Barking in crate
 

Hi friends!

I'm not sure what the problem is, but over the past week Maverick has been getting worse by the day with barking in the crate. It's the same crate he's always has, nothing new. I've been working a little more this week but when he's home, he's in a bathroom with his crate open and pee pads, food, and and toys, not locked in the crate. He hasn't been home alone for more than maybe 6 hours all week. Nothing else new has happened.

Currently tonight he's in the his crate in the garage (I can hear his incessant barking still), as he's been barking at the top of his little puppy lungs all night. He's been out every hour to go potty and even eat, since I can't figure out what's wrong with him. He's fine until I put him back in then he starts in. I finally put him out there because he's keeping everyone up.

If anyone has clues in his recent regression, I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to sleep sometime without being constantly woke up :(

Thanks!
Lori

I should probably explain that my garage is not a normal one. It was converted into an office that we work out of from home, heat and all. I probably should have explained that. Also he was only on the other side of the door while I was awake typing this and he was there for all of maybe 20 minutes. He also had been in my room with me and the living room with me, none of which helped.
Thanks for your reply.

dog
 

Hi Lori,
After having Yorkies, I have two now, I know these dogs just want to be next to their owners. That is when they are happiest. When I go out I put my two in the kitchen with lots of room. When I am home they are with me and at bedtime they sleep in the bed. Sounds like your Yorkie wants to be with you when you are home. I hope you can figure a way that he can be by you.

Sometime you just have to ignore the crying. Cookie cried so much the first night I crated her, but I ignored her even though every bone in my body wanted to go hug her so she wouldn't be sad. Now she's fine with sleeping in the crate at night since I never gave in.

Ok thank you. Maybe crating him just wont be the best option. I assure you, he is with me almost all the time, except when he needs to sleep at night or take a nap during the day. I bring him to work with me. I bring him to potty. Even in the middle of the night, sometimes more than once per night. The problem is not that he's not with me. My family and I spend hours every day paying with him. I think perhaps people are taking one sentence out of my post and responding to only that. I'm interested in figuring out what the bigger picture is, than the 20 minutes he wasn't by my side. And honestly if it was just a gentle whining, it wouldn't be such an issue, as I know that he's crated for a reason, because he needs to sleep somewhere other than my bed because he's not fully housetrained and I have a high bed that he could fall off and injure himself. I don't think it's unrealistic to expect him to sleep in a crate. I'm just tryng to figure out why he's barking as loud as he possibly can, when he's been doing fine for over a month. I'm not a mean person, I do not ignore him or leave him out somewhere in the cold. He is very much adored and a huge part of our family.

Thank you again for your responses :)

Jess did that too. Was fine for a couple weeks then bam..everything changed. These little guys are quirkly Ill tell you that. Jess wants to be glued to me as well. I have actually had to ban her from the second floor during th day as she decided to start peeing in random places on my white carpets to get my attention. My house is on the market so that isn't happening. My vet told me to totally ignore her. They want attention whether its good or bad. I know its harder to ignore barking but you may just have to

I haven't really tried a cover consistently. In my mind I assumed he'd be happier seeing us, but it's definitely worth a shot.
Yes, he's quite the character! I picked up a puppy kong today and I'm watching him with it now, maybe that can be him crate treat. He seems pretty interested for now...

Please don't give up on crate training... I truly believe that it is the safest place for these tiny babies to be until they are properly trained and can be trusted to roam our homes without cause to worry.

I have crate trained all my pups (4) with no problem. Of course there where those stressful moment like what you describe but we stood our ground and we got threw them. Persistency is the key, maybe get him on some sort of schedule where he knows that at this time, after this happens each day this is the time for me to spend in my cage. Its important to have some sort of routine and make sure that everyone sticks to it.

Yes, I agree they need to be near us at all times. Day, night , naps and a cover (lightweight) over the top of the cage will allow her to hear you without getting excited or anxious every time someone walks past his cage. Also, using a wire cage is best be sure that it is not one of the travel carriers.

If you like take a look at how I trained my pups on my web site. Hopefully you will find something that helps... Training Tips - Dawn's Yorkies

When Pippa was a baby and crated, we always put a cover over her crate at night. We had no problems except when she would start crying and waking me about 3 a.m. to go out and go potty. The crate was in our family room. We didn't put her to bed until we wen to bed and that just became her routine. I vote with trying a cover for the crate. :) Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks all! He did have 2 better nights than Friday. Some whining, but not he intense barking like he was starting. I used a cover and had the crate in the living room during the day and moved it to the bedroom at night. Best of both worlds I suppose. Maybe I'll eventually get another so he can one in both places.

