am a first time puppy owner, so I am new to training and came upon your site while searching the internet. I have an 8 week old part American Cocker Spaniel (I think) and part German Shepard. He turns 9 weeks old this Sunday. I started putting him in his crate when I worked 8 hour shifts at night, before I read any training manuals, and just stuck him in there and closed the door and he would scream all night. By the time I read the guides on how to put toys and food in there and let him go in on his own, he had decided that he HATED the crate, and struggles to get out every time I put him in and screams when I am in the house. He goes wild scratching at the crate and when he does stop after about an hour, I let him out after about 2 minutes of being quiet, but next time he has to go in we go through it again. This has been going on for about 7 days. He continues to cry and I am wondering if I do a subtle pack leader "growl" and a stern look if that would help or cause more harm?Also should I speak to him through the crate soothing ly to reassure him, or simply ignore him?

It's never too late to throw a really good tempting treat in there.

And just let him go in after it. In your case I would do it just for practice as well as the real deal. I would also start feeding in the crate too.

I find it is easier to just throw in something and let my pup go in and then gently close the door, behind him. At nighttime, is the only time that I just tell him to go to his crate.

I use cranberries or liver treats, as that is what my pup really likes and they're wheat-free.

I find it interesting that my pup might not want to go in when I don't use treats, but when I open the door to let him out, he is content to just lay there sometimes.

I attribute it to they like being with us more than they like being in the crate. However, with that said, they do learn that it is their private space. And on a long drive, my pup will actually go to his vehicle crate on his own. I tend to leave the crate doors open when he is not in them.

Good Luck!

Ditto on feeding in the crate, this will allow him to get comfy in there and to know that it is a good place to go.
Also, if you have a kong toy, you can fill it with peanut butter or cream cheese and let him have a go at it in there also.

If he cries, do not let him out til he is quiet, then calmly open the door praise and/or treat and then do that again.

He will learn that it is okay in there, you just have to start over.

If he cries at night you could try moving him to your room and then slowly moving the crate out of the room. Also, try draping a light blanket or towel so he cannot see out.

He does need to be in moderate/to well used traffic areas so that he gets used to commotion around his crate. I actually used two crates, one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. That way I was not moving it around all the time.

Good luck.....

Couple more things, now that I reread, I do not talk, look at or try to soothe my dogs/pups in the crate. I walk over and drop the towel. Once the pup quiets down I lift the towel and say "good dog" and walk away or I take them out and go out for a potty break.

Are you having issues with him going potty in the crate as well?

If so, pups this young need to go out often and I also withhold water at 7pm til morning for a pup that is healthy (with potty breaks even after I take the up the water).

I feed three times a day to start and then decide from there if I can drop to two or not. It depends on the pup, weight gain and potty issues.

If they are going alot and gaining fast, I drop them back to two feedings, if they are not gaining at the rate that is normal and they are not excessively going to the bathroom, I keep them at three and increase intake a bit.

If they are not gaining, have loose stool and are not energetic, we go to the vet. Period.

8 hours is a long time to wait for a 9 week old pup, but it can be done.
When I first get a pup, I set my alarm for every hour to every hour and a half, get up and take them out. (kind of like the postman---rain, snow, sleet or shine) I try to take on pups in the spring summer and early fall....winter is a pain.

During the day, I come home from work and let them out every couple hours or I have my kennel help do it.
Once potty training is complete and the dog is comfortable in a crate and I am confident that they are not going to get into trouble, they are moved out to the kennels for the daytime hours and come in at night. Eventually they are outdoors in kennels and I pick and choose each night who comes in. If it is nice, they all stay out.

Exercise is also another biggie....play with your pup, take him for short walks, mentally stimulate him with a short "learn the sit or whatever" session and then crate him.
Nothing like good old fashion "make him tired, but not too tired" to help the transition and training.

He does not usually go potty in the crate. However, after letting him out, I usually feed him and put his food in the crate. he will go in, grab a peice of food and come back out and eat it and then go back in and then come back out and then go in and eat another peice and take it out, etc. He seems to be afraid I will close him in (when I am leaving in a hurry for work, I dont have time to coax him in, he usually gets stuffed in). I have noticed that no matter hiow long I make him wait to eat, he will hardly eat or drinkin the crate with the food is in there but if it is taken out he will eat like he's half starved. He acts like he's hungry most of the time and goes after water puddles for water like crazy on walks. If I lock him in with his food or water he goes ballistic spilling it everywhere. Should I remain stubborn and only allow him to eat and drink in the crate even if it temporarily costs him his health?

If feeding him his food isn't working to make him feel comfortable in his crate, I don't see the point of doing it as the purpose of feeding in the crate is loving the food more than hating the crate and thereby getting over being crated.

I wouldn't growl at him and I don't think it would work. It's a bit of a strange theory to me, and especially not valid for hating the crate. The crate is supposed to be (and is your goal) a safe den so growling while he's in there won't be reassuring to him at all.

