't do the stairs.  Downstairs I have a very open layout with no hallways / closed rooms to set up gates in / areas to give her a time out.  I have a tent style crate (which is clearly not working since she started chewing it) and ordered a wire crate for downstairs that arrives tomorrow. 

Anyways, I'm working from home this week but next week have to go back (booo).  I have a puppy walker coming by twice a day (lunch / mid afternoon) and then I'll be home by dinner time. Needless to say I need to get her acclimated to the downstairs crate for the day.  We did a trial run using the upstairs crate and it was just non stop barking. 

I was hoping to get people's advice on how to crate train for short day crating when its an open layout.  Are puppies okay with having 2 crates - one for day and one for night?  Embarrassingly, I'm starting to feel sort of trapped in my house.  I would like to be able to close her in there and still do stuff around the house without her seeing me and barking.  I tried the kong with the kong cookie in - she didn't seem to like it.  Then I tried peanut butter - that was a no go too.  This afternoon I'm trying a frozen kong with pumpkin.  For the short day stays - is it better to be in a bedroom upstairs or downstairs with a sheet over the crate?  

Should I have her start sleeping downstairs at night?  I'm worried she will get really lonely.  She's a good napper and just kind of flops over wherever she happens to be (but not in her tent crate and I'm concerned she won't take to the new crate either).  Currently as I type, she's stretched out at my feet. 

Really sorry for writing an essay on a very basic crate problem and thanks in advance.  I'm a little worried I'm creating a separation anxiety issue.  

Thanks again!

[Kim, Abby & Beckett]

I live in a two story townhouse and I had two crates with my puppy Abby (she is 6 months now). At first I used a small/medium crate that I would have downstairs during the day and carry it upstairs at night. But once her new adult size crate came, I left that one downstairs and put the smaller one upstairs for nighttime. I really didn't have any problems with getting her to adjust. She really isn't a barker anyway. I will say since it did help having the crate at the same level as my bed. I found Abby didn't really bark or whine in her crate at night if she could see me. So I put the crate on an ottoman because my bed is high off the ground. That seemed to keep her calm. The only time she really spoke up was when she needed to go outside. And by four months, I had ditched the upstairs crate all together. She was sleeping through the night at that point and there was no need for it.

Overall, my Abby isn't a barker/whiner. So I never had trouble with her in the crate. She would just lay down or chew on bullysticks or play with whatever was in her crate. I did start by crating her 5 minutes here and there while I was in the room. Then extending the length a bit and even walking out of the room. That helps them know the crate is ok. I also leave the door open when she is not in it. She doesn't go in there much, but every once in a while I will catch her in there. sleeping. 

[Jen St. Louis]

Two crates worked great for us with Mindy. She had her sleeping crate upstairs in our bedroom (now she just sleeps in her own little bed up there) and her big crate in our open-concept living-room/kitchen combo.

From the day we brought her home, we started crating Mindy for a few minutes at a time, to get her used to it. The first week we had her, she'd scream her head off as soon as we took her upstairs, regardless or whether or not she was in her crate. We have no clue why. None. So instead of letting her out to the crate to stop the barking/howling/whimpering that was threatening to deafen us, we took the whole crate - with her still inside - back downstairs. For that week, my hubby and I alternated sleeping in the living room with Mindy in her sleeping crate. It seemed to work, and she's never given us any trouble since.

Good luck! :)

[K and Racey]

We did the 2 crate system as well. Make sure the living room crate has something that smells like you inside it. My husband would put his undershirt from the day before in there.

EVERY time we put Racey in her crate, we gave her a treat-about 5-6 little ones. We like the zekes. And sometimes even now, we make her go in her crate and give her a treat. Her crate is still set up in the living room, and when we are getting ready to leave she'll go lay down in it because she knows she's going to get a treat, which is weird because Racey isn't food motivated, but I guess it's just part of the morning routine. 

I think you'll just have to let her cry it out.

[John and Finn]

Mine came home 3 weeks ago and at first he slept with us (tried the crate and he went balistic the first night).  Eventually he became impossible to sleep with so we tried the crate next to the bed putting my fingers in to calm him.  That worked for a night or 2.  So, after talking to several friends with dogs I broke down and moved his crate to our laundry room.  I covered the crate and closed the heat vent and closed the door.  At first he cried and tried to escape but eventually he calms down and goes to sleep.

During the day I gate him in a large bathroom with slate floors (he won't mess on hard floors for some reason) and someone comes and lets him out during the day.  Same thing, at first he cries but eventually he passes out.  Everyday he has gotten better with both situations.

BTW, the whole kong/treat thing never worked for Finn when we crated/confined him.  Anyway good luck!!

