What do you guys know about crate training a puppy? What is a good time to start? We have an 8 week old puppy that HATES her crate. She barks, yips, and cries. After a few minutes she wets. Is it too early? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Nope 8 weeks is perfect.

yes they bark and cry but trust me, they'll get over it. You have to just learn to ignore it.

Some things that can help ....

A blanket, rug or small towel from the breeder that smells like mom and the rest of the litter. I used to buy those cheap $2 string rugs from Menards and toss them in the litter box then send one home with each puppy.

A ticking alarm clock.

A radio playing softly.

The crate should be a room where puppy can't see you. That will just encourage the whining. But it should also be in a room that is accessible for the puppy when he wants to use it. He will eventually want to use it for naps because he'll associate it with sleep.

Make sure the room is dark and other house noises (people talking etc) can't be heard. At least initially. Once he gets used to his crate it won't matter.

Give the puppy his meals in his crate.

Use short crate times through out the day. Toss his toy into it for him to retrieve (and immediately bring out), feed him in it, keep his toys in it, keep a nice soft blankie in it.

PM me if you have more questions. I've crate trained lots and lots of puppies and have written articles about it for the magazines.

Sue

Not too early at all. Don't give up! I can't give you any better advice than what Sue gave.

My dog hated her crate when she was a puppy in training. Now that's where she goes and we rarely close the door. :-)

We crate trained my dog when we got him. It was the best thing we could do.. however the crying didn't stop when he was in a different room.. To solve the problem we put his crate on top of a box that he could look over and see me at night. His crying stopped immediately. It was a rough 3 or 4 days before we thought of that... having said that he will always want to be in your room after that I'm sure. I intended for him to be in the same room as me. He still sleeps in his box at night now but we don't lock his door anymore.

Also make sure he has some water in there too. We got a water bowl that attached to the side of the crate.

I'm sure we didn't do everything the right way but it worked for us. I swear by crate training. :D

It's not too early. The crate should have been in the house before the puppy arrived.

Talk to Sue, The DogHouseMom and listen to her advice. The crate is for the dogs safety, protection and it's safe place - not for punishment. It wasn't intended for the puppy to spend 10 to 12 hours in it, either. Some people seems to think a crate is for the puppy/dog to be in all the time. Good luck.

i've never understood the need for a crate. anybody? my son's dog goes into his crate easily. it's a huge one.
their cat goes outdoors and broke her leg, vet costs once and the cast came off outdoors and now my DIL won't take her back to the vet. she should have kept it indoors until healed at least. anyway, just wondering about crates.

Me, too.......

We have Weimaraners that are crate trained. Big Dogs. They love their "night-nights". They go in for day naps or whenever they want, they are fed in their crates, and stay there for 1 1/2 hrs. after meals because they are suseptable to bloat. They have lots of blankets in their crates, & many toys. My daughter used to give them the bong toy with a little peanut butter treat in it in the crate when they were young. It takes them awhile to get the peanut butter out of it & is fun for them.

They go in their crate when we aren't home for their protection even tho they are highly trained. When they anticipate that we are leaving, they just go get in their crates. It also gives us piece of mind that they won't hurt themselves while we are gone. Sometimes we give them a little treat in their crates as we leave.

Their crates are very big so they can stand, lay down, move around, lay sideways, what ever they want while in them. They don't sleep in them at night but could & would if we wanted them to.
Crates are a good thing & it probably won't take long for your puppy to get used to it. It shouldn't be a punishiment!
It's their safe place when they feel the need to be safe.
Good luck & make the crate a good place that he/she is happy to be in.

When I first heard of crate training, I didn't understand either. After all, when I was growing up and we had dogs, nothing like that was done (at least by anyone we knew). I thought it sounded cruel.

As an adult, when I decided to get another puppy, I started researching. A dog natually is a pack animal that has a "den". The den is his/her safe place. During the day, they sleep alot. The crate gives the dog the safe place to rest and sleep when you're not home -or even when you are! It also serves to "train" their bathroom habits. They generally will not "go" where they sleep, so they learn to hold it until you let them out. You must be cognizant of their ability to "hold" based on size, age, already learned habits, but the crate is an invaluable potty training tool when used properly.

