barking in crate

[dani12]

Jedi and Daisy (14 weeks) were doing great in their crates at night but now Daisy will bark throughout the night! If we put her out she just dribbles some pee so it isn't that she has to go. They stay in the family room so I'm thinking she may have some separation anxiety but she shouldn't she have exhibited that earlier? Any suggestions? We need some sleep around here! :)

[frenchboxer]

What about moving the crate into your bedroom?

[dani12]

We have talked about that but we have the crates in the family room b/c they can get to them whenever they want. Right now, they have access to the family room and the kitchen/dining area. They don't wander around the whole house b/c we are still working on the potty training. They do great in those two rooms but if they get into another they think they can pee and poop in there since it is a new room. So, that's why we are hesitant to put the crates in the bedroom. We may just have to buy two more crates and put them in there b/c I really don't want to have to move the crates around everyday.

[frenchboxer]

I hear what you say about the potty training. Here is a suggestion I know wont be a picnic, but it wont be forever, and it is what I did when my Phoebe came home. I would sleep downstairs with her until we had the potty training sorted, and once she got the hang of it she was allowed to come up into our room. What about a matress or a camp bed alongside where your dogs are? Maybe it would be worth the trouble. Just a thought.

[dani12]

We got Jedi and Daisy at 9 weeks and we slept downstairs with them until a week and a half ago. That's why I'm thinking it could be separation. Like I said they did really good in the beginning but the last 3 nights were crazy!

[frenchboxer]

It sounds like separation to me. Perhaps you will have to bite the bullet and buy another crate/s for your bedroom. At least you will get a bit more sleep that way. I guess you have already left an article of your clothing in the crate so that they can smell you? Sorry I am not being much help, I have never used a crate and I dont know that much about them, but I am sure you are right about the seperation. Good luck with your pups, they are ADORABLE!! Enjoy.

[dani12]

Any ideas are a great help! And no, we didn't put an article of clothing into the crate b/c they would just eat it ;) We do give them one thing to chew on and we rub our hands on it so it smells like us but unfortunately that isn't working.

[Doberluv]

All you can do is ignore and finally puppies get use to it. Or, to make it easier on both of you, get a 2nd crate, one for your bedroom. But don't pay attention or let puppy out of the crate while in the throws of a tantrum. LOL. This too shall pass if you let puppy know that no amount of complaining is going to move you into any action at all. It just takes a little more time for pup to believe you. But stick to your guns.

[Manchesters]

Jedi and Daisy (14 weeks) were doing great in their crates at night but now Daisy will bark throughout the night! If we put her out she just dribbles some pee so it isn't that she has to go. They stay in the family room so I'm thinking she may have some separation anxiety but she shouldn't she have exhibited that earlier? Any suggestions? We need some sleep around here! :)

Spray bottle set on jet stream, and squirt right between the eyes.

Even better for your situation.......the shake can. Several of them. You can sneak up hopefully so they don't see you coming, and lob one of the cans at the crate as you yell QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By having several cans, you don't have to let the dogs see you as you retrieve the cans. Just make sure you buy diet soda to get your cans, roflmbo.....although I discovered that Slim Fast cans are excellent. You could use a vegetable can too, I guess. And as many coins as it takes to make lots of noise.

[dani12]

We do have soda cans with pennies in them and we also use the spray bottle. Daisy can care less. She tries to catch the water while we squirt it at her! We do try to ignore her as much as possible but then we start to get worried about whether she really does have to go to the bathroom. I guess she has really pulled the wool over our eyes!! And then there's Jedi. He just sits there and let's his sister do all of the dirty work..

[Doberluv]

Don't risk doing things to your dog that may make her distrust you. If your dog is not bothered by these things, then all it is, is attention, neg. or pos. is still attending to her and that encourages repeating behavior. Ignoring is the best remedy. It's worked with all my dogs. It takes a couple of weeks sometimes, but by that time if you're consistant, she'll see that nothing good is going to come of it and will give up. If you do think she has to go to the bathroom, don't open the crate until she has a minute or two of quiet. Be sure she's gone to the bathroom before putting her in there. You just have to plug your ears and let her complain. Within a week or two, she should get the picture.

