HELP! Barking Doodle at 14 Weeks In a Crate During the Day

[Shannon and Otis]

Help! I live in an apartment in NYC and my 14 week old goldendoodle constantly barks, whines, and makes puppy noises when I put him in the crate during the day. At night he is perfectly quiet and fine. I have given him a Kong stuffed and frozen with peanut butter, a pigs ear to chew on, a bully stick, etc. And nothing seems to work. Today, one of the neighbors complained about the barking. His schedule is usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday that he comes to work with me and Tuesday and Thursday he stays home, but today I had to pick him up mid day to come to the office so as not to upset the neighbors. Does anyone have any advice for how to handle this issue? I would really appreciate it! I have grown up with dogs my entire life, and one of my golden's didn't like their crate, but he goes in at night, so I am not sure what the issues are here. Thank you in advance!!!!

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/trainingmindsets#ixzz2uS7ZfTkd

[Jordan & Daisy]

Shannon I feel for you! We have a 13 week old in an apartment as well. She also had a hard time with the crate during the day but slept with no problem at night. BUT then we started feeding all of her meals in her crate and this has made a huge difference. Now I think she associates the crate more with food than anything else.. but it took a LOT of meals inside crate. Also, while she was eating we would close the crate door and each day we would leave it closed for a little bit longer after she was done eating- that way she got used to being in the crate while we were home. She was pretty happy having just eaten so she would sit there SILENTLY (we are still doing this). Another thing that helped was teaching her the "go in the crate" command with treats, now she basically runs to the crate when we say it and goes inside and sits down because she wants food lol. When I come home during the day to take her out she is never ever crying and it only took about a week and a half for this change to happen.

She definitely still doesn't "love" her crate like some pups but she is much more willing to go in it and stay in it quietly and I think it will only get better. Good luck!

[Shannon and Otis]

Thank you so much - He has given me a bit of a problem with eating his food - I have tried to feed him inside the crate but he doesn't eat as much as he should and I have read a lot that some dogs don't eat when they are not hungry - I just want to make sure that he keeps up a good weight at this point. Thank you so much for your feedback though! I will try some of your techniques! 

[Jordan & Daisy]

I hope it helps! Has he always been a tough eater or just recently? Have you tried a different food?

[Shannon and Otis]

I am using the food that the breeder was using when he was there - Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Formula - I tried to also mix it with Welness Puppy Formula - he doesn't like that one either - and then I tried to sprinkle Parmesean Cheese on top to make him eat that - and that didn't work either. So now I am going to mix it with some wet puppy food and see if he will eat that today and I am crossing my fingers and hope it works. If it does, then I will start to feed him in his crate. Normally he doesn't even make a sound, not even a bark!

[Jordan & Daisy]

I am going to PM you!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Be careful you don't get too picky of an eater adding these things to the food. Just a thought :-)

[Shannon and Otis]

That is what I am trying not to create - I am going to switch his food and see if he likes that - it could be the protein that he isn't in to - he eats up the lamb and salmon treats I give him - so maybe a protein switch will do the trick.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I can't stress enough that a healthy dog will NOT starve himself.  He really won't.  Plus, the guidelines on the bag are only guidelines and not written in stone.  Some dogs eat more and some less.  For example we feed our 63 pound goldendoodle the same amount as our 50 pound Springer Spaniel.  Our goldendoodle gains weight really easily and our Springer worries it off.   Choose a quality kibble from the food list in the Food group and stick to it for a while.  If the dog's poop is fine, then the food agrees with him.  If you have a dog that is not very food oriented, a grain-free kibble is a good choice because it is more efficient and the serving size is less.  It costs a bit more but it is higher calorie so the portions are smaller.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

You may want to cross post in the Puppy Madness Group since this is more of a "puppy issue" than an actual training question.  Here's an article that has lots of good ideas that may help.....http://www.thehousebreakingbible.com/training/crate-barking.htm.

[Shannon and Otis]

Jane - Thank you so much - I actually read that article and it did help a lot! 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

When our dogs were young, we always left a TV on for them and a fan to mute outside noises.

[Shannon and Otis]

I do that as well - and it seems covering his crate has worked also! Thank you for your advice!