help! crate training is not working

[Harley2nva]

Hi,
I have a 12 week old white boxer named Daisy, she was never crated, but she was kept in a playpen with her litter mates. When we put her in the crate she cries, scratches, and rubs her face against the crate, she even tries to bite it. I can't put her in it because she has scratched her face open and her mouth. I'm home most of the time so she does'nt have to go in often. I leave the door open all the time, I've been putting treats and her toys in, she will go in and get them, but she won't stay in.
any advice would be great, I don't know what else to try. Thanks


Heather

 

[fordraceing_]

well

my white boxer pup kadie is only 11 weeks old and the crying and whining is finally starting to slow down all you have to do is ignore her. just make sure you let her out to go potty right before you put her in there. and i make sure not to leave kadie in there more then 3.5hrs even at night. but as far as the face being scrached i don't really know what to say about that.

joe

 

[apollosdad]

since you are home most of the time, it affords you a great advantage to gradually get her accustomed to her crate. start off by trying to leave her in her crate for five minutes and if she doesn't whine or cry then give her a treat. if she doews whine or cry, then try leaving her in for a shorted amount of time like 1-2 minutes and go from there.
gradually increase the time that she is left in there and she should catch on. it's a good idea to get them accustomed to their crates asap, if not the problem can become worse in the future. also, try ignoring her for the time that she is in the crate. you can be in the same room with her and perhaps within her view sitting on the couch or something, but just leave her in there until YOU decide that it is time for her to come out. if you start off slow and remain consistent then you should have no problem getting her used to it.

 

[Harley2nva]

I've started putting Daisy in the crate a couple mins. at a time the first thing she does is bite the cage. Do you think a traveling crate would work better than the wire crate I have? I so afraid she will cut her face. thanks for all the advice.



Heather

 

[kassa]

At 12 weeks old, she's probably pretty zonked when she falls asleep. How about starting tonight when she's all played out -- let her fall asleep wherever , but then pick her up and place her in the crate. If you can get the fluffiest, most cozy crate bed in the world it will help. If the pup is tired and "out of it" enough, you can just pour them in and they'll melt back to sleep.

I assume the crate is wherever you are? i.e. the same room you're spending your time in the evening?

The other thing you can do, during the daytime, is find the irresistable toy. Maybe it's a kong with peanut butter, or something else that she adores, but tantalize her with it, put her in the crate, hand it to her, latch the crate, and go sit down (within sight). See if she decides to play with the toy. Give it 1-2 minutes. You may have to ride out a tantrum, but I understand your reluctance once she begins doing physical harm to herself. The object is to find something that she desires that she ONLY gets in the crate.

When you let her out of the crate (even if she's pitching a fit, only let her out while she's catching her breath and not actively screaming or banging) do so silently, just bend over and open it -- then take that toy away. She'll get it the next time it's crate time.

The best way to handle the crate is just to treat it matter of factly -- she's going in there now, and she'll be let out when she's let out. Since you're home, you may be realizing when her "naps" come, and can schedule crate time for those times. Even if you ARE home, let her spend an hour or two in the crate each day for a while -- surely you have things to do in the house that demand your attention without somebody underfoot, and it's important to lay the groundwork for when you would like to actually leave her alone.

At night, when she's about to crash and getting disagreeable, take her out, come back in (all quietly, matter of factly, no big production), grab a dog biscuit, and tell her to go in the crate, then give the cookie and shut the door and walk to your chair/sofa. Most dogs eventually reach a state where your hand on the cookie jar sends them tearing across the house to get in their crate and get that pathetic little cookie as soon as humanly (dog-ly) possible!

Good luck. Remember -- 12 weeks is NOT very old and a week of new habits/routines is like years in terms of her lifespan.

 

[apollosdad]

a plastic crate might be a better idea, but you really don't want to get into the habit of catering too much to your dog. loving your dog beyond belief is completely okay, but there comes a time when she must learn to adapt to what you have designated for her. this will also save you quite a bit of money. getting her tired out is a good idea. she is less likely to create such a ruckus if she is tired.

 

[Burton'sMa]

I agree with Kassa.....but I might do it a little differently by initially doing the same things, but leaving the door open.....then as she became more comfortable with the crate....I would shut the door but not leave the room.....I don't think we can completely (and I don't think people here are) ignore the fact that your pup is handling the crate thing much more dramatically than most and therefore, I would probably take this whole process exceptionally slow....but like Kassa said....get a super comfortable bed....I would always leave the door open and just get her used to getting in there and being happy....then much later I would close the door....I don't believe it will be so bad to add the closed door slowly especially if she sees her crate as a happy place. I would also place the open crate with cushy bed in the room I most spend my time in during the day and then move it into your bedroom at night. That way she never feels like she is cut off from you and sees the crate as a safe, comfy place Good Luck, please let us know how it all works out...P.S. there is also something called D.A. P (Dog Appeasing Pheremone) it is a plug in that is supposed to calm dogs by mimicking the mother's phermones....people cannot smell it......you may read about it on line....just do a google search.....I used it for my boy while I was at work during the day.....it didn't appear to do much for him-but every dog is different so it may help with yours.....hope this helps

 

[Harley2nva]

I'm going to try the travel crate, I already have one for her. At night she sleeps in bed with my husband and I we may regret doing that some day.
thanks for the advice it has helped alot.

Heather

 

[Burton'sMa]

Our 80lb. boy sleeps with us....he stretches out as far as he can and will push us with his paws when we disturb his sleep by trying to just get a little bit of the bed.....and we wouldn't have it any other way We just adore him.

 

[apollosdad]

keep us posted on how things turn out.