14 Weeks, Barking in Crate

[RhaegarsMom]

Hi Fellow Lab Lovers!

This is my first post, as a first time owner of a labrador.

My 3 month old boy has decided as of the past few days to start crying and barking in his crate. Since bringing him home at 8 weeks he's been a dream in his crate, and suddenly, he's driving me crazy! I work from home so I crate him for about 2 hours in the morning, and about 2-3 hours in the afternoon while I get work done in my upstairs office, and run errands. He's never spent more than 4 hours in his crate since bringing him home.

I'm doing all of the same routines as before, so I can't figure out what has changed, except to wonder if he's possibly needing a larger crate to be happy?

Could this be the solution?

Any help would be welcomed!

[kimbersmom]

Welcome! As your boy grows, he's getting more curious and wants to wander. As long as you're giving him plenty of exercise and attention when he's outside the crate, what you are describing is perfectly okay in terms of crate time. The crate should be just big enough for him to turn around and lay down. Don't make it any bigger, or he might start to eliminate in it.

He's also testing you and trying to train *you*. Don't give him any attention for barking in the crate, and don't let him out until he's quiet (and sometimes that can be like 1 second of quiet, but that counts!) The barking should stop soon, once he learns it isn't getting him what he wants.

PS and yes, barking can drive you crazy! When we were crate training Kimber, DH would go sit in his car with the radio on to drown out the noise! Hang in there, it gets better.

[Annette47]

I agree with the previous poster. Best thing to do is ignore it, and eventually he will realize it doesn’t get him anywhere and will stop. If for some reason you can’t (like if you are on the phone with clients or something while working and can’t have that going on in the background) you could try a citronella bark collar. I had to use them with Cookie and Sassy at dog training class because they would bark their heads off in the crate while I worked one of the other dogs, and it was disruptive to the class, so couldn’t be ignored. They were about 4 months old when we started with this. Cookie hasn’t needed it in a LONG time, but Sass sometimes needs wear one as a reminder that it is not ok to disrupt the household at 5 am because you are hungry, LOL.

[ZZSW7Y]

Ahhhhhhh the adolecent stages.

Labs at 12 weeks, around 6 months and around 15 months will go through a period of challenging you to see where they fit in the pack. Don't give up, you need to continue to be consistent, ignore the whining, and be prepared to want to scream but don't. He will learn who the boss is. One thing i will do is use a spray bottle with water to get them to calm down.

[Tanya]

agree he is trying things out - if you let him out he'll learn that barking and making a fuss gets him attention/out of crate.

but do ensure he is getting plenty of mental and physical exercise, it's possible his needs have increased a little bit as he grows (and will grow as he hits the 6-18 months of age). but at the same time, you want to ensure they learn to chill and have downtime.

oh and yes, once they stop peeing in their crate (or won't) I really really opt to give them as big a crate as i can so they can stretch I had my 40 pound mix in a 42" crate :P

good luck

[POPTOP]

Hello and Welcome!

Can't add any further suggestions as we home seniors.

Would love to see pictures.

[TuMicks]

Oh yes, for sure! Pictures!

I agree with what others have said here. It's probably a phase and if you don't reward it... it will settle down. Having said that, I had (still have!) an extremely vocal dog. OMG! I've had dogs my whole life and labs since 1981. I couldn't believe what we were dealing with. She was the exception not the rule. If you don't feed a bad habit, it will wither away.

[Meeps83]

Bear did the same thing. As much as it sucks, let him bark it out and only let him out when he's quiet.


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