[Icee]

Hi guys!

We have a four month old german shepherd male named Kaiser.

He used to be wonderful about being in his crate during the day when my husband and I had things that needed to get done but recently he has started to cry a LOT when in his kennel.

He usually has a couple of toys including a piece of antler or something to chew on and we take him out to potty before we put him in so he doesn't have to go... and we make sure he gets played with before he goes in... in fact he might be falling asleep at my feet but then when we have him go in his kennel, he's suddenly wide awake and barking his head off.

We try not to go in there when he's barking so as not to encourage the behavior for attention but sometimes after a couple of hours, we have to let him out for bathroom or because he's starting to give us a serious headache with the barking!

I know he's not afraid of his kennel as he does JUST FINE at night when we are in the room and sleeping... so this seems to only be a problem during the daytime.


Could this be related to his teething/hormones? Or is he suddenly developing anxiety over being away from us? Any help would be wonderful as it's become quite a problem! Thanks!!

 

[Kwolf94]

I had this problem with Schatzi. I think its because he'd rather be out of his crate and with you guys, and almost like a child, he's complaining and crying to get out. What I did with Schatzi was let her bark, but of course I had to retreat somewhere else and play some music to keep sane. But as soon as she quieted down, I rewarded her with a treat. If she remained quiet, she was rewarded by being let out of her kennel. This way, she learned that only by staying quiet would she get out. This might take a while. It was a few months before I reached the point where I am at now with Schatzi. Shes 8 months and doesn't make a peep when shes in her kennel, and will also walk in on command. Also, I feed Schatzi in her kennel, and leave her in for around 20 minutes while shes digesting, (She's in her kennel snoozing now after eating dinner lol) so the kennel is represented as something more than just a confined place where she is put when I leave. Best of luck, and I hoped this helps!

 

[guatemama07]

I'm not an expert, but I taught my pup (6 months old now) to like his crate by giving him his most favorite, yummy-licious snack in there: a frozen piece of raw pork neck bone (I get mine from a meat store but I have seen these in grocery stores too.) I give him this at night when I put him in there. He runs to his crate every night at bedtime.

I think this helped him associate positive feelings with his crate. He now goes in there on his own sometimes (I leave the door open during the day.) If I go in my room to read, he'll follow me in there and go in his open crate, even though he also has a cushioned dog bed he could lie on.

 

[gmcwife1]

I'm not an expert, but I taught my pup (6 months old now) to like his crate by giving him his most favorite, yummy-licious snack in there: a frozen piece of raw pork neck bone (I get mine from a meat store but I have seen these in grocery stores too.) I give him this at night when I put him in there. He runs to his crate every night at bedtime.

I think this helped him associate positive feelings with his crate. He now goes in there on his own sometimes (I leave the door open during the day.) If I go in my room to read, he'll follow me in there and go in his open crate, even though he also has a cushioned dog bed he could lie on.

Not an expert here either, but we have tried to keep Nita's crate a positive too Since we have 3 dogs we have always fed her in her crate and put her in her crate for her bully sticks and long lasting treats.

Not sure if that helps or not. Oh and we try to not use her crate for punishment so she doesn't think it's a bad place.

 

[Icee]

The crate has been nothing but a positive experience for him and he was totally fine with it up until recently! Not quite sure what changed his mind but he now starts barking and yowling if we leave the room. When I kennel him to shower he seems to be fine as I guess he thinks that the bathroom is part of the bedroom (even if I am out of view) but the second we leave the bedroom, he just does not want to be in there. Like I mentioned before, he was perfectly fine with us leaving him on his own in the kennel until JUST recently and we have not done anything to change the crate from being a positive place for him. So I just don't know what suddenly changed this :C

 

[KatsMuse]

IMO, sounds like he just wants to be with you...part of the pack.

 

[Woof_Terrorist]

I had this problem with Schatzi. I think its because he'd rather be out of his crate and with you guys, and almost like a child, he's complaining and crying to get out. What I did with Schatzi was let her bark, but of course I had to retreat somewhere else and play some music to keep sane. But as soon as she quieted down, I rewarded her with a treat. If she remained quiet, she was rewarded by being let out of her kennel. This way, she learned that only by staying quiet would she get out. This might take a while. It was a few months before I reached the point where I am at now with Schatzi. Shes 8 months and doesn't make a peep when shes in her kennel, and will also walk in on command.

Good post. Very good advise.

However, dont feed in the kennel. Why? Just for the same reason we should not eat in the bed room or bed.