Oh Please Make It Stop!!!

overcome87

Alright so everyone has had this problem, and if you didn't...well, lucky you. On Christmas Eve I got my puppy, Zoe. She's a mini dachshund and completely spoiled. She's 8 weeks old and HATES her crate. Surprise, yes I know.

I have her food inside of it and the door is kept open untill it's time for her to go to bed. She is more than willing to go into the crate but once you shut the door she freaks out. I know that this will pass but my problem is that I live in a tiny apartment. I also leave for work at 2:30 in the morning. So even once she has quieted down (sometimes as long as over an hour later) if she hears anyone moving around she starts all over again. I can't have her screaming bloody murder at 2:30 in the morning. My mom has agreed to let her stay at her house until she is crate trained but I'm worried that even though she's okay here that once she gets to my apartment she'll get unset all over again.

We tried putting her crate in the family room with all of us but that is NOT working. I took her to the vets today and he said to try putting a radio next to her crate and putting her in a room by herself. Well I haven't tired the radio yet but I'm pretty sure it won't work. She can hear the tv and it doesn't seem to have an affect. I put her in a room by herself after we got home from the vet and it took her 50 minutes but she did quit. After that I waited for her to be quiet for about 10 minutes and then went to get her. I told her good girl and gave her a treat before I let her out. I let her stay up with me for about an hour until she was falling asleep again. I told her it's time to go to bed and put her back into her crate. She cried for about 35 minutes. It was better that time because she wasn't crying constantly like before but she wasn't staying quiet either, it was a mix of both. I let her stay in there 20 minutes after she stopped crying and gave her a treat told her good girl and then let her out.

Does anyone have any tips. I know that there is pretty much nothing I can do to make it stop any faster but if anyone has ideas I'm more than willing to listen. I feel bad for leaving her at my moms even though I'm with her after work until bed time. It's hard on my mom and hard on me. I'm trying to get her use to the crate so thats why I'm putting her in it every hour or until she falls asleep. Am I doing it too much? She sleeps prefectly with me, doesn't move or leave. But I can't just let her run around the apartment for 9 hours. Please help!

Snowshoe

To be honest, you've gone about getting a puppy in the exact opposite way that you should.

First off, getting a puppy during the holidays is not a great idea- the holidays are a very stressful time for people. I cannot imagine how they would be for a puppy.

Next, you live in an apartment with thin walls. What did you expect would happen when you took a puppy away from his/her littermates and put him/her in a strange enviornment?

Then, you're confusing the dog even more by shuffling him/her to your mom's house because you already can't deal with him/her.

It seems to me that perhaps you should give the dog to your mom. It sounds like she has a more stable living enviornment.

However, if you do decide to keep her, I feel like I need to tell you that now your needs come secondary to his/hers. Your life will now have to revolve around your puppy's needs.

This may mean that you will have to hire a dog walker to feed/potty your pup while you are at work.

It is very difficult for a single person to raise a dog by themselves.

As for crate training- this is the one thing that I like about your post. Yes, keep crate training her. Due to the fact that you keep shuffling her around, likely it will take longer for her to get on any kind of potty schedule.

Perhaps other posters will be able to help you more.

overcome87

Thanks for the reply but I have a few things to say. Getting a dog is always stressful. For the person and for the dog so the holidays don't really matter expecially since you do not know how I celebrate my holidays. My puppy has not been to my apartment and she is not getting shuffed around so don't jump to conclusions. If I am not at work then I'm with her so don't think I don't know what I'm doing. Everything takes time. I'm simply looking for some tips to help her. It does not bug me that she cries, it breaks my heart but i know that letting her cry is the only way. If I take her to my apartment and she cries then we get into trouble, if she's at my mom while I'm at work and cries there is no troble and she gets rewarded for behaving. Is that so wrong? She is only with my mom because she is not comfortable enough to be in her crate and not cry. I'd prefer not to be treated like a stupid child so if anyone has tips for me I'd love to hear them.

Cassie Nova

Basically, if she whines and you take her out, she'll learn that whining gets her out. Do you want that? I wouldn't. Ignore her- because when you do, she'll learn whining gets her ignored and that's not why she was whining. Also, when you go to let her out, only do so when she's quiet. No matter what, DO NOT let her out if she's whining. EVER.

drfong

A few sugestions and a question. Are you staying at your Mom's while doing this? If so it always helped mine to put the crate next to the bed were I could stick my finger in the door. It conforts them alot. Also put a T-shirt that you wear in the crate to comfort the dog. Like others have said, never let the dog out when it whines. It usually doesn't take too long for them to catch on. I actualy put the crate in the bed so the dog felt like it was with us, but also getting used to the crate. Anything to help the dog relax. Both mine got used to it within a week and mostly within 3-4 days. At that age they will still need to go out several times. I don't know how you have all of that worked out, but the whining will stop.

