Crate problems

[Sportsman]

Hi Sherryberry,

We are having the exact same experience with our 9 week boxer pup too! She's so good with sleeping in it at night, and hanging out in there with the door closed when we're in the room but the minute we walk out she starts whining and barking. If you find anything that works let me know!!!

Erin

This may sound bad but I think some of it is like letting a baby cry in a crib and the habbit soon stops IF you're doing things right. In other words, has the diaper been changed, baby not sick, fed, etc.

We don't leave our 9 wk old boxer in the crate when we're home except short times like when we're eating. She willingly goes in at night and falls asleep. She does whine when we put her in to go to work, however when I return at lunch, she's often sleeping peacefully or is quiet until she hears me. Yes she's hyper when I go to get her out but she's a puppy. She'll sit on command before I open the door but not hold it for more than a nanosecond.

As noted before, tiring her out also helps greatly.

 

[Bodhidog]

Work in progress

We're still working on it daily with her. We both have time off right now so we're steadily building towards the point when we're both back at work and will be crating her for longer periods. We've had some great success when she is tired out and we put her in the crate during the day. We started doing video chats between our laptops with one computer/camera focussed on her in her crate and then anytime she'd freak out or whine we'd start talking to her and soothing her back to lying down. That worked so well!

I hope that it becomes more and more of a habit so she won't bark and whine and cry without reassurance from our voices. And it'd be really great for her to start playing inside the crate - once the peanut butter/treats in the kong are gone she wants out! If anyone has suggestions for other toys please let me know!