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  1. #1
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    Crate and Potty Training

    So I'm sure the answer to this questions is just persistence but I wanted to run it by the wise folks here on the forum.

    We are taking Caleb out as soon as he wakes up from a nap (and first thing in the morning), if he gives any sort of hint that he's going to pee (I'm trying to learn from the accidents, such as running to the door), a few minutes after a big drink of water, and at his estimated pooping time (he's pretty slow, averaging about 2.5 hours after a meal). Most of the time when I take him out he will cry and try to go back in or lay down at my feet and sleep. I do nothing but stand there, and will move around a bit to get him moving if he lays at my feet. 75% of the time, he has nothing. Only once so far has he peed immediately upon coming back inside. I will sit with him in his room until I think he's ready to go back out.

    The breeder had the puppies very familiar with the crate, including regular 2 hour stints in the crate and a quiet overnight the night before we picked him up (with each sibling in their own crate next to each other). I've tried putting him in the crate in between unsuccessful pottying attempts. Despite it being filled with wonderful goods and treats, he won't stay in there. He will often throughout the day go in for the hidden treats then turn around and come right back out. He sleeps a lot throughout the day, and I can usually (like right now, for example) go into an adjoining room where I can still see him and he can see me, and he'll wake up, look at me, then go back to sleep. Yet if I try to pick him up and put him in the crate, he walks right back out. He will sleep on the floor immediately in front of the crate, but not inside the crate itself. I've tried getting him in there, closing the door, and making it rain treats but he will eventually ignore the treats and start crying, at which point I walk away until he stops crying. We've been hand feeding him close to and inside the crate and will make sure there are always a handful of treats hidden in the back for him.

    How do I get him to sleep inside the crate instead of on the floor, so I can better contain him between breaks (and have some freedom to move around the house!)?

    Thanks!
    Last edited by taysel; 10-10-2016 at 03:08 PM.

  2. #2
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    You basically have to make the crate his happy place. You feed him in it, toss little treats in for him multiple times, he'll go right in after them. Give a small treat when you are crating him for any period of time. Once he's in the crate don't talk to him, or make eye contact. He will most likely scream and whine, do not give in and let him out, it will teach him he'll get out when he fusses. When you get home do not go and let him out immediately. Make him wait a couple minutes before you let him out, and again don't talk to him or make eye contact until you are ready to let him out.

    It will take a few weeks, but he will settle in soon enough. You just have to be consistent and show him what you expect.

  3. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to barry581 For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (10-11-2016), soberbyker (10-10-2016), taysel (10-11-2016)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog CraftHer's Avatar
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    Consistency is the key. If you ever give in, you're teaching them that if the holler long enough, you'll let them out. It's hard. One time with Latte, I just put her in her ex-pen and just went outside and sat on the porch.

    One thing we taught Mocha and are teaching Latte is that we never take them out unless they're quiet. Then we open the door and make them wait (a second or two at this point with Latte). I believe it teaches her to get out, she needs to be quiet and sit. At 11 weeks, it's still a work in progress.

    You're doing the right thing.

  5. #4
    Best Friend Retriever soberbyker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post
    You basically have to make the crate his happy place. You feed him in it, toss little treats in for him multiple times, he'll go right in after them. Give a small treat when you are crating him for any period of time. Once he's in the crate don't talk to him, or make eye contact. He will most likely scream and whine, do not give in and let him out, it will teach him he'll get out when he fusses. When you get home do not go and let him out immediately. Make him wait a couple minutes before you let him out, and again don't talk to him or make eye contact until you are ready to let him out.

    It will take a few weeks, but he will settle in soon enough. You just have to be consistent and show him what you expect.
    This is pretty much what I did with Zeke from the first day we brought him home. He eats his meals in there and gets a few treats when I have to crate him at night or other times. It's rare but every once in a while he'll even just take a nap on his on in the crate when the door open. It's a happy place for him.

  6. #5
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    You'll get so many suggestions and none of them will be bad or wrong.
    I never gave Rocco treats or meals in the crate, didn't want the mess to clean up, I did give him a blanket, sometimes a pillow, stuffed animal and always said the same words when I put him in, find what works for you.

  7. #6
    Best Friend Retriever soberbyker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bernie View Post
    You'll get so many suggestions and none of them will be bad or wrong.
    I never gave Rocco treats or meals in the crate, didn't want the mess to clean up, I did give him a blanket, sometimes a pillow, stuffed animal and always said the same words when I put him in, find what works for you.
    This is very true, every dog is going to have what works for him/her and our job is to seek experience of others for things to try. I give him a few of his favorite things to enjoy while in the crate as well.

    That said, Zeke is an extremely food motivated dog and responds very well to learning when food is involved. As such there is never a mess to clean up, he gets every last bit of flavor off of his bowl and a crumb doesn't stand a chance with him.