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overcome87

Sorry maybe I didn't make myself clear. She will never be taken out of her crate just for whining. It's tough love. It might break my heart but she has to learn. And sorry but it's a little hard to not be defensive when your treated like you don't know what your talking about. Yes I'm asking for help but unless it's helpful don't write it. But thanks for the tips I've gotten. I want to know what others think. If I didn't then I wouldn't of posted this. But please, no one likes to be treated like their stupid.

overcome87

Thanks. Those are good ideas. Yeah I've spent every night with her so far but I'm not going to be able to every night. Break my heart. I was thinking about making her a blanket but I'd use it for awhile to get my smell on it. I think that would work as well as a shirt. But I have plenty of old shirts so maybe I'll do both. Thanks!

Snowshoe

First, it was not my intention to make anyone feel stupid.

Also, I never implied anything about how you spend your holidays. Honestly, such personal things are of no concern to me on this site. I come here for one reason only- because I love dogs.

I only try to give good advice and think of the welfare of the animal involved. I realize that I end up coming off as callous. However, as I stated above, if someone reacts negatively to me, that is their business, and I do my best not to take negative reactions personally.

I think a large portion of my somewhat negative post was due to what I felt was an overly dramatic title to a mundane thread. Everyone goes through the same drama with puppies.

DogAdvocat

You mentioned that your puppy sleeps well when she is with you, but you don't want her being able to wander for 9 hours. What about putting a harness on her and tying her to you? I've done this before and am quick to wake up if the dog moves. If you're concerned that she might potty, then put a bed pad under her. You can continue to crate train during the other times that you can't remain vigilant, like when you're in the shower, etc.

It's such a huge change in a puppy's life to have been cuddled with its mama and the rest of the litter, and then all of a sudden to be expected to remain alone for long hours in a crate. If you must do this, there's always the old remedy of putting a ticking clock under a blanket, to simulate a heart beat, and maybe even a heat source. They make a safe microwavable "brick" that can be heated and left in the crate, and will retain it's soft warmth for long periods of time. You should be able to find that at a pet store or supply catalog website.

I always try to think of how the puppy is viewing its world, and try to make it as comfortable as possible, while remembering the future and what bad habits I'm starting.

I'm also hoping that other people are reading this thread and will realize how difficult it is to manage a puppy while working, and consider adopting an older dog instead. Have you considered what you will do to keep your puppy from being bored and destructive as it ages and has to burn off all that juvenile energy? I think it's good to compare growing puppies to two-year-old children, and think about how well they would do if left alone for long hours, especially in a crate.

If you do decide to continue to crate for long periods of time, I'd also encourage playing soft music, or even better, talk radio. And sometimes it can help if the crate is covered, but make sure there is air access.

tirluc

what i have done w/ all my puppies when i first bring them home is give them a stuffed Teddy or something to snuggle w/ and put them next to my bed/chair/in the kitchen/etc. so that they can feel safe and secure for the first wk.....after that the crate is put where i will want the puppy to sleep in it and left there....i also use the ticking clock (but they are not easy to find anymore) and have used a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel for the littlest puppies to snuggle against....is there any way that you could take a few days off from work to help the pup get adjusted? even tho changing environments after she is used to the crate shouldn't affect her, leaving her alone when you go to work and things are quiet and lonely, will.....also, when she is left in your apt by herself during working hrs, leave a radio (sounds cd's work great) or the tv going softly.....she won't feel as alone

overcome87

well thanks for the tips. I tried the soft music and that didn't seem to help her any. I'll have to try giving her something warm to sleep with. I have a big crate for her that I put her bed in along with the puppy training pads. I know I'm not suppose to do that but since I go to bed so early she will have to be in her crate from about 7 pm to noon the next day. She does wake us up when she has to pee so it shouldn't be too much of a problem when I'm sleeping but she'll have no one with her for 9 hours after I leave and she pees about evey hour. Last night I put her in a small carring crate and put her in bed next to me. That worked very well. So I was thinking that maybe the reason why she didn't like the big crate is because it was too big (this crate fits a medium to large dog) and even though her bed was with her in the crate she would still poop in it. So since dogs dont like sleeping where they go to the bathroom I think that might have been the problem. My fault, I knew better

So I'm thinking that when we go to my apartment to stay I'll set the bathroom up for her since my bathroom is very large and has a heat fan. She can have both crates since she has already used both but the doors will be left open. I probably won't even need the bigger crate but since that is where her training pads are she can't destroy them or move them around. That gives her the rest of the bathroom to play and the little crate to sleep. It might work. At least I can hope.

And I'd like to say sorry to anyone I might have offended. We all have our moments

tirluc

i would still continue w/ the soft music when you're gone.....or better yet, if you can do a recording of you that can play over and over just talking to her or whatever that might help as well.....

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