Crate FAQ/Puppy behavior normal?

[JanaZee]

Hello,

I am a first time GSD owner, long time GSD admirer. Nearly a month ago I got my first puppy, and even though I am more than happy with her things were a bit rushed. I don't mean that in a way where I am unsure about the puppy, she is in very good health and AKC registered. Not only that but she is very loving and friendly. I mean it was rushed in the sense that the scheduled pick up we had for her went ahead by about a week at the last minute so we weren't properly prepared for her crate wise. We ended up getting a crate the night that we brought her home, but we got home a little late and she was tired from the drive so we just sort of put her in there. I have been a lurker so I have been reading your guys' posts about crate introduction, and I realized that we went about it wrong and I am just curious if this is going to affect her association with the crate? The first 2 weeks were pretty hectic with a lot of crying and waking up in the middle of the night talking her down and letting her know I was there. Now she still doesn't seem to like her crate too much, and I am just wondering if that's normal for them never to completely love their crate when they are this young or if it's because of how she was introduced to it. She is much better than she used to be, before we would put her in at about 8-9 to calm down, and it would be about 30 mins before she would completely calm down and fall asleep, and she would wake up about 3-5 times a night. Now it's about 5-10 minutes for her to calm down depending on the night, and usually she either wakes up once per night or not at all until about 7 for breakfast. We don't really mind this as we've worked out a schedule for us and for her around it, but I have just been reading about how some puppies are used to around 1-2 weeks of sleeping in it. Her crate is right next to the bed facing my side, so she can see me when she's going to sleep. My main issue is that she goes out of her way to avoid her crate even with treats involved, except for at bedtime when we put her in ourselves. She is also thinks she is very clever when she puts her paws in the doorway when we go to close the door lol.

My second question was about her biting habits. I understand it's normal for them to bite and chew, and I also understand that sometimes when she bites she is trying to get me to play with her. Lately she has gotten a lot worse about it though. Before she wasn't as aggressive with how she tried to bite, and she almost never tried to do it when we went on walks. Today I took her for a walk with my boyfriend and about halfway through ALL she wanted to do was bite my feet. If I stopped walking and told her no bite she would get bored for about 2 seconds, but then she'd be right back at it. She also is doing a sort of play attack I guess? In the house she comes at my feet and bites them. I tell her no bite and she ignores me. I grab her by the collar and move her away while telling her no bite, she twists her head around and then sort of leaps back then comes back in to bite. She also barks at me and growls while coming at my feet. If I pull her back and try to hold her she breaks off and runs away then runs back around and comes for me again. I was thinking maybe this was just her wanting to play, but I could literally play with her for hours and she would not be tired enough to forget about biting me...Sometimes the only thing to do is put her in the crate to get her to stop, but then she whines on and off for quite a while. She gets three 30 minute walks a day, and they are with a retractable leash so she runs probably about twice the distance that we go. She hasn't had all of her vaccines yet so I don't want to take her to any puppy classes, and I live in a rural area so private trainers aren't anywhere near.

Any info/opinions/personal experience would be great, thank you. Sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to make sure I included everything

She's nearly 3 months old and we've been practicing some basic commands every day for about 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a day. We also play with her whenever we get the chance, which is at least twice a day for 15-20 minutes or more.

[BR870]

Well taking a bit to get used to the crate is normal, however in my experience talking them down or otherwise acknowledging them when they are whining and fussing in the crate just prolonges it. They have to learn that fussing and protesting will not draw your attention. The trick is to know when the whine is cause they need out to go out to eliminate, and when its just fussing for attention...

As for the biting getting worse. yeah thats what happens. She's getting older and more willful. Its good though, it means she's bonding with you and wants to play. She's not fearful, and she's feeling feisty and not intimidated. Now depending on which way you want to go with her training will depend on what you do here. For most pet homes you should try to gently discourage it and teach bite inhibition. Redirect her with a toy or chew that you should keep handy in your pocket...

[MaggieRoseLee]

Really read the Puppy BITING!!! Teaching Bite Inhibition <--click that ) to realize it's normal.

UP the exercise!!!! Up the PLAYING with you and a tug toy!

Do you keep the crate in the bedroom with you, beside the bed at night? That way you are close and reassuring but the pup still needs to be in the crate.

[JanaZee]

Thank you! My boyfriend will be happy to know that he was right about ignoring her when she whines ha. I just see a lot of conflicting info on the web so I figured I might as well post and see what people say. Glad to see it's normal and they all go through it Another quick question though, do you have a blanket over the front of your dog's crate or just the sides? Or even a blanket at all? I have them over the sides and one down about halfway over the front. Just wondering if this might be making it worse for her.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Some dogs prefer the 'den' affect of the blanket, some don't. I don't think that's the issue but you can try removing it.

[JanaZee]

@MaggieRoseLee

Yes we have the crate right next to the bed facing me. And I have read the bite inhibition articles, but the yelping doesn't affect her anymore and redirecting her with her tug toy only keeps her interest for so long. I am thinking about maybe getting her some new toys as she seems kind of bored of these ones. That was going to be another question, if the tug toy was alright. She likes it quite a bit but I see people go one way or the other with it, but I think I will continue to play with it. I will try to up her exercise as much as possible, thank you