Oh...and Pippa always took a "favorite" toy to bed with her. Her favorite was a small blue whale. She would sleep with the whale under her head. :)

I definitely agree on this point. Cookie had no problems with her wire cage (with a nice thick bed so she never had to lay on or walk on wire) other than the first night, whereas she hated sleeping in her travel crate the nights I tried it instead. It's funny though, she will often go lay down in the travel crate to take a nap (I leave it out on the floor for her so she can have her own room all to herself).

If you can put the crate next to your bed, you'll get better results. But a Yorkie's favorite place is next to you.

I guess our pups know what they like and what they don't, whatever works!

I am very pleased that your pups has done better !! :D

Tonight will be our 7th night with Miss Ellie. Last night was our worst with her. We have been doing the kennel thing. We want it to work!!! She would go in there on her own at first. Last night she would not. Her night routine has been in bed with me while I watch tv for awhile, she fell asleep. Would go in her kennel when TV went off. First night she cried for 35 mins, then fell asleep. Woke up 12:30 to go out, then another 20 mins of crying. Repeat...each night seemed to get better with less crying/barking/whining. except last night. In kennel at 10:00, not a peep...up at 12:30, took her out, didn't pee...then barked cried etc for 30 mins... didn't want to do it but I caved....put her in my bed to settle her down for 5 mins or so...back in kennel...cried for another 1/2 hour...was quiet for about 2 mins & I thought we were good but nope. The next hour I tried different things. I left her kennel door open but she just cried & wanted to be on my bed. Would not do it. She then REFUSED to go in her kennel. So I finally had enough and it had been 2 hours (did try outside again w/ no luck too) so in the kennel she went (kind of forced her in, another thing I did NOT want to do) and left her & I went on the couch. She basically went nuts w/ more barking then whining. My husband couldn't deal with it cause he needed to sleep so let her out....she found me on the couch & I totally ignored her but she slept by me on the couch for 4 hours.

Are we doomed for getting her back in the crate??? Today has been terrible as well for potty training cause I think her schedule is messed up. Plus I am not a happy camper and I'm sure she senses it. I haven't been MEAN to her cause I'm trying to do all the right things as i've been reading but dang it! It's hard! I am home with her all day & so she follows me around & is always right next to me. She wanted to sit on my lap as I type this, but I ignored her, she is by my feet though.

This is so hard because w/ potty training we are suppose to keep eyes on them 100% of the time, but yet I think she is getting so attached to me that if I am away she cries. A couple of days she cried the whole time I was in the shower.

We need her to love her kennel!!! (This morning I left for about 1/2 hour to take kids to school) She was in her kennel & cried the whole time I am pretty sure. She was doing it when I got home.

It's only been a week so I HOPE we can change things around. HELP!!

She is 3 mos old (born Nov 6)

Wow... makes me tired just ready it !


We've all been there at one point in our lives with our little ones. I suggest stick with it, plus keeping her safe and sticking to a routine will be so much worth it in the end. I know it isn't easy by any means and each pup react differently than the next but you can not give in. Try making sure she gets tons of play time during the day to run off some of that energy and putting her in her cage for naps throughout the day to get her use to being in there.

Is her cage in your bedroom at night and in the main living area during the day?

If not I would suggest doing that. They need to be near their humans in order to feel secure and safe.

Yes the kennel is in our room at night and in living room during the day. She will not go in there and lay down. She likes the couch.

Last night I had her in our bed for about 15 mins, then to her kennel. She slept for just over an hour and cried. Took her outside but she didn't do anything. Brought back into our room, this time let her sleep in bed with us ( which is fine worth us) . She slept for 8 hours!!!! Probably would have gone longer but I got up.

So explain how she had been able to hold it for 9 hours last night while the other 6 nights in her kennel she couldn't??

Crating should not be used as a punishment. He should be in the crate when you are not home but when you are home he needs to be with his people. If you are concerned about accidents then tether him to you so you don't forget to get him to the potty in time.

I don't know how old he is but obviously he is still a pup. A pup does not learn anything in a crate. The more interaction you can have with him the faster he will learn. Don't give him full run of the house, just the room you are in at the time and if he is under 5 months you should always have him close to a puppy pad since their ability to actually hold back bladder and bowel function does not start to develop until around 16 weeks. They just can't hold it long enough to get to a potty that is very far away so it is really up to you to prevent accidents.

It can be a trial to train a pup but if you do it well it will only have to be done once with a few minor brush ups. You may have to spend extra time working with him now while he is young but it will pay off later when he is mature.

You cannot give in, Lisa. It may take a few days and your pup will probably resist like hell (Cook did initially), but you have to just let them cry and complain. The crate is the safest place a young yorkie could be at night. You don't have to work about stepping on her If you get up in the night, and I think it helps with the potty training too since she will cry to pee/poop. It lets her know to give you a verbal request, since pups don't like crapping where they sleep for the most part. I know it's so hard to hear those cries from a pup you so deeply love, but it's what made things work with my Cookie.

