training to sleep in crate - YorkieTalk.com Forums

kodibear · 06-23-2007, 10:01 AM

Over the last two weeks that we've had Cody, we already trust him to be in the house following us around during the day. He was doing so good with potty training and then sleeping in his crate at night (with a few accidents but we've been working on timing for that) After his shot the other day he slept the rest of the day and since then he's gotten on the schedule of sleeping all day and barking all night in his crate (and now having tons of accidents since he's awake all night) We don't want his crate to be something he feels captive in but comfortable. We have a bed that fits exactly in the bottom of the crate, but since he's having accidents we keep towels in the bottom. I understand that he barks because he doesn't understand why he's in the crate instead of with us

When we first got him, we'd put him in his crate during the day when he fell asleep so that he would get used to it- and he did! But now he acts like he's being punished every time we put him in there. Today we're working on keeping him awake as much as possible so that he's really tired tonight and then putting him in the crate when he falls asleep (which immediately makes him wake up) When he barks we tell him no (firmly) and sometimes make a loud noise. He'll fall asleep eventually but then wakes up to any noise and realizes people are around and not letting him out. We let him out- he goes to his bed and sleeps....

I love Cody, I don't want him to feel like he's being punished for falling asleep... any advice? Are we being horribly cruel? We just want him to sleep at night (which he would I'm sure if we put him in our beds and cuddled all night long but our goal is to get him used to sleeping independently- so that when he's completely potty trained he can just go to his bed and sleep at night)

mistyinca · 06-23-2007, 10:11 AM

If you want him to sleep in his crate at night without barking or whining, you absolutely MUST NOT respond to his barks, and you MUST NOT let him out during the night to sleep in a different bed.

Decide whether you want him sleeping in a bed or in the crate and stick to it. If you respond verbally to his barking, or if you eventually let him out, HE has trained YOU.

The barking will eventually end if you do not respond and if you do not eventually let him out.

The key is consistency. Good luck!

kodibear · 06-23-2007, 10:31 AM

should it be enough to leave him in the crate at night and not let him out? He has never slept in any bed besides his crate at night... but during the day he's pretty much allowed to sleep wherever he wants on the floor, not in beds. And even though we've made him have some alone time during the day he now barks if we leave him anywhere- outside, in his crate, or in the basement.... I know it's his age... I guess we're just frustrated because he had been doing so good

mistyinca · 06-23-2007, 10:42 AM

How old is he? If he can go through the night without a potty break, then there is no reason to take him out in the night. If you stick to it for a few nights without going to him or talking to him, he'll eventually give up and go to sleep. Where do you keep his crate at night?

Luckyone · 06-23-2007, 10:44 AM

I ended up moving my dog's crates downstairs and out of our bedroom. Our lab's used to be downstairs but she was happier upstairs with us. But Bella's still learning so it's easier (and we sleep better) if they're away from us. As soon as Bella's learned to not cry to get out, I'll move them both back upstairs. Trying to ignore them or tell them quiet just doesn't work for us when they're in the same room and we want to sleep.

kodibear · 06-23-2007, 10:56 AM

we think he's about 3 mos old- we let him go 4 hours at a time without a potty break at night but he's almost always had an accident before then. His crate is in the family room in the basement so the only people who can hear him are my parents

I suppose we just need to stick with it, but I'm not sure how to keep him awake during the day now that he doesn't sleep at all at night. Although, sticking him in his crate every time he falls asleep seems to be working to keep him awake, it just seems cruel though... I guess if he needs to sleep he'll get used to sleeping in the crate

We'll get through this... I just get these flashes of panic every once in awhile that we're hurting his psyche to lock him up

mistyinca · 06-23-2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kodibear

we think he's about 3 mos old- we let him go 4 hours at a time without a potty break at night but he's almost always had an accident before then. His crate is in the family room in the basement so the only people who can hear him are my parents

I suppose we just need to stick with it, but I'm not sure how to keep him awake during the day now that he doesn't sleep at all at night. Although, sticking him in his crate every time he falls asleep seems to be working to keep him awake, it just seems cruel though... I guess if he needs to sleep he'll get used to sleeping in the crate

We'll get through this... I just get these flashes of panic every once in awhile that we're hurting his psyche to lock him up

In that case, why don't you try doing what we did with Chloe. I put her crate inside an xpen with the crate door opened. We left a pee pad at the end for her to potty on. She would come out in the night on her own and used the pad. When the pad started staying clean all night, we closed her crate door at night and ditched the xpen.

We also keep her downstairs in the family room, so she isn't in the same room with us. That might help too.

Galatea · 06-23-2007, 12:57 PM

You might try keeping the crate in your room next to the bed. I have my puppy Gidget's crate on top of a large wicker crate so it is level with me bed. She can see me and we go to bed about the same time. She never barks or whimpers when I am there. She has not had any accidents in her crate. I used to set my alarm for 3 am and take her to her potty place, but then I stopped. Lately she wakes me up at 5 AM with a whine and she immediately goes potty in her potty place when I let her out and then goes back to the crate and sleeps a bit more. I am convinced this has gone so smoothly because she is in my room.

