Having a real hard time crate training
 

I've had my baby just a little over 3 weeks. I leave the door open to the crate and place her food inside. She won't go in. I sit beside it and place her inside and she bolts out and runs and hides.
But when I took her to be groomed they put her in a crate and closed the door and not a sound was heard from her. They said she didn't whine or anything.
Is it me?

Some dogs hate the crate....all of mine hated it to no end, so I never believed in forcing the small, cramped space upon them, it just didn't feel right. Dogs may act differently when in the hands of a stranger and in a strange, public place - but that doesn't mean they like the crate, per se.

I you need her to be in the crate, try using it once she knows, "Stay." After she knows that, you can use it to get her to be in crate and get a reward. " Sometimes they figure things out. Dinky has never been one to go into to his crate to rest or just on his own.
Now at age 5, he is starting to go there to rest or sleep. I attribute it to our recent move.

We don't crate. We tried it with Max and he hated it. Never stopped trying to get out. Pooped in it (even though he only had enough room to lay down and turn around). We couldn't stand to watch him be so miserable in there so we gave up. We didn't even try it with Sasha.

Callie hated her crate as a puppy. I would give her a treat to go in it saying go to bed. Now she she loves it and sleeps in it with the door open and knows what go to bed means. Sometimes it just takes time.

So for those of you who gave up on the crate. How do you confine your little ones when its bedtime or when you have to leave them at home?

It sounds like each dog is different. Bella adapted to crate training right away--she didn't even have to be bribed with treats. Now when I say "crate," she runs right inside with no complaint. She also sleeps in her crate on my night stand. Maybe it's easier if you start them out as young puppies.

If I put Cooper and Atticus in the big dog crate they cry and whine until you let them out!!! But if you leave the crate door open and don't want them in it then they won't come out of it!!!! I don't get it -_- lol!!!!

I got lucky and the puppies had never been crated and they did not mind being in a crate.

They will just go and lay in their crate.

For other dogs I have thrown a treat into the crate and walked away. Praise them for going and getting the treat. Then throw a treat in (later in the day) and close the door when they go in and open the door when they come back toward the door.

Next time close the door for a minute and talk to them the entire time and give them a small treat and let them out. Keep increasing the time they are in it. Say Crate, or whatever word you want to use for them to go in it and praise, praise, praise when they go in it, like it is a party.

I believe in praise rather than trying to use negativity.

Now, if only I can get my puppies back on track for potty training.

Good luck with the crate training.

My baby girl was only good with it the first week, but once "grandma" let her out for the day she has never wanted to be locked out or in of anywhere ever since >_<; But she has actually done really well, considering, on free roaming ever since, as well.

I'm going to try the treat way and see what happens. I have a feeling this will take a long time to accomplish. For now she goes into the bathroom when we have to leave her. It works. I give her a few toys and leave the light on for her. She's fine til she hears me coming to let her out. Lol

I would be afraid to allow her full access to the house. There's just too much she could chew on. Then there's the potty issue too. She's never gone in the bathroom when I've had to leave her but she just might if we leave her out. Too afraid to try it! She's just 11 weeks old.

Tonight I used treats to get her to enter the crate. Left the door open and even put her food and water bowls inside. I had to put a treat by the opening and actually pick her up to get her to go near it. Day 1 went well. I'll keep doing this until she goes in and out without tiptoeing in! She's very hesitant but she eventually goes in.

We never crate trained Zeus -- we think it's cruel (not a judgment on others, it's just not for us); so, we gated him in our laundry room (tile floor). He had enough room for a bed, food and water bowl, pee pads and room to move. Once he was using the pee pads, we gated him in the kitchen (tile floors) and laundry room. Once we saw how well he did with that, he now has free reign of the house. He is tiny (3.5 lbs), so he has ramps to get on the couch (and can then get to the chair) and a ramp to our bed. We do not confine him at night. He may sleep with us, our 14 year old or on the couch by himself. He never goes potty off the pads. Fortunately for us, he is a snuggler, so he usually sleeps with a family member!

By the way, Zeus is 7 months old now. He has had free reign for about 3 months.

I have a wire crate I'm using. I have a smaller carrier but it just has small holes on the sides. I put her bed in it and a toy dog she plays with sometimes.

She's been doing well. I lure her in with her food and I can actually close the door now and leave the room for 15 minutes. I worked up to that and she's doing well. I work with her often throughout the day. I tried covering the crate like I read to do but she isn't having it. She wants to see what's going on.

I have her crated now and she's whined alittle. I told her to lay down and now she's sleeping. If she continues to wake up I'm going to move the crate beside my bed. Right now she's in my bedroom but she can't see me.

I'm just happy she's doing so well. Things have gone better than expected!

Most of my dogs have preferred a wire crate over the plastic ones. They want to see what is going on. I have 5 dogs crates here (4 dogs). I keep the smallest crate in my car usually. It is big enough for both puppies to fit in if I want to take 1 or both of them someplace.

My setter used to sleep in a crate at night until he was about 3 years old and proved he was capable of being left loose in the main rooms (bathrooms are bedrooms are gated off) and he does great.

My 9 year old Yorkie sleeps in my bed with me and he is rarely ever crated, although he tolerates a crate with no fussing at all.

One puppy sleeps with my daughter (12 weeks old) and is doing really good. About half the time she wakes my daughter up in the night to have my daughter put her on the floor and she goes on the pee pad and then asks to go back to bed and 1/2 the time she sleeps from about 10pm until 7am.

Other puppy (also 12 weeks) sleeps in a wire crate next to our bed. He goes from 10pm-6am more nights. I did have to take him out at 4am one morning. Last night he was on the bed watching a movie with us and he asked to get down (he has food/water available) and so I put him down and he went into his crate right at 10pm and laid down in his bed and went to sleep. he will sleep with us when he is bigger, older and more house trained. I have a pee pad for him but he will not use it at night, he insists on being taken outside and will cry until we take him out.

The girl puppy is doing better with pee pad training. She runs to the pad to pee usually and about half the time will poop on it when she is in the house. The boy puppy does not try to pee on the pad and will poop on the pad most of the time, but prefers to go outside.

Good luck and keep up the crate training. It should get to the point where you leave the crate door open and she should go sleep in the crate sometimes when she is tired. All of mine do that. The 9 year old Yorkie does not so much because the puppies took over what was his crate, but he doesn't care because he prefers to chill out on the couch anyway so he technically doesn't have a crate right now and he really doesn't miss it. The back of the couches are his. LOL

Bella came to us with a small crate that we thought was too small.... yes, I said too small for a 2 lb dog. (But I promise she isn't spoiled)
We got her a baby playpen and use that when we leave. It gives her room to move, room for toys and bowls. She went potty in it for the first week or so, but now does really well with no accidents when we have to leave her for the day.

This is how Jackson was and also my moms cockapoo puppy (she was actually worse....) so we gave up on the crate and just did ex-pens and utilized gates and doors to certain rooms/etc.

I bought an exercise pen for my puppies to be in when I couldn't be watching them closely.

One of them (my daughter's monkey girl) climbed over it the very next morning after we brought them home. I switched it out with a baby gate. She climbed that the next day. I borrowed a baby playpen and she climbs out of that.

She is in a crate for a reason. The crate is big enough for a 50 lb dog and I keep the 2 puppies (4 lb each) in it. She will climb to the top of the crate and stick her nose out the corner of it and just hang out.

Some dogs need a crate. The boy puppy would be okay with an exercise pen and in the playpen.