Introductions and Crate Training Question

[Lisa Raskind]

IMG_3538.jpg

Hello to Everyone!

We are picking up our first Double Doodle tomorrow.  Her name is Hana Sophia, and we are beyond excited.  As with many of you, it has been quite a wait!

First, my husband and I live on Bainbridge Island in Washington, and we are both retired.  Hana is supposed to be a medium double doodle, but she is the smallest of her litter, and the breeder thinks she may top out at 25 lbs.  She will be the 4th dog that we have shared our lives with over 40 years of marriage.  We have always had golden retrievers, but at this point in our lives, we (I should say me!) are thinking a smaller dog might be a better choice.  I will share more about Hana after she comes home.

Here is my question:  we have been reading about the lure/treat method of crate training, but we will get home rather late tomorrow, and won't have time to practice before she has to go into her crate for the night.  Any suggestions?  She will be with us in our bedroom, but since it will be a stressful day for her, I don't want to stress her out more.

Thanks in advance to all of you wonderful people!  Lisa

[Scotty]

I'm certainly no expert, but I don't think it's a huge deal. We got our 17.5 week old Truman right before Christmas. Because we were giving him to our son as a Christmas present he ended up staying with my brother in law for 4 days. So he had to sleep for his first 4 days in the kennel with no crate training at all. 

I never really did have to do much training as far as getting Truman to go into his kennel. I started luring but could never really get him to stay in long enough to treat him in the kennel. And before I had a chance to do much with it he learned to go in on command just from me luring him in when I was putting him in the crate. (as opposed to any kind of a training session) Now I just point in the kennel & say "in your kennel" & in he goes.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Welcome!

My advice is simple.... just put her in and turn the lights off. I personally never gave any treats when using the crate. Plus, you really don't want to stimulate her bowels with any food right before bedtime. :-) 

Be prepared for some crying, of course. But, having her crate in your bedroom will give you a chance to give her soothing words. That's where we had our crate, too. It made for a few sleepless nights, but I really think that it helped with the bonding. 

Best wishes and enjoy your pup!

[Natalie]

Hi, we just went through this so I hope i can be helpful. We also brought our girl home in the afternoon and had no time for real introduction to a crate, but we did have it all prepared for her ahead of time - we put a crate beside our bed and later added  the same blanket that we used in a car when we were driving her home. I slept on the floor in the sleeping bag beside her crate for the first two nights because she was crying and it helped so much, I would just put my hand in the crate and she would calm down and fall asleep right away...just feeling safe i guess being so close to me, and after two nights she was totally fine in a crate on her own. She loves her crate in our bedroom and we all go to sleep  together :) us in a bed and Jessie in a crate beside our bed....