Crating my pup while I'm in the room

[HodiePup]

Hello all. I've got the luxury of working at home, so Hodie is literally never alone during the week unless I've gone to bed. His crate is in my office (this will be significant in a minute) and he goes out for about 20 minutes every two hours or so to pee, poop, harass the squirrels, etc. Also, he gets about 45 minutes every morning and every night of playing and walks, so I don't think a lack of stimulation is a concern.
My issue is this...no matter how tired he is, he won't just lie down and go to sleep unless I put him in his crate. In fact, he's a total nuisance (trying to jump on the desk, eating paper, biting me.) He's only twelve weeks old, so I get that this is not really unusual behavior, but I hate having him in his crate when he could just be snoozing away on the floor creating some doggie ambience, especially since he's crated at night anyway.
I don't believe he LOVES his crate as it's always a bit of a challenge to get him to settle, and he never goes in on his own. I typically have to tempt him with a cookie, he'll whine for a few minutes, then out like a light. I've tried keeping only a few toys around, I've tried keeping a ton of toys around, I've tried cycling toys to keep things interesting, but all he wants to do is dig up the carpet or try to pull the blinds off the windows.
This may be the way things go for the time being, but I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has ideas.

 

[whiskers]

Yeah, that'll be typical for a while.

You could turn it into a training session but I don't know how busy you are or how good his attention span is (I seem to recall Juno having NO attention span at that age). Teach him to lay at your feet, or wherever you want him-- put his leash on and tie him to something so he doesn't really have an opportunity to do much else other than lie down, and occasionally drop him treats when he's calmly chilling out.
Now that Juno is "all grown up" I can say that the best thing you can do when they are puppies is to make it VERY clear to them which behaviors you like. If he gets lots of nice yummy things when he lies down by you, he's more likely to continue doing that.
Doesn't hurt to do it at other times of the day too, for example when you're sitting on the couch watching TV... start building a habit that when you sit down to relax, it's time for him to relax too.

It comes with age too, of course. They aren't always so mischievous! Juno is actually just finally getting to this point, and she's 1.5 years old. When my mom goes on the treadmill during the day, she used to tie Juno's leash to it, because she wouldn't lie down on her own... but now we leave her loose and she usually just goes and lies on the couch or in her crate.

 

[Sansal]

Have you tried giving him something to chew on? A bully stick or maybe a Kong?

 

[HodiePup]

I hadn't thought about rewarding him for being calm (probably because it's such a rare occurrence) but I'll get cracking on that today. That may just be the magic bullet I need!

Sansal-I've tried all kinds of crazy toys, Kongs included. I'm not sure I could handle being in a room with a bully stick for 40+ hours a week, the smell might be a bit much. I'll keep that idea in my back pocket though, just in case.

Thanks for the great ideas!

 

[Sansal]

Some people swear on deer antlers. I think they don't smell. I haven't tried it yet, though. Good luck!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Some people swear on deer antlers. I think they don't smell. I haven't tried it yet, though. Good luck!

LOVE these they keep all 3 of my dogs (even my hyper active German Shepherd pup) busy for HOURS and no they have no scent at all to them nor do they make any messes which is really nice!

I work at home too 100% of the time as a transcriptionist so I need quiet and LOVE LOVE LOVE antlers! Little pricey but I get them online and they last a good long time (like a couple of weeks). I know you said you've tried Kongs but have you tried stuffing them and freezing them? Also they make odorless bully sticks that might be an option for you. Also raw meaty bones are great. I put down an old blanket on the floor and give my GSD one of those and he'll chew for a few hours on that happily on the blanket. They're cheap and easy to get at your local grocery store in the butcher department or at your local butcher if you have one.

Good luck!

 

[Lizzie]

It will come with age as your pup grows up. As a pup Monty hated his crate - when I would put him in his crate just to have a shower he would turn everything upside down. As he got older he really used to liked it and it was a quiet space for him to go - in his later years he would put himself to bed in his crate and get this ... he only liked the blankets and duvet etc completely flat! As Monty 'matured' he would be able to do the whole thing of just lying quietly, but to be honest it never seemed to last too long! They do grow up eventually, well sort of

Diva was never crated when she was younger and only came across a crate when she was over 3 years of age. But she also likes the crate - when I leave for work, that's where she is. Mind you by the time I get home she has 'done the rounds' - my bed, the sofas, her bed in lounge, the bed in the spare bedroom etc :D

 

[HodiePup]

Thanks so much for the help, folks. I've been doing very short "settle" sessions with Hodie this week, and he seems to sloooowly be getting it. Yahoo! Also, deer antlers are on the way!