Barking in his crate.

[JES72]

Stanley has started barking more and more when left in his crate. He goes to sleep in his crate at 10pm and sleeps through to around 5am (occasionally though to 6am) without and noise.
But putting him in his crate during the day if I need to go out or do something upstairs, he barks and howls. I leave him with one or two kongs.
My neighbour has said she can hear him, she is fond of him so not a big problem-yet. But he will need to be in his crate three mornings a week for an hour from next week.

 

[Selina27]

Maybe you need to start from scratch again by just putting him in for very short spells with you in the room and rewarding him for being quiet for even the teeniest time, and gradually build up to you being out of sight for increasing lengths periods.
What do you do at night to help him settle down, does he have a particular routine?

 

[JES72]

In the evening he’s on the sofa with us, usually quite sleepy, goes for a last pee then in bed. He will take himself to bed when we are eating dinner or busy in the kitchen, I think it’s more separation anxiety than the crate. Either way he needs to learn to settle without us.
And back to the beginning of crate training.

 

[HAH]

In the evening he’s on the sofa with us, usually quite sleepy, goes for a last pee then in bed. He will take himself to bed when we are eating dinner or busy in the kitchen, I think it’s more separation anxiety than the crate. Either way he needs to learn to settle without us.
And back to the beginning of crate training.

That’s probably the first thing to establish, whether it’s being in the crate or separation anxiety. Does he seem distressed if you leave him outside of the crate?

We struggled with crate training with Kipper and persevered far too long with it because we thought it was what you had to do. Do you have to use the crate by itself, or could you create a pen area with the crate as part of it, with the door secured open? This might give you the security of Stanley being safe and in a restricted space, without him needing to be shut in. I think some dogs take to crates, but many don’t so if you can make a penned area that might suit Stanley better.

 

[JES72]

I have a feeling it’s more to do with separation than the crate itself.

 

[Anne123]

We have the same with Odin....

 

[JES72]

Maybe I will have to give my neighbour ear defenders. And hopefully he’ll eventually settle. Theres a possibility we can arrange for someone to pop in during that hour but I would really hope he does learn to settle.

 

[Anne123]

I gave my neighbours some flowers.....

 

[Jen]

Stanley was the same. It was the hardest part of puppyhood for me.

We had to build him up to being left really slowly because as soon as you were out of sight he would howl.

We started with literally walking out of the room then back in and built it up in tiny increments. When we got to about 10 minutes he was fine after that and is now completely fine to be left

 

[Cath]

Playpen and crate training a puppy | Dogs Trust

Crates and playpens can be cosy spaces for your pooch. Here’s how to use them and ensure your pup is comfortable.

www.dogstrust.org.uk

 

[SwampDonkey]

Stanley was the same. It was the hardest part of puppyhood for me.

We had to build him up to being left really slowly because as soon as you were out of sight he would howl.

We started with literally walking out of the room then back in and built it up in tiny increments. When we got to about 10 minutes he was fine after that and is now completely fine to be left

I can remember you doing this. It seems to be such a long time ago.

 

[MellowYellow]

Merlin hated and loathed the crate. We persevered for 6 weeks, then gave up. He was fine in the house, just hated being locked up in the crate... However I did have Poppy as well so he wasn't completely alone. I'm sure you'll get there in the end!

 

[JES72]

Hubby found solution, Stanley woke up extra early this morning, hubby took him outside in the rain, left him outside to go to the toilet himself, then let Stanley back in, Stanley went straight to bed without a peep. Being in his crate was better than being outside in the rain!

i had to leave Stanley for an hour this morning, I set up my iPad to record him. He cried and barked for almost exactly 10 minutes, then was quiet until he heard me at the door.

 

[JES72]

We had a bad night with Stanley last night. He woke up at 1:30 with his normal whimpering noises so I let him out to poop and pee. I put him back in his crate and he barked and howled almost non stop. I went down to the kitchen to try to settle him, praise him when he was quiet, let him out a few times to see if he needed to pee/poop, gave him a large kong with extra food, as soon as he’d finished the kong his barking started again.
He’s fine with going to bed and will stay quiet as long as he is asleep but will make a fuss once he is awake.
When I’ve gone out, he’s left in his crate and will bark for about ten minutes then settle.

 

[M.F.]

Is there any chance he can sleep in your bedroom while he’s still a puppy? And then, when he’s older, to move him out (that is, if you don’t want him permanently in your bedroom)?

I recently read this post about crating by a trainer and behaviourist who is a huge advocate for dogs’ emotional wellbeing: Bei Facebook anmelden (no idea why it presents this text as the link!). She’s writing about people who basically cage their dogs and only take them out for brief periods. But I think she provides insight into many issues around crating.

 

[JES72]

He will whine if he’s downstairs and I’ve gone upstairs to get dressed or do something that will only take a few minutes.
I would like him to be in his crate as he does need to be in it when he has to wait a bit in the mornings for his dog walker three mornings a week.
He spent some time in it this morning quite happily while I was in and out the kitchen. I’ll try again for a bit this afternoon.

 

[Anne123]

Is he teething just like Odin....?

 

[JES72]

He may be teething.
This morning was a bit better but we are still not getting something quite right.
This has become a usual pattern and I’m not sure what to do.
He wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 sometimes through to 6am with a quiet howl/meow noises, I let him out to pee and poop then put him back in his crate. Until a few weeks ago he’d cry for 5-10 minutes then settle down after being let out. Now he will howl and bark and dig at his crate constantly. I’ve tried giving him big Kongs thinking he could be hungry but as soon as he’s finished them he starts to bark and gets himself wound up. This morning I stayed in the kitchen giving him treats every moment he was quiet but he wasn’t quiet for very long.
His barking is getting louder and our neighbours can hear him.

 

[HAH]

He may be teething.
This morning was a bit better but we are still not getting something quite right.
This has become a usual pattern and I’m not sure what to do.
He wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 sometimes through to 6am with a quiet howl/meow noises, I let him out to pee and poop then put him back in his crate. Until a few weeks ago he’d cry for 5-10 minutes then settle down after being let out. Now he will howl and bark and dig at his crate constantly. I’ve tried giving him big Kongs thinking he could be hungry but as soon as he’s finished them he starts to bark and gets himself wound up. This morning I stayed in the kitchen giving him treats every moment he was quiet but he wasn’t quiet for very long.
His barking is getting louder and our neighbours can hear him.

What happens if you leave him out of his crate? Would a pen set-up work in that space (I.e. a flexible set of panels like these Puppy pen that you could fit round the crate) which would give him more options and space outside the crate if he needs it?
I can imagine how stressful this is for you, worrying about the neighbours being disturbed as well as the lack of sleep. It must be really hard (we’re still going through some of this so I sympathise massively).

 

[Jelinga]

Have you thought of a crate in your bedroom? When I had puppies I initially had them in a cardboard box beside my bed and they soon learned to be independent and stay downstairs.

I remember my first GSP way back in 1984, she howled for ages at night (before I thought of the cardboard box), but eventually stopped. Apparently the owners of her brother, after two weeks of howling, gave him some red wine and all was peaceful! I am not advocating that though!