[bohica46]

This is a new problem for me ... I have a Chinese Crested puppy ~ 7 months old. He's the 4th one I've owned, and I currently have two other dogs. All my dogs have been crate trained, and I've never had a problem training them. This little guy has been a different story right from the beginning.

Night training went relatively easily; he goes to bed ok, and sleeps well. But during the day, and in the morning, he SCREECHES if he's put in his crate. I know it has nothing to do with bladder control because we make sure he eliminates before he goes in, and he's always within site of the other dogs. Sometimes he can hear me upstairs (he's downstairs in the main area). Other times we leave the house and it's silent when we come back, so it's intermittent.

In the morning, he has a tantrum for anywhere up to two hours (from 7 - 9 am). I refuse to let him out while he's crying, and make sure that he's been silent for a few minutes before I go downstairs to let him out. Sometimes he'll just shut up and go back to sleep, but it's rare. During the day, he whines and screeches constantly until I'm back in the room. Again, I will wait for a break in the crying before I enter the room. I thought it was separation anxiety but why is he sleeping happily through the night?? I appreciate any help.

Bo

 

[Curbside Prophet]

What is your crate ritual? How does the dog end up in the crate?

 

[bohica46]

At night, I put him in a few minutes before I go up to bed so he has a few minutes to get used to the idea (only about five now). Then he gets his favourite small toy and a safe bone. His crate faces that of the other dogs and they're in them as well. During the day the ritual is basically the same. He never gets put in alone (I mean the other dogs are always around) and he always has something to keep him busy.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

...I put him in...

I was wondering about this.

Are you physically putting your dog in the crate? If so, I would work on training your pup to enter the crate voluntarily.

Instead of a toy and and a safe bone, give your dog a doggy pacifier. What's a doggy pacifier? A Kong, stuffed, and frozen with a favorite goodies or portions of his daily meal.

By the time your pup finishes the Kong he may be too tired to whine, and fall asleep. Plus, you'll be associating the crate with something wonderful.

As it stands now, you're likely inadvertently punishing your dog, if you are in fact placing him in there physically. Whether this is the cause of your dog's whining or not, you still want to avoid this.

 

[bohica46]

I could try using a kong during the day. I agree with not "pushing him in" as that would end up being a punishment and I've always been really cognizant of that as a problem. We work at having him walk in during the evening (putting a toy in, and his favourite bone), and most of the time he walks in on his own. About 40% of the time he simply "goes to bed" around bed time without any coaxing as if to say, "day is over, I'm tired", so he's definitely seeing the crate as a place to rest. He does it occasionally during the day as well. He doesn't mind being there if I'm in the room. The problems seem to crop up more if I leave. The BIGGEST problem is in the morning. This morning he started at about 7am. Cried for about an hour, then just went back to sleep. Doesn't seem to be a bladder issue as when I let him out he doesn't rush to eliminate. Wanders around for quite some time before he goes. I'm wondering if this is separation anxiety? I like the Kong idea during the day.

 

[Curbside Prophet]

The problems seem to crop up more if I leave. The BIGGEST problem is in the morning. This morning he started at about 7am. Cried for about an hour, then just went back to sleep. Doesn't seem to be a bladder issue as when I let him out he doesn't rush to eliminate. Wanders around for quite some time before he goes. I'm wondering if this is separation anxiety? I like the Kong idea during the day.

You have to keep in mind that the whining and crying is a learned behavior. When a pup is first born and they lose the comfort and warmth of their mother, what does the pup do? Whine and cry. And for the first 14 days or so, mama dog is “wired” to retrieve the pup upon his distress signal, no matter what. The pup quickly learns that whining and crying = warmth, comfort, and food. Your pup needs to unlearn this behavior. And the simplest way to do that is to not reinforce it, extinguish it…ignore the behavior. The Kong just helps to pacify the pup when he most wants to rehearse the behavior.

This is very normal puppy behavior that with time, consistency, and training it will dissipate

 

[bohica46]

Thanks ... I'll wait him out (and invest in earplugs??)!