    He has learned that being in the crate often comes with reward, it's a comfortable place, so he is not afraid of being/staying in it. In fact he knows the routine so well he goes in on his own when he thinks it's bed time. He knows some of the signals we send, turning off the TV, a few lights etc. Again though, We've been doing this since we brought him home at about 9 weeks old. He'll be a year old in a couple days.

  8. #7
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    You basically have to make the crate his happy place. You feed him in it, toss little treats in for him multiple times, he'll go right in after them. Give a small treat when you are crating him for any period of time. Once he's in the crate don't talk to him, or make eye contact. He will most likely scream and whine, do not give in and let him out, it will teach him he'll get out when he fusses. When you get home do not go and let him out immediately. Make him wait a couple minutes before you let him out, and again don't talk to him or make eye contact until you are ready to let him out.

    It will take a few weeks, but he will settle in soon enough. You just have to be consistent and show him what you expect.
    Thank you! I was afraid that because he was crying to get out of the crate I had done something wrong. This morning he ate breakfast in the crate, went in there a few times for the cornucopia of treats, played in there, and even took a nap (after falling asleep on my lap and I gently put him in there, usually he jumps right back out). I put him in there now to get him onto our permanent schedule and he's whining pretty good. I took off this week to get him adjusted but the reality is that next week he's going to have to be in there from about 8 am until my husband can come home at lunchtime to let him out, then again until 3:30 when I can let him out. I just hope he can handle it and we aren't asking too much. Some websites say he can last only an hour at his age (8 weeks), others say four just fine, so I don't know really what to believe.

    Consistency is the key. If you ever give in, you're teaching them that if the holler long enough, you'll let them out
    How do you tell the difference between an "I need to pee" hollering and an "I want to get out" hollering? Last night, he cried five times. I took him out all five times, three of the times he peed (despite the fact we put up water around 5:30 and he probably peed three times before going to bed after we put up the water). One of those trips, I took him out, he peed, brought him back, put him in the kennel, and he started to cry. I went to take him back out in case he had to poop again or something and he just cried outside with no pee or poop. When I brought him back in, he layed right down and went to sleep. Only one other false alarm after that. I don't think he likes it outside in the middle of the night (cold, plus the grass is wet, he'll only pee on the concrete) so I think he learned at that moment that I'll call his bluff.

    This is very true, every dog is going to have what works for him/her and our job is to seek experience of others for things to try. I give him a few of his favorite things to enjoy while in the crate as well.
    When he's not playing with a toy, it lives in the crate. I'll pull them out for an exchange occasionally but once he's done with it it goes back into the crate. When crated, he's either crying or sleeping; he never plays with any of the toys, unless the door is open.
    That said, Zeke is an extremely food motivated dog and responds very well to learning when food is involved. As such there is never a mess to clean up, he gets every last bit of flavor off of his bowl and a crumb doesn't stand a chance with him.
    I do love watching him randomly lick the floor as he gets every last bit of kibble and treat off!

    I am afraid of ruining the kennel for him but I'll keep trying to offset the miserable alone time for him with plenty of treats and food.

    Sorry for the rambling, just a very tired puppy parent.
    Last edited by taysel; 10-11-2016 at 08:23 AM.

  9. #8
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    I’ve always given mine a treat or two for going in the crate, but I don’t feed them in the crate, and I don’t fill it with toys. I’ve found even when I do put a chewy in there, they don’t usually play with it while they are locked in - they just sleep or lay quietly.

    As others have said, consistency is key. And he should be able to hold it for at least 4 hours, especially at night. Most of mine were making it all they way through the night after the first week or so. When they are up and active they do need to go out more frequently, but when they are sleeping (or should be) they can hold it longer.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

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  10. #9
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    The need to pee yip and he I don't want to be in here yup vary from puppy to puppy. For Bear, his need to pee yip is high pitched and frequent like yipyipyipyipyiiiiiiiip. His I don't want to be in here is deeper and more spread out like yip.....yip....yip....yip. You'll recognize it after a while.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. #10
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    Is the crate small enough? It should be just large enough for him to turn around and lay down, no larger. Puppies won't eliminate where they sleep (barring a health problem), so that helps reduce the fear that the pup will pee in the crate. Then, if you have a good schedule for taking him out at night, you can (pretty) safely ignore the in-between "let me out" cries. The other key is to make sure he pees when you take him out. If he's lollygagging, leash him up and march him around the yard until his bladder is activated and he eliminates.

    Our schedule with puppy Kimber:

    7 pm-dinner
    8 pm- cut off for water
    10 pm- bed time
    2 am- outing
    6 am- outing/up for breakfast

    It was rough but it doesn't last long, we promise. Hang in there!
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