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Hello! I’m writing about my Aussie/Husky puppy named Bentley. He’s 3 months old and generally a very normal puppy, but I’m a little overwhelmed when it comes to crate training... I’ve crate trained before, and it was pretty much true to the process I read in most articles (get them used to the crate with treats, feed them in the crate etc). However, Bentley is a whole different ball game. He FREAKS when we put him anywhere near the crate, and has done this since we got him. We don’t think he’s had any trauma with crating before, he just doesn’t like it (understandably). Anytime we put him in to practice for 5 minutes with treats and toys, he screams and yanks at the bars with his little teeth. I’m afraid I’ll traumatize him or he’ll hurt himself. I think I’m doing everything right... I’ll spend time with him throwing treats in and everything and when I think he’s used to it, I’ll close him in but we just go back to square one. The crate is in our bedroom and we don’t leave him alone in it. It’s a little frustrating and I give up for a day or two.
He’s incredibly smart, and is already pretty much potty trained so we don’t need the crate to help with that necessarily. He sleeps next to our bed in his doggy bed and we’ve baby gated parts of the house that he’s not allowed. Are there other reasons to crate train? If it’s not necessary, then maybe we just skip it? If it’s something we need to do, what would be some good advice on next steps? I don’t know if I should just let him cry it out until he calms down then reward him for being calm? It just seems like he’ll never stop lol. I guess I’m just not sure if I’m being an overprotective mom, or if I’m genuinely doing something wrong but it’s making me feel insane! Thanks in advance for any advice. Here’s a picture:
He’s incredibly smart, and is already pretty much potty trained so we don’t need the crate to help with that necessarily. He sleeps next to our bed in his doggy bed and we’ve baby gated parts of the house that he’s not allowed. Are there other reasons to crate train? If it’s not necessary, then maybe we just skip it? If it’s something we need to do, what would be some good advice on next steps? I don’t know if I should just let him cry it out until he calms down then reward him for being calm? It just seems like he’ll never stop lol. I guess I’m just not sure if I’m being an overprotective mom, or if I’m genuinely doing something wrong but it’s making me feel insane! Thanks in advance for any advice. Here’s a picture: