leash pulling....hysterical in crate...9week old puppy.....help.

[Miranda]

We have one beautiful well-behaved 16month old doodle and our beautiful nightmare 9 week old puppy that we picked up last week.  Our new puppy, Sandy, wants to be wherever our older dog, Cali is.  
Whenever we put Sandy in her crate she howls and barks hysterically, and also tried to dig her way out of the crate at night.  She isn't so bad in the afternoon....not sure why.  Anyway....we've been putting peanut butter in a kong and leaving it in the crate...even at night, and it seems to occupy her for awhile, but after she's licked it all out, the howling begins again.  Last night we were strong and just let her bark....but i'm pretty sure the neighbors are NOT going to be happy with us....considering she barked for 2 hours straight...midnight until 2 am.  (I live in an apt building).  Oh and as a side note...the night she was shipped to us via delta airlines...they FORGOT to put her on her connecting flight to Newark Airport and she spent an extra 4+ hours in her crate at the airport.  Not sure if this is relevant now or not.  Another thing she is doing is pulling on her leash like a mad women trying to catch up with Cali on our walks.  I leave Cali off leash because if I walk the both of them on their leashes, Sandy will just jump all over Cali and not take care of her business.  I feel like I might be raising a monster.  Sorry for the long post...any suggestions would be fabulous!  Thanks!!!

[cheryl & oliver]

Well first of all congrats on the new puppy....Now I can only tell you what we did, we had one of those howlers and barkers at night....It was driving us crazy, what we did was put his crate in our room, I could not believe it, he was fine as long as ke knew we were there and he could see us...I do have to admit when the vet suggested it to me, I really was hesitant. I decided to see if he was having aniety seperation when we left him...So one night I decided to sleep in the den with him, when I put him in his crate he started to carry on...I told him to be quiet, Mom was here and it was time to sleep,,,,I saw him looking at me, but he did lie down, and he slept until 6:30 am the nexr morning...The next day we moved his crate into our room and never had the problem again...Do u walk him before putting him in? do u walk him during the night? We did all that, and still he was not sleeping, well like I said, he slept like a dream once he knew we were near him...He is now 10 mos old, a big galoot, he weighs 67 lbs, and is the sweetest love of a dog, and when it is bedtime, I just say Oliver nite nite time, and he runs into our bedroom and goes right in his crate, lies down and that is it for the night...I would try it if I were you...He is a baby and maybe he is scared? They need to feel you are there it helps, at least it did for us...Good luck, Cheryl

[Lori]

My 4 month old pup also hates being in his crate, I too do the PB in the kong & when that is done he freaks out. Made my life a bit difficult during the Christmas shopping season...I felt SO guilty with his misery that I wouldn't go out!!! I do let him sleep in my room, so we don't have the problem at night, but with time he seems to be getting better with it. In the beginning he would be SOAKED from drooling all over himself, now it's just his mouth that really gets wet. HAve you read about how you are supposed to start crate training...I didn't, so the 1st time he needed to go in we just assumed to put him in & go...you are supposed to do a little at a time. Put her in, go outside & come right back in after 2 min...so she knows you will be coming back. Google it if you need to, there are a # of websites that deal with crate training & separation anxiety. As for the pupping, he too had a problem & we just got the Gentle Leader - I have walked him with it 3x and there is an AMAZING difference!!!! I wish you luck & keep us posted : )

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I was lucky on this because Peri never really had a problem after the first week. But maybe it is because of how we did it. I started the crate games as soon as I brought her home - had the crate in the living room with the door open and would just leave really special treats in it - she started going in on her own. You can do a search for that on here - I will try to find some discussions for you.
Also, the first month or so, we had her crate in our room. By the 2nd or 3rd night, she wouldn't cry unless it was around 3 and I knew she needed to potty. We kept the crate covered with a dark blanket so little light could enter. We also used a sound machine - I swear this saved us and made Peri happy. We kept it on white noise at night and it actually soothed us humans to sleep also. I STILL leave it on when we crate her when we are gone. She is not in her crate anymore at night (9 months old). She has slept on a bed since 6 months. It will get better.

I will tell you some dogs have a strong aversion to crates and it just doesn't work out. She probably does have a bad taste in her mouth from her flight situation. I suggust the crate games, sound machine, etc....

I went home during lunch today for our daily walk. Peri knows when I am heading back to work and heads straight for the crate, knowing she gets a special treat. I just have to say "go to your crate" and she is in it! Good luck.

[Lynne B]

lol typical puppy problems, especially when they bond with an older dog. Honestly I would forget about taking them on walks together for now. I would be worried about taking the puppy out on public streets or roads until she's done with her vaccinations and quite frankly until she is leash trained by herself you are not going to achieve good compliance trying to get her to walk on lead when she is super excited about trying to catch up with your other dog.

Regarding the crate, chances are the breeder never introduced her to the crate. There are options, if you can protect your floor from 'accidents' you could tether her for the night and give up on the crate- maybe you could do this in a room where the older dog sleeps?

If that won't work, then start over with crate training and lure her into the crate with wonderful treats, and keep giving her treats as long as she stays in the crate (leave the door open) pretty soon she will stay in there in anticipation of a treat. When you get her to that point close the door but don't leave, as soon as you close the crate door - and before she has a chance to try to get out, or start crying start giving her treats. (treats are NOT dog biscuits they are teeny tiny pieces of something wonderful, shredded chicken, turkey or bits of hot dog, or commercial treats like charlie bears). Repeat this about 30 times a day, always open the door and let her out after a session and always end any training session with a success. You should also feed her in her crate and let her out as soon as she is done eating. If you are lucky you will eventually get her to like the crate and remain in it for the night.

One more thing- when Beck was a puppy he arrived in a plastic travel crate and HATED it! We had to buy him a large wire crate with a removable divider in it, he adapted very well to it and slept all night in it until he was fully house broken at about 5 months.

[Lori]

I'm no dog psychologist, but I would bet that the shipping in the crate ordeal had to be very traumatic for her. No wonder she doesn't like to go in it! We've been lucky with Leo, but he had a snuggle puppy with his mom's scent all over it and I think that really helped him. However, he hasn't cared much for the thunderstorms that have hammered us all week. I figured he's a six month old puppy confined in his crate, it's flashing and booming, who wouldn't freak out? So I just got up and let him out of crate and stayed with him until the booming stopped. Are there external noises that might be bothering your pup? Anyway, I'm finding at least with Leo, he really isn't that different than a toddler and he responds pretty well to the same kinds of things I might try to calm down a little child. Good luck and congratulations!!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree with what everyone is saying - Miranda, it will get better. Sandy is soooo young.

And Jane, I had NO idea that Noah was switched at birth - I mean flight. (ha). Funny how things end up the way the should.

[shelly]

Jane, I can't believe that about Noah! That then is a clear case of getting the puppy that is meant to be yours! Reading this, I also now remember you once lived in NY,

Miranda, I actually put the crate in my son's room so she wasn't lonely and I laid one of my son's tee shirts right outside the crate, not inside b/c she was a chewer, so she could smell him too. I also put a long blanket, or try a towel over 3 of the sides of the crate. They like to feel secure. You didn't mention what type of crate you have, but maybe if it's the cage type, maybe it's too open to the "outside world"... Good luck. Hang in there and congratulations!

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

My first doodle was crate trained in 2 nights but my second could NOT be crate trained. I tried for 3 weeks but I could not go any more without sleep. Even toys and food didn't stop the howling for a second. I even tried putting half my body in there with him but he kept freaking out and even chewing on the bars. That doesn't mean your puppy can't be crate trained but it is always a possibility. The time he spent traveling in a crate may have been too much for him.

The next thing I tried was putting him our bathroom and closing the door. There is more room , no carpet and it's not a crate. It might work for you but it didn't work for me. He was just as bad as in the crate. I ended up gating the stairs and the family room which has carpet and letting him loose on the main floor with my other dog. Good luck.

[Ron Carnes]

Zack soiled his crate as a pup. I washed the blanket but finally had to sanatize the crate. After that he had no problem with his crate.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned, my doodle crate trained easily, but Gordie, our Springer, would NOT crate train. It was anxiety. He needed to be with us and not confined. I think most dogs can be crate trained but some just can not. I would keep trying using the tips others have given to you. If it just doesn't work, it doesn't work and you will figure something else out.

[Miranda]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I think I am just stressed out from lack of sleep!! I am going to try and put the crate closer to my bed tonight and see how that goes. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

[Diana Allen]

Quite the frustration I see.... when we first got Cagney at almost 4mths old...he did not like his crate one bit... barked his face off... so after only 4 attempts I think it was we just let him sleep on the floor beside the bed... he felt too warm on the bed or was just more comfortable on the floor.. he was just fine...all night... it was awesome.... every time we tried to crate him in the day.... he would poop... yup... all over every bar in the cage was poop.... and of course on himself too... nice mess... so now we have a more or less brand new crate that is ready to sell.... no more crate for us... he really gave us attitude over it....