Hi, I am new to this and I have read a few of the posts on crate training but am still unsure what i need to do...
I have a 5month old Cocker Spaniel male, I got a crate for him and introduced it to him from day 1 when i brought him home, he has never been afraid to go inside, but when i use treats to get him in he will go in to get them, i will praise him and he will come straight back out. When he was really young I would put him in to sleep but not close the door yet, as soon as he would realise I left the room he would wake and come out...he never wants to stay in there... i probably should have closed him in from the start and kept him in the room with us overnight (gettin up to let him out to pee) but i didnt want to be getting up during the night. I dont leave him the crate when we go to work as sometimes we may not be able to get back within the 4hours recommended and i didnt think this would be fair so he has the run of the kitchen...
However about a month ago I started to take the crate to the bedroom and close him in because i really want him to love his crate and it didnt seem to be working. He will always whine when i close the door of the crate but used to stop within about 5mins... he was waking up around 3am and 6am at first and i would bring him out and he would pee, but he seems to be getting worse now... he wakes up more often and whines for longer eg last night went to bed at 11.30, he woke at 12.30, 2.30, 6.00... I try to leave him for a while before taking him out as I dont know if he does need to pee or if he is just looking for attention, but as he is getting worse I feel like I am doing something wrong and I dont know whether to stick with it or ditch the crate... I would really like a full nights sleep...
any help would be greatly appreciated....
I have a 5month old Cocker Spaniel male, I got a crate for him and introduced it to him from day 1 when i brought him home, he has never been afraid to go inside, but when i use treats to get him in he will go in to get them, i will praise him and he will come straight back out. When he was really young I would put him in to sleep but not close the door yet, as soon as he would realise I left the room he would wake and come out...he never wants to stay in there... i probably should have closed him in from the start and kept him in the room with us overnight (gettin up to let him out to pee) but i didnt want to be getting up during the night. I dont leave him the crate when we go to work as sometimes we may not be able to get back within the 4hours recommended and i didnt think this would be fair so he has the run of the kitchen...
However about a month ago I started to take the crate to the bedroom and close him in because i really want him to love his crate and it didnt seem to be working. He will always whine when i close the door of the crate but used to stop within about 5mins... he was waking up around 3am and 6am at first and i would bring him out and he would pee, but he seems to be getting worse now... he wakes up more often and whines for longer eg last night went to bed at 11.30, he woke at 12.30, 2.30, 6.00... I try to leave him for a while before taking him out as I dont know if he does need to pee or if he is just looking for attention, but as he is getting worse I feel like I am doing something wrong and I dont know whether to stick with it or ditch the crate... I would really like a full nights sleep...
any help would be greatly appreciated....