Help my boxer is whinning for hours

[Kota's mom]

I have a 9 week old boxer names Lakota. He is extremely smart and at first was going in his crate by himself. he would be okay being locked in there. We would wait till he fell asleep then lock him in. He would wake up and whine and we would take him out. At night he did that a lot. But then all of a sudden no more crate he wanted no part and he will howl for hours upon hours . My hubby gave in a few times and now we have created a monster. The crate is in the kitchen and we have a baby gate to block him off. He then realized he didn't want to be in the kitchen either and will climb the gate. He whinnes in the crate and at the gate and I am very tired. I have read to put him in crate and let him cry and take him out under no circumstances. But this is hard because he would and has gone on for 3 -4 hours at night and during day. How do I know if he has to go potty? And if I take him out while he is whinning will he be confused. Sometimes If he whinnes a little at the gate and tries to climb I tell him no firmly and take him down and then he will settle down and sleep at the gate but it is a hit or miss. And then am I confussing him then when I want to put him in crate when I leave or at night? I also read to try to lure him in cage with toys and treats and do this for a few minutes at time till he gets used to it. But he won't even go inwith that. I have to shove him in then he howls. If i get him in i read to wait till he settles down then take him out but he never settles down he would be in there all day i swear he has gone as long as 4 hours howling. Is it okay to let him sleep by the gate if i get him settled there sometimes but when i go out I have to crate him or he will jump the fence and mess the floor. He is pretty good about going outside if i take him every 3 hours I am sooo confused. the night is the worse cause he whinnes no matter if he is in carte or at the gate. Help me pleaseeee!

 

[babs1225]

I am sorry you have to deal with this!! Although it does happen more rather than not. I would still be firm with him about learning that the cage is where he needs to be and I think he needs something occupy him and get his mind off being focused in the cage. Have you ever heard of a Kong? If not it is a great time waster for your pup. I had somewhat of the same problem with Roxi and someone suggested a Kong to me. You can get them at your local pet store and what you do is you fill it with all sorts of fun food fillings. You can do a search on this site for kong recipes and get a ton of them When you put this in for your pup he usually will concentrate on getting all of the goodies out of the middle and forgets about the being in the cage.

I am not sure if this will suffice for your upset crated puppy. Just a suggestion for you to try. I hope that he gets better for you soon and you can get some sleep!! Keep me posted...

 

[aherndon]

i had the same thing

My 10 wk old did the same, only it was when he was out of his crate. I started firmly telling him quiet. Of course he doesn't know what that means, but the tone of my voice will startle him enough to distract him and lets him know I'm not happy about the whinning.

Try this, it may work.

 

[Jan]

Can you put the crate in your bedroom beside your bed? Puppies will often setttle down more quickly when they know that you are nearby. It's also a good idea to cover the crate.

 

[frankied]

The clock, the cover and having the crate in the room helped immensely when Angel was a pup. She screamed at first and I mean screamed. I swear people walking by must have thought we were torturing her! But she slowly realized that the crate was her place at night and when we leave and that it all there is to it. A Kong is a great crate toy too! Good luck!

 

[Kota's mom]

wheww sommee relief

LAst night was the first night I actually slept some. hubby and I took Kota and our other dog Milo out to the park till 9pm and then we all went to bed around 10:30. We took the crate and put it in our room. He started to cry and my hubby really firm said kota no a couple of times and he went to sleep until 1:30am whooo hooo. Then out to pee and I had to put him in but he quieted down after a few no's and off to sleep till 5:30am. That's the most sleep I have gotten yet. So in morning I pout crate back in kitchen and he still wants no part of it yet. He climbs the gate though that keeps him in kitchen . I have to put him back a hundred times till he finally sleeps at the gate. He does pretty well with potty training and a few times i have let him come in the dinning room when I can watch him but I wonder if that is more confusing.
Now we just have to find a away to keep him from getting over gate
Get used to cage cause sometimes I will have to put him in when I leave.
Eat better. I made mistake of helping him eat the first couple of days in my hands and now he doen't eat on his own. or he takes 3 bites and walks away.
any advice?