ADVICE NEEDED...CRATE BARKING IS DRIVING US NUTS

[Maggie's Mom]

Maggie is a wonderful puppy.  We love her dearly.  She is not put into her crate unless we are 1) not home  2) can't watch her every move, or  3) bed time.  That being said, she's never been put into her bed (crate) as a punishment.  Every time we put her in it, we give her a treat.  Her crate is in our bedroom, so she doesn't feel alone.  Really, we've tried to make it a positive thing.

Once she eats her treat, she will not shut the h*ll up!!!!!!!!!  Oh my god, she cries and whines and barks and screams and bangs and scratches and whatever else she can think of!  I can't stand it anymore!  I have tried to calmly tell her to shut up.  I have tried yelling at her.  I have tried banging on the cage.  I have tried ignoring her.  I don't know what else to do.  She does this EVERY TIME SHE'S IN HER CRATE!  It's not fun at night when we go to bed, or in the middle or the night if we need to get up for something, or in the morning after she's been taken out and fed, and it's time to get ready for work.  WHAT DO WE DO?  PLEASE HELP!

[Maggie's Mom]

Anybody?  Advice?

[Boobearsmom]

She sounds just like Boo!  We do the same thing and put a treat in her crate and she goes in and the door gets closed.  But since Boo is deaf, when she starts whining, it sounds like someone is strangling her  , and yes, it drives me nuts!  Her crate is also in my room.  What I've found what works the best for her is if she's in the crate before I go to work or before I go to bed, I close the door.  She'll whine for a minute and then thats it.  However, if she can see me or my daughter, she'll continue the crying.  Also, if she can see light from underneath the door, she knows that we're still there in the morning or still up at night so I have had to put a towel under the door.  Have you tried putting some of her toys in her crate to chew on and keep her busy?  Boo's trainer said the most dogs expend most of their energy thru their mouths.  I don't think I'd put rawhide in her cage with her (just in case she choked on it) but maybe a Nylabone or a Kong?  I also keep Boo with me in the bathroom when I'm taking a shower and getting ready in the morning so that she is able to spend more time with me and doesn't feel left out.  I know I've seen previous posts on her about maybe putting a blanket on her crate so she thinks its "her" den.  Tried it with Boo, she completely flipped out.  But I'm also a sucker and when she gets up in the middle of the night, I will let her out of her cage so she can crawl into bed with me.  Once she's in bed (about 1am) she sacks out and usually doesn't budge till I turn the alarm off.  Trust me, I totally feel your pain   I hope you can find a solution.

[Maggie's Mom]

Thanks for the advice guys.  I do put toys in there with her.  She has never (at least that I've seen or heard) played with them.  It's like all she can think to do is scream and cry, and absolutely nothing else.  We do not ever let her out when she's acting like this.  She only gets let out when she is calm and quiet, but that can take up to 45 minutes or more.  I just don't know why she's so unhappy in there.   

[orion5221]

First make sure she is well excercised.. a tired puppy is a good puppy.
2nd try stuffinga kong a freezing it ( yogurt, applesause, PB) and giving it in her crate only.
3rd make up a mixture of half vinagear/half water ( or you can just buy bitter apple).
Stand by her crate and when she is barkling whining, aim for her mouth ONLY. As you squirt say "Quiet".
Reward her with a cookie or verbal praise when she is quiet.
NEVER let her out of the crate when she is acting up... this will just stregnthen the behavior for next time and it will escalate.
Good Luck... it took one of my pups about 6 weeks before she was totally comfortable.. now we don't even here a peep form her.

[Maggie's Mom]

Those are some great ideas, I will give them all a try.  Thanks so much.   

[greek4]

I am probably about to go against everything anyone says.

I would put her crate in the basement or garage or any other safe place where you don't have to listen to it.  Put a radio in the same room, turn it up loud enough that it helps drown out noises.  Put a blanket on three sides of the cage.  Continue giving treats to go in, don't get excited when she comes out, ignore her for a few minutes.  She will get used to it.

