[Lless28]

Our five month old goes into his crate for bedtime without issue. He knows his “go to bed” command and will happily obey whenever we tell him to. The issue is when we’re home and need him to go in his crate for various reasons. He cries, screams, claws at the door and bites the wires incessantly. He calms down after about 30/40 minutes, but it’s worrisome for my husband and I because we don’t want him to hurt himself biting the crate, and when we have guests over they get a little freaked out. If we put him in the crate and leave, he’ll sigh for a little bit but calms down quickly (I know this because when I put him in the crate and go out of sight, he’s fine).

What are some training exercises we can do with him to curb this behavior?

 

[Fodder]

Frozen (stuffed) kong. My go to for most crate issues. I’d introduce them fresh initially so the pup gets some instant gratification while learning the game. Once frozen it can take up to 20 minutes to finish and can be nice to break the cycle.

 

[wolfy dog]

Don't 100% look at him when he is crated as you are making contact and you know how eager these dogs are to answer.

 

[Kcxgsd]

Just make sure you tire out your puppy before you put your puppy in the crate. If your pup is tired he will less likely be so wired up to being crazy. Then you can use a stuffed kong toy to relax him and mentally stimulate him.

Something i've learned too is to put a stuffed kong toy in his crate and close the door 10-15 mins prior to him going into the crate. Show him the toy before you put it in to make your pup really want to go. After 10-15 mins your pup will really want to go in and enjoy the kong 'in the crate', so let him in and he will enjoy it and calm down afterwards. Good luck!

 

[hoytn]

Two things first put a blanket over the crate, second ignore him that might take a while to get use to. Is your pup drooling all over the place if so look out for separation anxiety. If that's the case your will need professional help.