You need to take more time before going to work so that you aren't "stuffing him in the crate". That probably helped to make him anxious about going in and staying in. Do try coaxing him in with treats. You need to take the time necessary for the pup to learn to deal with/be comfortable in the crate.

Don't know if you've had a chance to read Ed Frawley's article on crate training: http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm (also deals with other issues, scroll down to the part under Crates).

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You need to take more time before going to work so that you aren't "stuffing him in the crate".

I agree with Sandy. When my pup was 9 weeks he spent a good 1 1/2-2 hours out of his crate playing with me in the morning and then a short, quick walk right before I left the house. All of that served to tire him out and settle him down. Not easy to add more hours to the day but it does help when they are small.

Here's a thought:

If you have the financial means, try getting a different kind of crate. While I believe you can overcome a particular phobia of a certain crate, if you have the means to start over with a different kind (one without bad associations) then I would do it. Perhaps you can pick one up at a garage sale/animal shelter or borrow one from a friend to try it out before you purchase one.

If you have an open-style wire crate now, try to get a more closed one (like an airline crate). Or vice-versa. Even better if it has a different shape. And put it in a different place in the house...preferably in a different room not just somewhere new in the same room. The idea is that he shouldn't think one way or another about the new crate...it shouldn't just be a new version of the old one.

And then start fresh, doing all the right things, making it positive. Maybe even giving your dog some five star treats in there (like small pieces left-over steak from your dinner, or pieces of hot dog).

I would do this on the weekend, so you have plenty of time to set a good crate foundation. Treat him often in the crate, feed him in the crate, put his favorite toys in the crate, praise him in the crate like you're the happiest loon in the world. VERY IMPORTANT: Don't rush it. If you shove him in the new one, you'll instantly have the same reaction you had before. If you have to go out, keep him in the old one until your dog has really good associations with the new one.

I'm not sure if your dog has a generalized phobia of being in a small space, or if it's specific to that particular crate. But a while back I had a foster dog that HATED his crate (which was an open wire crate). And he was a big dog, too. Getting him into it was INSANE; he would get frantic.

I wound up switching to a new crate by accident, because he was growing and someone gave me a bigger one (igloo-type crate which I normally hate, but I was already spending a fortune on my dogs and the foster dogs).

When the new crate was brought in the house and set on the floor in the kitchen (his crate was normally in the living room), he totally shocked me by just walking into it and sniffing around and generally acting undisturbed by it.

So, I left it in the kitchen, started doing the treat/praise thing I described above, leaving the door open and I wound up having huge success with it!

Could I have trained him out of his phobia of the original crate? Probably. But it would have taken so much more work than how it actually played out.

The other thing that occurred to me was that, with the old crate, I was getting frustrated everytime I knew I had to put him in the old one. My attitude was one of "gearing up for an fight" every time we had to go through putting him in the crate.

With the new one, I was much more optimistic and positive and, like the dog, I didn't have any negative thoughts attached to the new crate. I think that helped, too.

Anyway, this is just something to try if you have the means. It worked for me. Thinking "outside of the box" so to speak. If not...you will still be able to get your dog past this. You're just going to need a lot of patience and dedication.

And PS- Ditto to everyone that said wear your pup out first. A dog that is tired is going to have less energy for anxiety.

Ditto to what Sarah and Amber said. Great suggestion about exercise and a different crate.

Big ditto on the attitude of the human. It makes all the difference in the world to a dog. They have such an intuitiveness with our attitudes and demeanor. If we feel frustrated or anxious, they feel insecure. If we feel fear, they get alert, concerned or feel fear themselves. Etc, etc.

A huge part of training for anything is our attitude. They so want our approval. So lots of praise when your pup goes in the crate, even when coaxed with treats and wonderful yummy things.

A Side Note:

For a while our pup would bark at and attack the door of the crate in the sitting room. So I removed the door. I would put his toys in there and occassionally throw a treat in there for him to find.

We were having potty training issues ... he would pee in his crate, attack the door of the crate and pee all over the floor in the room with his crate ... So we went back to square one ... I confined him to the kitchen with me by gates or on leash or tie-out. I completely recleaned the crate and moved it to the kitchen. The next day I put the door back on and started to feed him in the crate. Now my pup is especially food motivated. So I would put the food and the water in the crate and then close the crate door. I would bring the pup from outside. Guess where he wanted to go? Into the crate.

I would make him sit outside the crate, and then open the door and tell him OKAY.

So I guess I would ask you what does you dog LOVE? My dog goes crazy for Apples, Craisins, Liver Treats, Yogurt, Pumpkin, Beef Stew, Frozen Chicken Broth, and so on and so forth.

So besides hanging out with you, what really motivates him? When does he act like an uncontrollable puppy? If not food, treats or toys perhaps?