Now our maltipoo spends a great deal of time in her crate - with the door wide open, even when we are home. The lab was crate trained as a young dog, but we've since put the crate away as it was an eyesore and I was tired of seeing it. He has made his "den" under the end table in the living room. It is enclosed on 3 sides by furniture and a wall, and he loves it there. At night he will slide his head under the bed for that sense of "enclosure".

So what I have learned is that crate training is actually healthy for the dog (again if done properly). It's only cruel if used solely for punishment or if they are not fed, watered and let out as needed.

Crate training is great.

You may try distraction to stop the whinning. Put a few pennies in an empty soda can, tape it shut and shake it whenever they whine, it hurts their ears and they will learn from distraction, not to whine. But they also grow out of it. Just don't give in, give them time to learn the crate is a safe place.

And I would not put anything in the crate with the dog at first, esp if you are still house training them.

Just remember like everyone said it should not be used for long periods of time. Ours liked their crates, because they could be near us and see us, while they learned their crate was their den.

What kind of puppy did you get?

She is a Zuchon (aka Teddy Bear). It's a mix of Bichon Frise and Shih Tzu. She's cute!!

Our corgi has been crate trained from the beginning. Sleeps in it at night and goes into it during the day. We found that if we put the crate toward a corner away from traffic, he does better. Also we cover the three sides with a blanklet. It is his safe haven. Goes immediately to his crate when it starts to thunder.

The timing is great; it just takes repetion. Some puppies pee because they get excited. You wouldn't believe the messes my little one created in the beginning. When she was finally trained we kept the crate up for a punishment area when she got into things; she sooned learned if she didn't want time out she'd have to be good.

We started crate training the day we got our dog when he was 6 weeks old. We put it in the living room first, but he cried at night. We moved it to the bedroom and that was the answer. He was very happy to get into it. It helped with potty training too.

If your puppy is wetting in his crate, the crate may be too big. We trained a chocolate lab but used about 4 crates has she got bigger. She loves it now!

Lots of great advice on crate training here; I'd just add not to feel sorry for her, fawn over her, act excited or nervous about it or "coo" to her while she's in there. She will read your signals and respond to those; if you feel bad when she's in the crate, she'll feel bad about it, too.

We have successfully crate trained many dogs over the years, and we will always do it with our dogs in the future. Of our four dogs, two of them are crated when we are not home -- one because she is destructive, and the other because he is anxious and can cause a fight if he gets upset.

Are you planning to confiscate the cat? Your daughter's treatment is cruel and should result in the cat being removed from her care and animal cruelty charges being filed. In Maryland this would be worth a monetary penalty, the removal of all animals in her (dubious) care, a ban on owning animals for some measure of time in the future, and possibly some jail time.

You can't just let an animal with a painful, unhealed injury roam about without seeking vet care. In many states it is illegal, and in ALL cases it is unethical -- and shameful.

I cannot stress enough to anyone thinking of getting a pet that if you do not intend to provide adequate care for it, DO NOT DO IT.

I never crate trained but I was always home and had a nice area to block off. Good Luck! All of mine have always learned pretty fast by following the older dogs outside too.

No, this is actually the perfect age to start, the earlier the better. I have a yorkie who is 6 now, she LOVES her crate! She asks to go in it all on her own. It's hers and she knows it! They always whine and cry when you first start crate training, but don't give in because then she will keep doing it knowing she will eventually get her way!

I've never understood the obsession with crates either all my dogs had their own bed which they were taught to go to but I never liked the idea of putting them in a cage - each to their own I guess!!!!

We had the same issue - we had bought a crate that we thought would be great for his adult size... but then read that if the crate is too large, the dog thinks he has a living room, kitchen and bathroom :D So we got another one that was actually a better size anyway for his adult size and it had a movable wall inside of it so that as he grew we were able to move the wall inside. It worked like a charm.
We mostly used the crate while we were out of the house and at night.

This is what happens if you leave a dog in the crate too long.

That is hilarious! I'm glad our dog never figured that one out!!!

We had a crate when we got Cow for his own safety. He was 2 pounds and very tiny. I was afraid that if he was free around the house someone could step on him in the dark. We also left him in it when we had to go out so he would not get into trouble. Cow is now almost 4 years old and he goes into his crate at night or when we go out. We never close the door anymore but he feels safe in it. Also, Cow tends to be a little aggressive when friends come in until he gets used to them. I keep him in the crate when we have the exterminator, the electric company or cable here. Don't want him to get us in trouble if he attacks someone.