It is perfectly normal for any breed of puppy to cry when crated or left alone, especially in the middle of the night. They are used to having their litter mates with them all the time. Here's what I did when I adopted Matthias - I wore a clean shirt (naturally) all day long so that it got my scent on it. Then I put it in the crate with Mattie at night, along with a stuffed animal that was wearing another one of my shirts. He was able to sleep with the stuffed animal AND have my scent with him which helped greatly. One night of crying after that is all we went through.
Also when you put your baby in his crate, have a treat on hand. Say "crate" a few times as you are putting him in it (this will come in handy later when you are trying to eat dinner and he is jumping all over you - just point, say "crate" and off he'll go to his spot), pet him, and once he's inside, give him his treat (I use Pup-peroni's, original flavor, cut up in to Yorkie sized bites for training - it works GREAT), then close the door. Maybe slip one in between the bars of the crate after the door is closed while covering the crate up - all the while saying "good Crate... good Crate". After about 60 seconds, open the door and let your baby out praising him. Do this throughout the day, extending the period of time you leave the cover on. You may have to do this two or three days to really get the full training effect.
These are things I have done with all of my dogs I have ever had with it working on all except for one - and it was because the people who had her before left her crated ALL DAY LONG with only potty breaks - they even had her fed in the crate. That dog we just gave up the crate training with. She was a good dog so long as she didn't have to go in a crate. Anyway, these are things I have done with Mattie and he isn't scared of his crate anymore.
Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to tell you what to do or not do. I'm just telling you what worked for me. I wish you the best of luck. |