During the day, when she is not running around with me, I have two large xpen type areas. I leave her crate in the corners of which ever pen I am using. I have a potty area set up, her toys, and food and water. I leave the door to her crate open when it is in an xpen. I usually find her sleeping inside her crate with the door open.

kodibear · 06-23-2007, 06:17 PM

if we're in the room while Cody is in his crate, he cries even more... He hasn't had accidents in the house for almost a week (out of the two he's been here) so I think we'll hold off on an xpen but I have considered it...

We kept him awake most of the day today. He barked himself to sleep for about 15 minutes in the crate and he had another half hour nap outside, but compared to his normal 4-5 hours of sleeping everyday he is VERY tired right now. We baited him with a rawhide treat to go into his crate and put his crate in a different room. He barked for about 40 minutes, slept for maybe 15 and started barking again so we let him out to go potty (outside as I type this)

I guess the frustrating part is that he barked the first night, probably because everything was new, and then we haven't had any more problems until the last couple nights

Thank you all for your advice. My guess is that with his age he's just testing his limits so we need to stay strong to the training we started him with

I'll keep you updated...

kalina82 · 06-23-2007, 06:35 PM

at three months he still is kinda young to make it thru the night but if he's done it before and you know that he can hold it then i'd stick it out with the crate training. At bed time put him in there, lock the door and walk away. Do not let him out if he is crying or barking because then he'll win. If you think he has to go potty only let him out once. So say bed time is at 10pm, take him outside to potty right before that and make sure he goes. Then put him in the crate, tell him good night, and walk away. If you think he can hold it thru the night then don't go back to him until its time to wake up in the morning. If you think he needs a potty break at night then set up a time like 2 or 3 am and take him out then to potty, then right back in the crate. You need to be firm with them otherwise they'll walk all over you with those four little cute paws. good luck and i hope he quiets down soon.

kodibear · 06-23-2007, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalina82

at three months he still is kinda young to make it thru the night but if he's done it before and you know that he can hold it then i'd stick it out with the crate training. At bed time put him in there, lock the door and walk away. Do not let him out if he is crying or barking because then he'll win. If you think he has to go potty only let him out once. So say bed time is at 10pm, take him outside to potty right before that and make sure he goes. Then put him in the crate, tell him good night, and walk away. If you think he can hold it thru the night then don't go back to him until its time to wake up in the morning. If you think he needs a potty break at night then set up a time like 2 or 3 am and take him out then to potty, then right back in the crate. You need to be firm with them otherwise they'll walk all over you with those four little cute paws. good luck and i hope he quiets down soon.

he goes in his crate at 11 or 12 and stays in there until 4:00 for a potty break when my dad goes to work and then stays until about 7am. The problem with potty break before he goes in is he knows why we're out there so he stretches it out so he doesn't have to go in his crate (smart lil fella!) but we do give him about 10 minutes to go before he goes to bed

Thanks!

Superstarkba · 06-26-2007, 02:52 PM

There for a while, I was letting Aubrey sleep in the bed with me, and when I put him back in his crate he would cry, and it took a couple night of me ignoring him before he would quit it, now he does fine, except for the part where he falls asleep in my bed then I put him in him bed.

06-23-2007, 10:01 AM	#1
kodibear Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: U.S. Posts: 95	training to sleep in crate Over the last two weeks that we've had Cody, we already trust him to be in the house following us around during the day. He was doing so good with potty training and then sleeping in his crate at night (with a few accidents but we've been working on timing for that) After his shot the other day he slept the rest of the day and since then he's gotten on the schedule of sleeping all day and barking all night in his crate (and now having tons of accidents since he's awake all night) We don't want his crate to be something he feels captive in but comfortable. We have a bed that fits exactly in the bottom of the crate, but since he's having accidents we keep towels in the bottom. I understand that he barks because he doesn't understand why he's in the crate instead of with us When we first got him, we'd put him in his crate during the day when he fell asleep so that he would get used to it- and he did! But now he acts like he's being punished every time we put him in there. Today we're working on keeping him awake as much as possible so that he's really tired tonight and then putting him in the crate when he falls asleep (which immediately makes him wake up) When he barks we tell him no (firmly) and sometimes make a loud noise. He'll fall asleep eventually but then wakes up to any noise and realizes people are around and not letting him out. We let him out- he goes to his bed and sleeps.... I love Cody, I don't want him to feel like he's being punished for falling asleep... any advice? Are we being horribly cruel? We just want him to sleep at night (which he would I'm sure if we put him in our beds and cuddled all night long but our goal is to get him used to sleeping independently- so that when he's completely potty trained he can just go to his bed and sleep at night)

06-23-2007, 10:44 AM	#5
Luckyone Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jacksonville, NC Posts: 1,133	I ended up moving my dog's crates downstairs and out of our bedroom. Our lab's used to be downstairs but she was happier upstairs with us. But Bella's still learning so it's easier (and we sleep better) if they're away from us. As soon as Bella's learned to not cry to get out, I'll move them both back upstairs. Trying to ignore them or tell them quiet just doesn't work for us when they're in the same room and we want to sleep. __________________ Bella http://www.dogster.com/dogs/539922

06-23-2007, 06:35 PM	#10
kalina82 Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: with my yorkie baby Posts: 10,141 Blog Entries: 1	at three months he still is kinda young to make it thru the night but if he's done it before and you know that he can hold it then i'd stick it out with the crate training. At bed time put him in there, lock the door and walk away. Do not let him out if he is crying or barking because then he'll win. If you think he has to go potty only let him out once. So say bed time is at 10pm, take him outside to potty right before that and make sure he goes. Then put him in the crate, tell him good night, and walk away. If you think he can hold it thru the night then don't go back to him until its time to wake up in the morning. If you think he needs a potty break at night then set up a time like 2 or 3 am and take him out then to potty, then right back in the crate. You need to be firm with them otherwise they'll walk all over you with those four little cute paws. good luck and i hope he quiets down soon. __________________ Kellie and Morgan

06-23-2007, 10:11 AM	#2
mistyinca No Longer a Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 4,143 Blog Entries: 2	If you want him to sleep in his crate at night without barking or whining, you absolutely MUST NOT respond to his barks, and you MUST NOT let him out during the night to sleep in a different bed. Decide whether you want him sleeping in a bed or in the crate and stick to it. If you respond verbally to his barking, or if you eventually let him out, HE has trained YOU. The barking will eventually end if you do not respond and if you do not eventually let him out. The key is consistency. Good luck!

06-23-2007, 10:31 AM	#3
kodibear Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: U.S. Posts: 95	should it be enough to leave him in the crate at night and not let him out? He has never slept in any bed besides his crate at night... but during the day he's pretty much allowed to sleep wherever he wants on the floor, not in beds. And even though we've made him have some alone time during the day he now barks if we leave him anywhere- outside, in his crate, or in the basement.... I know it's his age... I guess we're just frustrated because he had been doing so good

06-23-2007, 10:42 AM	#4
mistyinca No Longer a Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 4,143 Blog Entries: 2	How old is he? If he can go through the night without a potty break, then there is no reason to take him out in the night. If you stick to it for a few nights without going to him or talking to him, he'll eventually give up and go to sleep. Where do you keep his crate at night?

06-23-2007, 10:56 AM	#6
kodibear Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: U.S. Posts: 95	we think he's about 3 mos old- we let him go 4 hours at a time without a potty break at night but he's almost always had an accident before then. His crate is in the family room in the basement so the only people who can hear him are my parents I suppose we just need to stick with it, but I'm not sure how to keep him awake during the day now that he doesn't sleep at all at night. Although, sticking him in his crate every time he falls asleep seems to be working to keep him awake, it just seems cruel though... I guess if he needs to sleep he'll get used to sleeping in the crate We'll get through this... I just get these flashes of panic every once in awhile that we're hurting his psyche to lock him up

06-23-2007, 12:57 PM	#8
Galatea Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fresno Posts: 193	You might try keeping the crate in your room next to the bed. I have my puppy Gidget's crate on top of a large wicker crate so it is level with me bed. She can see me and we go to bed about the same time. She never barks or whimpers when I am there. She has not had any accidents in her crate. I used to set my alarm for 3 am and take her to her potty place, but then I stopped. Lately she wakes me up at 5 AM with a whine and she immediately goes potty in her potty place when I let her out and then goes back to the crate and sleeps a bit more. I am convinced this has gone so smoothly because she is in my room. During the day, when she is not running around with me, I have two large xpen type areas. I leave her crate in the corners of which ever pen I am using. I have a potty area set up, her toys, and food and water. I leave the door to her crate open when it is in an xpen. I usually find her sleeping inside her crate with the door open.

06-23-2007, 06:17 PM	#9
kodibear Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: U.S. Posts: 95	if we're in the room while Cody is in his crate, he cries even more... He hasn't had accidents in the house for almost a week (out of the two he's been here) so I think we'll hold off on an xpen but I have considered it... We kept him awake most of the day today. He barked himself to sleep for about 15 minutes in the crate and he had another half hour nap outside, but compared to his normal 4-5 hours of sleeping everyday he is VERY tired right now. We baited him with a rawhide treat to go into his crate and put his crate in a different room. He barked for about 40 minutes, slept for maybe 15 and started barking again so we let him out to go potty (outside as I type this) I guess the frustrating part is that he barked the first night, probably because everything was new, and then we haven't had any more problems until the last couple nights Thank you all for your advice. My guess is that with his age he's just testing his limits so we need to stay strong to the training we started him with I'll keep you updated...

06-26-2007, 02:52 PM	#12
Superstarkba Aubrey's Mom Donating Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Georgia Posts: 9,369	There for a while, I was letting Aubrey sleep in the bed with me, and when I put him back in his crate he would cry, and it took a couple night of me ignoring him before he would quit it, now he does fine, except for the part where he falls asleep in my bed then I put him in him bed.