Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohanax3  Hello again! This is only my second post on this site, but I got so many helpful responses to my first post that I figured I should ask another question before I get my puppy next month.
I've never actually crate trained a dog before. My very first dog was in the crate for like her first two nights with me and then I gave in to her cries and let her sleep on the floor in my room every night. This was never a problem, as she never really gave me any problems ever. My second dog I never tried to crate train so he's used to sleeping in my bed every night. However, because I babied him, he developed separation anxiety. I REALLY do not want my new puppy to get separation anxiety, and I want her to feel more independent than dependent, just because I don't want that whenever I can't take her outside with me somewhere she's feeling stressed and unsettled. So my question is, when I get her, how exactly would I go about crate training her? Would I put the crate in my room and have her sleep there? I already bought her a doggy bed, but I just realized that if she's sleeping in a crate, she won't need it. Do dogs who are crate trained sleep in a crate for the rest of their lives, or do you transition them to a doggy bed at some point? Sorry if these sound like dumb questions but I just want to get everything right with her. I'm really scared of her feeling too dependent on me and developing separation anxiety, and I want to do everything in my power to have that not happen. I want her to be okay if I have to run out to the store or something and can't take her, not cry for the entire time and/or become destructive. I want her to be well rounded. Oh, and also, I plan to weewee pad train her, if that has anything to do with crate training.
Additionally, I've read posts on here mentioning an xpen. I've gathered that she would go in the xpen when being left alone, but would you advise that I put her in there sometimes when I am home with her just to get her used to it? I've never really used one of those either with my previous dogs, but again, I want her to be more independent as to not develop separation anxiety (my biggest fear). This doesn't mean that I'm going to not show her affection or that I'll be ignoring her or anything of the sort. I just would like her to have more boundaries than my previous dogs and have confidence that she is okay even when I'm not with her.
Lastly, (sorry for the super long post. I keep thinking of things that I don't want to make a completely new post for because everything is related here), if you have any advice at all about how to avoid the whole separation anxiety issue, I would GLADLY take any and all advice!
Thank you so much in advance for all of your responses. |
Here's our practice that we've learned after 40 years and 3 dogs. We crate train for night time and use a different carrier for travel that requires confinement. We found using the night time crate for travel confused our pups. For our yorkie, her night time crate is in our bedroom on a hamper so she's at the height of our bed. She goes to bed when we do and gets up when we do - or sometimes we get up when she does. lol In her crate she has a dog bed that fits and a small blanket. Before bed we have a routine where she goes potty, has a tiny treat, and goes to bed. When she was very young she wore a little cotton jammie because she didn't retain body heat very well. Now that she's older and has longer, thicker hair the jammies can make her sweat. So not more jammies. There is a night light in the room as we learned our pup is afraid of the dark!
During the day we have a little pen that is larger and see through. Inside is a throw rug, a dog bed (which happens to be like her other) and a larger blanket, a nylabone, and a non-stuffing toy. Her food and water are always in there, too. We do not put her pee pad in there as you don't want your dog to soil their food/sleeping area. Before we leave, we take her potty and put her in her pen with a little treat, close the gate, and confidently tell her we'll be back soon. Sometimes we will leave the tv on or play some soothing music. We always leave a light on as our pup (we learned) is afraid of the dark so if for any reason our return is after dark or delayed she's got light.
We also have a matching bed for her in the room where we watch TV. She loves to be with us but sometimes if we're up and down too much and she just wants to chill, she'll lay in her tv bed.
Our pup is pee pad trained. We use a silicone mat with the disposable pee pad on top that is tucked in an out of the way place that she can always access unless she's in her pen or crated. We change it routinely every morning and wrap it in a grocery sack before putting it in the trash. We always pick up poop immediately with tissue and flush it. If we are having company we change it before they arrive
no matter time of day. lol We are very sensitive to becoming "nose blind" so her beds, blankets, etc. are washed regularly and her pee pad area disinfected so our house doesn't smell of dirty dog, just clean dog.
This process of night training takes patience and perseverance. Her crate started within arms reach and if she cried I would just reassure her and let her smell my fingers through the door. If she seemed frantic, we would take her to her pee pad, and then right back to bed. It took a couple of weeks of consistency. Then we slowly moved the crate back to where we want it inches at a time. The lifelong rewards for you and your pup will be great by investing effort now to create a bond through confident training. Be sure to learn daily grooming, too. It's part of the bonding process as your pup will gain confidence in you to care for her every need.
Enjoy!!!!