[dogowner123]

Hi everyone - This is my first post to the site so thank you in advance for any responses.

We have a 3 1/2 month old American Bulldog Terrier mix. We have not had any problems getting him to like his crate and goes in fairly easily most of the time and will go in on his own and nap or play with toys. My question is that when my son and I get home in the afternoon we play with him and feed him and then he wants to go back into his crate and sleep. If we allow him to do this, he will sleep in there for up to 1 1/2 hours. When he does this, he is not as tired as I would like him to be when we are ready to go to sleep at night and he will sometimes whine at bedtime. We have recently been closing the door to the crate during these times to try to encourage him to stay out and play.

Liking the crate is not an issue but is it a bad idea to close the door and make it unavailable to him? I wouldn't want it to backfire on us.

 

[Divinity84]

Hi, I'm new here too and also have a new 2 month old lab mix puppy. Did you get him from a shelter? I wouldn't close the door to his crate. That's his safe place and I wouldn't want to keep him from it. Have you had him long? We've had out puppy about a week and she's still adjusting, so if she goes in her crate instead of playing, I let her. Hopefully some of the senior members will have some better advice.

 

[dogowner123]

Hello Divinity84! He was actually in a foster home when we got him but, yes, he was in a shelter prior to that for a short time and we have had him a week.

 

[doxiemommy]

I disagree. It's perfectly fine for you to restrict his access to the crate. Restricting his access to it won't make him dislike the crate. Puppies this age are like babies, and it's important to get them on a schedule. If he sleeps too much during the day, he won't want to sleep at night, which is the problem you're having, right?

So, yes, it's fine to close the crate door. Play with him, take him out in the yard to play. You could also try to add a bit more playing and exercising about 30 minutes before bedtime, just to make sure he's good and tired!

 

[dogowner123]

Hi doxiemommy! Yes the problem is that he is less tired at night if we let him sleep at that time. We feed him around 6:00PM. If I let him sleep after that for the 1 - 1 1/2 hours he can sleep if allowed, he isn't as tired at bedtime which is around 10:00PM. I agree with your analogy. They are like babies at this age and I've heard of babies getting their days and nights mixed up. I never had that experience but it sounds like a nightmare since sleep is very important to me. )

Thank you both for your responses.

 

[KBLover]

Hi everyone - This is my first post to the site so thank you in advance for any responses.

We have a 3 1/2 month old American Bulldog Terrier mix. We have not had any problems getting him to like his crate and goes in fairly easily most of the time and will go in on his own and nap or play with toys. My question is that when my son and I get home in the afternoon we play with him and feed him and then he wants to go back into his crate and sleep. If we allow him to do this, he will sleep in there for up to 1 1/2 hours. When he does this, he is not as tired as I would like him to be when we are ready to go to sleep at night and he will sometimes whine at bedtime. We have recently been closing the door to the crate during these times to try to encourage him to stay out and play.

Liking the crate is not an issue but is it a bad idea to close the door and make it unavailable to him? I wouldn't want it to backfire on us.

Haha - for a minute there, I thought you were describing Wally.

Sometimes I let him sleep too much, but I never stop him from going in his crate (granted, he's closer to middle age than a puppy). If he's up at night, I run him through some training - something nice and hard, like object discrimination. That usually puts him back out LOL