[QUOTE=lisa89;4388278]Yes the kennel is in our room at night and in living room during the day. She will not go in there and lay down. She likes the couch.


Last night I had her in our bed for about 15 mins, then to her kennel. She slept for just over an hour and cried. Took her outside but she didn't do anything. Brought back into our room, this time let her sleep in bed with us ( which is fine worth us) . She slept for 8 hours!!!! Probably would have gone longer but I got up.

So explain how she had been able to hold it for 9 hours last night while the other 6 nights in her kennel she couldn't??[/QUOTE]

*Honestly, if it were me I would not allow her on the couch. Reason being that she could try and get down and break a leg or a hip. Believe me it happens and it happened to one of my puppies after leaving our home. At the age of 5 months old she had to have surgery to repair her broken hip after jumping off of a recliner. Please never leave her unattended when she is on the couch.

Do you have a set cut off time for both food and water, if not you should. And when and if she gets up for a potty break do not allow her to go to the water bowel, put her straight back into her crate but only after you have gave her praise for going potty. Mine get no food or water after 9pm and go our one last time around midnight.

Please don't think that I am being mean or beating up on you sort of speak. Crate training is not for everyone and it does made for some major sleep depravity but it can be so worth it when you finally have a potty trained pup in the end. I just would hate to see your baby get hurt even though that is the last thing that you would ever intend on happening. Its really hard to resist letting her in your bed and that is totally up to you. I myself have never allowed our pups at such a young age sleep with us. It so unsafe, for the same reason we don't allow them on our couch at that age. We did have them in our bed for a cuddle but than they had to be in their cage/crate in our bedroom for bed time. So, if crate training is not for you and you do decide to have her in your bed, Please have her in a dog bed with high sides and in the middle. If that is what it takes for you and your family to not go insane than do it. But I would strongly suggest working with her getting her use to her cage during the days when no one in home or sleeping.

We don't crate our 16 months old puppy Oliver. He has his own "den" where we just put up little baby proof gate so he moves around and play a bit but can't run around the house and gets in trouble when unsupervised. He has his food, water, bed and puppy pad in there. He seems fine with it in the past few days (we have had him for only 5 days) but one morning my fiancé happened to wake up before 6 am and he let Oliver out to play, now the boy just wants to come out at that time and barks like crazy in the morning. Should we ignore him?

Many people use puppy play pens rather than the small crate. A playpen means they have room for a bed, toys, food and a puppy pad in a secure frame. It is much easier on everyone. A young pup has to potty frequently. A good breeder has their pups trained to puppy pads by the time they are ready to go to their new homes. That way you do not have to be on 24/7 guard watching for every pee and poo.

The baby slept through the night with you because that is what she is familiar with. She slept with her mom and litter mates from the time she was born. Dogs naturally sleep on each other, it is instinctive. They maintain body warmth that way. Their body temp goes down when they are not moving around so being close to another body helps them to be warm and cozy. Now you are her family and she will naturally bond with you.

Yorkies tend to bond closely with their people. Even though they are feisty little dogs they are very sensitive emotionally.

Your pup is not going to have good bladder and bowel control for at least another month so try not to get too frustrated. Having a puppy playpen that is a place your pup enjoys s something that could help you through puppyhood.

Your pup IS going to get very attached to you. It is just how they are. There is nothing you can do about that. Most people like that aspect of dog ownership.

You will find that giving a small healthy treat as a reward when she goes potty in the right place will help motivate her with her training.

My Gracie slept in bed with me from the first night. She had a secure area for when I had to be away. I would have gone nuts if I could not leave her because she was in a little crate with no potty area. It is hard work training a puppy but it should not mean sleepless nights and confinement for the first couple of months.

Lisa,

I'm still having a harder time than I expected with Maverick, but I'm sticking to it and hope you can too! He'll do really well for a night or two, then have a really hard night again, and back and forth. Even with him by my bed at night, he's still not happy sometimes but I'm not allowing him on my bed, it's too tall. I bring him out at night every couple hours when he gets barking or whining alot so he can go potty, but it's back in the crate after that. No play time or too much snuggle time, because I don't want to reinforce the behavior I'm trying to curb. After going potty and barking about 3 times in 2 hours last night, I finally put in ear plugs and ignored him. I could still hear him but it took the edge off so I could sleep. He slept 3 hours after that. I would think he'd be able to hold his bladder at night more than 3-6 hours at 17 weeks, but I'd rather get up with him than him potty in the crate! He was able to hold it longer when he was younger, so I think it's less having to pee, than just wanting up. But I don't want accidents in the crate, so we go potty anyway.

Here's hoping for a good night's rest for both of us!