[GR8DAME]

Actually, I agree, greek4.
I've crate trained every puppy that ever came into my house, some were easy, and some were nightmares. I may have started out with the smallest crate in the bedroom, but as the crates got larger and my bedroom didn't, they were moved to a corner of the kitchen, and remained there. They all adjusted well eventually, and in the meantime I was able to sleep at night.
Stella

[Maggie's Mom]

Alright, I'll try moving her.  I've wanted to, but Wes says she should stay in our room.  She always sleeps through the night, unless we wake her up, so it's not that we can't sleep...  Well, I'll try moving her.  She's just SO LOUD, I'm not sure that even that will help.  In the bedroom, I close the door and turn on the TV in there, and I have something out where I am, but you can still hear her.  It's just ridiculous.  Thanks for the tips.

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

I haven't figured out how to search topics but this one comes up quite frequently.

The basic consensus from all the crate threads is the pups are smart!! They get loud WE get up and let them out.

Put the crate where you can here her but she can't see you. Put a cover of some sort on the crate so it feels like a den to Maggie. Don't acknowledge the barking and whining, (even shouting is a response and maggie wins again)

It is not easy to ignore, they are so cute and so determined to get your attention but hold out and show her who is boss.   When you let her out ignore her for a few minutes (that is almost impossible I know) but if you love on her she equates inside the crate punishment, outside all kinds of petting and fun.

[Maggie's Mom]

That's true, I don't want to overwhelm her.  I TRY to make it positive for her.  You all should hear her- I've never heard a dog make the sounds that she makes.  She sounds like she's posessed half the time.  I hate it.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

When she doesn't have to go into her crate put really good things in there for her to find...Make it a game!...Throw a treat in & praise her to high heaven when she goes in after it but make sure it is a time when she can come right back out...Hide treats in her crate for her to find, again, when she doesn't have to be in her crate...Samson didn't care for the crate when I got him as a young pup either...But he learned to use it as a den or "safe place" after alot of positive reinforcment.. .He really missed it when he was out of it full time at 10 months.

[VdogLover]

As some have said be sure she is tired when being put to bed and stuffed kongs will help keep her busy and a squirt bottle of PLAIN water.
You may want to try covering the crate with a blanket (like a bird) this normally works well with my fosters.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

and a squirt bottle of PLAIN water.

I have to disgree...When a dog already has such an adverse reaction to being in a crate I would not compound the dog's attitude with another negative..bein g squirted with anything!!!...Making the crate a pleasant place will go miles further!

[IZ]

We had this same issue - in fact you will see my former posts on this. Let me share with you what worked and what didin't:
1) We didn't move the crate - mainly because unless we took it apart - it won't fit through the doorway. It is still in our bedroom.
2) we covered the crate on three sides - that made him hot and he barked more.
3) Toys are in there - he never plays with them
4) we yelled at him - did nothing


SOOOO - this has worked well
1) make it fun during the day - a time when you are not leaving and not going to close the door - give a treat or a snack in the crate - let your "kid" enjoy and bring him /her (sorry don't remember) back out.
2) Is it warm - we put a fan blowing right on the crate all night (of course we have a newf- lots of hair).
3) try feeding a meal in the crate one or twice during the day. Our breeder told us the best way to start them in the crate is to feed one or two m,eals and then their fine. We already had Iz for a few weeks when we tried it - but it worked. The more pleasurable experiences they can associate with the crate - the quicker they like it. (also - totally agree with previous post - DO NOT spray him etc in the crate - why make him/her associate anythign else negative with a situation already upsetting / confusing.
4) I leave music on when we leave the house.
5) try to keep a consistent schedule - into the crate the same time each morning and night - Iz just walks right in when we say "go to bed" now.
6) We gave Iz some sort of treat when we left the house - usually a carrot stick. We did the same at night - I don't like a lot of treats (cookies etc) but again - in the begining this worked. We have eliminated the treat at night.
7) Iz gets a bedtime sanack about 30 minutes before bed - canned pumpkin and sliced bananas. It seems to help him sleep longer with something on his tummy. Also - he gets tired after he eats. I was feeding this snack in his crate for one or two weeks - I don't now - no need. But that seemed to really help too.

If it gives you hope - we have had Iz for 9 weeks - he's 19 weeks now. He no longer barks at all when he goes to bed. He still gets up during the night to potty - and is convinced the kitchen opens at 4:30 for breakfast (maybe in another time zone:) - but he no longer barks when put into the crate. He had NEVER been in a cage before we brought him home - and although it felt like an eternity - it's only been two months adn we're good as gold. The only time he does bark now when put in the cage is if he is sick - and we have had our share of that too.... I know it's frustrating - we've all been there....