[Erin & Maizey]

Thanks, everyone!  I think I'm also just going through new puppy owner freak-out jitters!  I'm trying so hard not to mess up with training, etc. (I read too many books I think) but at the end of the day I just need to make it work.  I have some zeke's treats arriving tomorrow.  Other than peanut butter and the kong, she is definitely food motivated and will eat everything (including rocks, grass, weeds, wood chips, etc).  Can you leave them alone with a bully stick?  I read a review on amazon for one type and some dog almost died on a shred from one.  I'll head over to the food group.

Thanks again - I really love how responsive and supportive people are here.

[K and Racey]

I would not leave a bully stick. Too many horror stories with those things. Also, even now, if I let Racey have one for more than about 10 minutes, they make her throw up.

[Buster and Kathy]

I love Maizey's puppy belly!  I teach pottery classes and last week my 5 year old students made clay puppies. I asked them what makes a puppy look like a puppy and my favorite response was "the belly".

Buster's sleeping crate is in the guest bedroom and I only "put" him in there at bedtime.  He goes in and out during the day to retrieve toys, etc. I intentionally put toys in there so that he thinks of it as his den rather than a place of confinement. My 13 year old chow/golden mix had the same situation and as he matured, he would go to his crate anytime he wanted to relax. He would be missing in the house and we would find him curled up in the crate! The wire crate is covered so that he can sleep without worrying about anything else. 

To get Buster acccustomed to the crate, I lay on the floor with my upper body in his crate, he walks in beside me and fidgets around to get comfortable.  When he settles in, I close the crate door, cover the front (the cover has windows which I leave open for ventilation) and walk out, shutting the door behind me.  He has never whined or barked at bedtime.  As a new mom, I am tuned into his sounds and when I hear him during the night or in the morning, I go in immediately and take him outside to do his business.  He woke up a few times at 4:30 so I just slept on the guest bed until morning and let him sleep on the floor beside me - with the door shut.  Lately, he has been sleeping the night, as much as 10 hrs.  

When I go to work (semi-retired so I work about 15 hrs per week), I put him in the laundry room where he has more room to move around. His bed in there is just an old folded comforter. As I put up the baby gate, I give him a good "busy" treat, like a hollow marrow bone or kong toy with a dab peanut butter inside, so that he associates my leaving with something pleasant. The same thing worked for my Pomeranian for 11 years, while I worked full-time! Buster is 14 weeks old today and has been able to hold his bladder until I or my husband return home.  On one occassion for 5 hours - he is holding it for 10 hrs at night! 

While I am at home, he is not crated but is always in my sight to avoid as many "accidents" as possible - chewing and otherwise. Years ago, I read that when dogs think they are responsible for guarding an entire house, they can get worked up, running from window to window, and can become destructive.  So, I have never given my dogs run of the house when I leave them alone. 

I know I responded with an essay but these things are complex! Being a mom to a puppy is exhausting but I try to remember that the reward will be a well-behaved dog! It is worth it!

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy slept in a crate and we gradually moved him from our bedroom to the office upstairs to downstairs in the living room. He slept best in the living room and with a blanket over the crate at night. He always stayed in a pen during the day since we're gone for more than 4 hours. When he was about 6 months old he started sleeping in the pen at night, too and he doesn't use the crate anymore. Although Teddy used to bark when we left him in the pen while we were in a different room of the house, he never had a problem with barking when we were not home, so that might be the case with Maizey too. We would give Teddy his breakfast right when we left for work to keep him occupied until we were gone. I never left Teddy alone with anything other than a Kong and his food and water bowls, for safety reasons.

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

We did the two crate thing and it worked out well. I put one crate in a corner where its the least traffic area in living area and one in our bedroom. I covered bedroom crate a little and made it den like to signify time for bed.

When I left for longer time frames and he was in downstairs crate-I put a radio on very low with soft music. This made the silence not so loud. LOL

Do NOT make a big deal about leaving or coming in-just walk out. No saying goodbye,hugs, kisses,etc-when you come in or out of the house just act calm and normal. If you act like its no big deal its much better..and is suppose to help them

not develop anxiety issues. Its really hard at first, to not comfort them when they whimper in crate, but hang tough it will get better. If you cave it will be harder each time to get them to stop. Good luck-this phase passes quickly.

[Ashley, Ronnie and Ruby]

We have 2 crates and Ruby loves it. The downstairs crate is the one she goes into when we are out. She goes in with no issues when we ask her but does not tend to 'hang out' in that one. The night time crate is in our room. This is the crate that she will go into freely and nap with the door open. It is funny how she knows the difference. There is no problems with having 2 crates.