Crate Training and Screaming

I faced a sort of similar situation a couple of weeks ago and got some great advice from the people in this forum. Here's the link to that thread: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubb...true#Post732143

Few things that worked for me:
1) crating during the daytime: the ignore advice
2) crating at night: having the crate next to my bed, lying down on the floor next to the crate with my pillow until Wolfie dozed off a bit, afterwards when I am in bed whenever he whimpered I just put my fingers inside the crate so that he could sniff them (he usually settled down after that)

Another thing I tried to get him used to the crate during the daytime was having the crate door open, say kennel up, gently put him inside, treat him, have him come out immediately, treat him again. I think I did that over and over for almost an hour it seems. He did need to be physically put inside though most of the time during that exercise.

Wolfie gets a treat every single time he gets into his crate. I buy the Nutro Max Puppy biscuits. He seems to really like those and the only time he gets them is when he has to go inside his crate.

Regarding the ignore advice, the yowling was just horrifying and I'm sorry, I couldn't just stay in the house and ignore it. So during the daytime, what I did was this: crated him, gave him his biscuit, put a toy and a rawhide in it (he LOVES rawhide) and left the house for an hour. I could hear him hollering as I pulled out of the garage. When I pulled into the garage, I could still hear him (much less noise this time). The minute my key touched the door though he was quiet, so I let him out. Over the next few days, whenever he was crated, I realized he was keeping quieter and quieter (I would sneak back to the side of the house to snoop). He would start whining whenever he heard the garage door open on my way back but keep quiet when the key touched the door. Now, he stays quietly in his crate all throughout.

Hope this helps! And best of luck with the crating!

For those who haven't brought home their dogs yet, what I do when my puppies come home is the first two nights, I sleep on the floor next to the crate. I make sure that the puppy has been 1. fed 2. pottied 3. doesn't have fans on him or anything else that might upset him (a slight breeze from a ceiling fan and a box fan while you're lying on the bed can feel like a hurricane when you're a small pup on the floor). 4. stuffed animals in the crate and soft bedding 5. isn't thirsty.

I know a lot of people say don't give the puppy water hours before he goes to sleep. Here's my read on it. You're going to be up a couple times a night because pup has a tiny bladder anyhow. Why put a tiny THIRSTY puppy to bed? He'll be miserable. Let him drink water, especially now, when it's hot out. Also, leave a small light on. Some breeders don't leave their puppies in complete darkness (ask the breeder). And even if they do, your pup is entering a fear stage. Your pup might be afraid of the dark.

Then for the first two nights, I sleep on the floor. next to the puppy's crate. In my case, I take my big dog's beds, put them together, toss a comforter on them, and actually sleep pretty well. My head is right next to puppy's crate. I don't let puppy out of his crate because I know that I've checked off boxes 1 through 5 above. He's fine. Usually, the pup whimpers about 15 minutes and falls asleep. When he whines because he has to potty, I'm right there to hear it, and we get potty training off to a great start.

Night # 3, puppy goes to sleep without me lying next to him, but when I put him to bed, I make sure that I stay in the room (as Dh and I are getting ready for bed) and we talk the whole time. We don't talk to puppy. We just talk so that he knows we're there. Fans are still turned off, and the small light is still left on for now. After about a week, I'll put puppy to bed on his own, but the fans are turned off and the light is left on. By week 3, puppy can go to bed with the light off. It's a harsh transition from the whelping box to a whole new family in a whole new house, so I do it in steps.

My dogs always get bedtime snacks. Even my senior. We announce 'Bedtime!" and everyone runs into his crate or her bed. If you're in the hallway, you better move quick or you'll be trampled. So yeah, puppy learns to love getting into her crate for the snacks. And she sees that the Big Kids go to bed quickly and easily too.

I really think a lot of it is about how we approach it. If you were just plunked into a new country, wouldn't you kind of panic? Wouldn't you prefer that someone helped you transition in steps? I'm not saying that you should let the puppy out of the crate or give in to him. I don't even talk to my pup once she's in her crate, unless I am positive she is doing a "potty scream." (Sometimes, bladders don't empty the first try, or they pee, but don't poop when they need to.)

But check air conditioning vents and fans. Turn them off or at least, make sure they absolutely aren't blowing on the pup. With my current puppy and my last two puppies, fans blowing on them (or too much air indirectly blowing on them) would make them SCREAM more than any other thing. Being thirsty would make them whine inconsolably. If you're giving snacks or food but not water, your pup is likely thirsty. Yeah, you'll have to get up once more during the night. But you'll be able to sleep more overall, because your pup isn't screaming.

Look at the world from your pup's point of view. Look at everything that could be affecting your puppy. Flapping draperies? Sharp lights from street lights shining right into the crate? High pitched noises (any whirring sounds, buzzing noises, etc)? Loud thumping bass coming from the TV room? You and your adult dogs may have become used to these sounds, but to puppy, this is a Brave New World. We need to introduce him to these slowly. I've had my pup 4 weeks. She goes to bed by herself every night. The fans are on low. And there's no commotion. We got off to a good start. Not because I'm a great trainer. I just believe in a nice gentle transition. If your pup hates her crate, start all over. It will take longer, but I've done this with adult rescue dogs. They just want to know that your home is a safe and comfortable place to be, 24/7. It can be done.

I would love some advice about our sweetheart. He's nine weeks, doesn't mind his crate and often goes in on his own with a toy. However, he's a terror and often needs a little time to cool down. How much crate time is humane. He's out of his crate almost all the time but today I put him in for a half hour to rest and he did. He's fine at night. He's whining to go out to poop and in between time gets taken out regularly but still has widdle accidents in the kitchen. Should he be crated more or are we on the right track? We are on a split shift as he is my son's dog and the pup adores him. He loves me but I'm gran and the softie, or so he thinks. When my son goes off to work usually late afternoon, our Shadow gets very upset and cries and wants to go looking for his soulmate. When he's over that, he's into everything and it's often relentless. I chase after him to get him to stop chewing one thing and within seconds he's off chewing another. He's got toys and we use the distraction ploy a lot.

Any pearls of wisdom would be gratefully received. Are we being too soft and he should be in his crate more or does that impinge on his puppy exuberance.