[Rene]

Our puppy Bailey is 8 weeks old today. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I homeschool my 3 daughters, so thus far Bailey is only in the crate at night when we are sleeping. She used to go in the crate on her own sometimes during the day to sleep but now she finds other places in the living room and kitchen and it's rare for her to just go in the crate.

By 10:30 she's pretty much out for the night so we put her in the crate and she curls right up and goes to sleep. Normally if she wakes in the night to go potty, she will whine a few minutes when I put her back in.

I've made sure up to this point that we don't let her out of the crate while she's whining. I wait for a break when she's quiet for a second (not sure if that's long enough) and then open the door.

I'm wondering about training her to be in the crate during the day for short periods of time when I need to focus my attention on schooling my girls or getting things done when I can't watch her every minute.

Do I just per her in there and let her whine it out and leave her for the length of time I need to, perhaps an hour, and then let her out, or is there a better way to train her? Should I let her out as soon as she settles down and stops whining at first, and slowly increase the time? Do I give her treats when I put her in? Will she eventually go in the crate on her own when I tell her to with no whining?

 

[doxiemommy]

It really depends on your puppy. Some puppies take to their crate very easily, and some don't. How long have you had her?

Since she seems to be used to being out and about during the day it might help if you slowly conditioned her to spending time in the crate during the day. Give her a treat, like a kong with a little peanut butter stuffed in it, in the crate, and shut the door for 2-3 minutes. Don't fuss when you put her in, don't fuss when you let her out. Do this 2-3 minute thing as often as you can throughout the day, so it starts to be normal to her. Then, after a few days, try 5 minutes, still as often as you can throughout the day. Then, after a couple days, try 10 minutes. You get the point.

However, if she doesn't seem to fuss or whine with those short periods of time in the beginning, you can skip ahead to 15 minutes or so, just take your cue from your puppy!

Giving her the kong with things stuffed inside will give her something to occupy herself with.

 

[titiaamor]

Can you tether your puppy to you and keep an eye on her? Or use an ex-pen? Or use baby gates, etc to keep her safe in 1 room? Crates are convenient, but I like to limit their use.

Our puppy Bailey is 8 weeks old today. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I homeschool my 3 daughters, so thus far Bailey is only in the crate at night when we are sleeping. She used to go in the crate on her own sometimes during the day to sleep but now she finds other places in the living room and kitchen and it's rare for her to just go in the crate.

By 10:30 she's pretty much out for the night so we put her in the crate and she curls right up and goes to sleep. Normally if she wakes in the night to go potty, she will whine a few minutes when I put her back in.

I've made sure up to this point that we don't let her out of the crate while she's whining. I wait for a break when she's quiet for a second (not sure if that's long enough) and then open the door.

I'm wondering about training her to be in the crate during the day for short periods of time when I need to focus my attention on schooling my girls or getting things done when I can't watch her every minute.

Do I just per her in there and let her whine it out and leave her for the length of time I need to, perhaps an hour, and then let her out, or is there a better way to train her? Should I let her out as soon as she settles down and stops whining at first, and slowly increase the time? Do I give her treats when I put her in? Will she eventually go in the crate on her own when I tell her to with no whining?

 

[Rene]

It really depends on your puppy. Some puppies take to their crate very easily, and some don't. How long have you had her?

Since she seems to be used to being out and about during the day it might help if you slowly conditioned her to spending time in the crate during the day. Give her a treat, like a kong with a little peanut butter stuffed in it, in the crate, and shut the door for 2-3 minutes.

If she is whining when the minutes are up is it sufficient to wait until there is a break for a second or do I need to wait until she's not whining at all?

 

[doxiemommy]

Nope, you can wait for just a short period, a second or two. Of course, it's better if you can wait, but, for some puppies, all you'd get is a couple seconds of quiet!