[dani12]

We will try and stick to our guns better. We do wait until she has been quiet b/4 we let her out of the crate. We always put them out b/4 they go in but then part of my motherly instinct takes over and I start really worrying if she does have to go. I guess we will just try harder. I know she is just going to bark longer b/4 it gets better since we keep going to her and it's working for her! Keep your fingers crossed for us tonight...

[Fuzz Puppy]

Would praising Daisy when she's quiet work for you guys? That way Daisy knows what you want and can try to do that instead of barking.

[dani12]

Well last night went okay. She barked a few times but stopped when no one went to her. When we let her out we waited for her to quit barking and praised her for being quiet. It's so hard to praise her for being quiet b/c she will be quiet but as soon as you walk into the room she starts barking. So we wait for her to calm down to praise her but that sometimes can be a while. But we will keep working with her. She's smart (but stubborn) and hopefully will get it soon. At least our kids sleep through it all!

[bridey_01]

You have to be careful if you use adversive techniques about just what associations you are making. I NEVER add a negative element (such as spraying and penny cans) to the crate situation, I want them to have only good thoughts about the crate.
As for being silent, when I put Azlan in his crate I give him a good stuffed chewtoy that will take him about an hour to finish, that way once he's done he's too tired to think about barking. Also, sometimes I will chuck him in there and sit on a chair next to the crate, periodically popping kibble through the airholes whilst he is quiet. If barking starts, kibble stops. When I do let him out, I wait for him too come out then chuck a whole wad of treats into the very back of the crate, so that he climbs back in there!

[Doberluv]

Also, sometimes I will chuck him in there and sit on a chair next to the crate, periodically popping kibble through the airholes whilst he is quiet. If barking starts, kibble stops. When I do let him out, I wait for him too come out then chuck a whole wad of treats into the very back of the crate, so that he climbs back in there!

Fantastic!

I agree with not associating the crate or anything else you want your dog to be able to do or to handle with a rotten time. Dogs don't think like we do and they make simple associations without a lot of analyzing. They don't think like, "Oh gee, I'm barking in this crate and that is why I'm getting into trouble." They think more like, "Oh gee...I'm in this crate and now I'm getting sprayed with water and scary, noisy things shaken at me....hmmmmm..... crates suck!"

[dani12]

Daisy and Jedi aren't scared of their crates. They go in and out many times throughout the day. And they don't get upset when they are locked in either. We do give them treats in a kong when we have to leave in the day (they actually run into their crates and wait when they us with the kongs) and we give them a sterilized bone at night. Daisy actually does rather well in the beginning but then she barks a few hours into the night.

[bridey_01]

That's good that they go in there whilst the doors are open, I have met some dogs who despise it to such a degree they will actually cower when they walk passed it (my kelpie). I never put her in a crate, it must have some VERY bad associations for her that I don't want to bring up again.

[Raika's Mom]

Raika ruled our lives for the first few weeks we had her and one of us would sleep downstairs. When we decided that we couldn't keep doing that, we just cranked up the window AC so we couldn't hear her barking. In a few nights she was used to it. I'm sure your little girl will get over it...it just takes time...and a good set of earplugs.
Good luck!! I hope you get some sleep!

[dani12]

Good news. Jedi and Daisy were in their crates from about 9:30 last night until 5:30 this morning without a peep! They always get up at 5:30 regardless of when we put them in or how many times we let them out during the night. I guess their internal clocks are set at 5:30. Anyway I hope they do the same tonight. I didn't get very much sleep last night either b/c I kept myself awake last night wondering if there was anything wrong since she wasn't barking! :)

[femke]

Hello Dani I see your post not that new but i just wanted to give you one tip. Our puppy Penny also couldn't care less about the spray bottle. However when we pulled out the supersoaker (big watergun) it was a different story. She does not like that at all! And since then we've used that instead of a spray bottle

[dani12]

Our kids have the big waterguns and she can care less about those also. She just loves water. I guess she's just a water dog...