Ok, now I'm getting FED UP. I have had my puppy for THREE WEEKS and he still SCREAMS every time he is in the crate. This is ridiculous. He is normally a very mellow pup. No problems except the crate. Every time I go out he gets AGGRESSIVE when he has to get in the crate. This mellow pup attacks and destroys his toys, attacks the bars, and gets so upset that he pees right off and for instance, when I go to work, If I come back in and see he’s peed, I don’t have time to bath him, wash out the crate, and then dry it, so he is basically stuck there until I get off. I hate that he does that, because normally I wouldn’t leave him in it, but he leaves me no choice, other than to never leave the house. My neighbors think I am beating him by the noises he makes for hours, and the neighbor downstairs cant sleep at night because he makes so much racket. Right now, I am at the point I am ready to do ANYTHING to teach him that I am in charge, I am the alpha dog and if I say he goes in his crate, he goes no questions asked, whether he likes it or not. I think after 3 weeks we are beyond the point of him ever understanding that the crate is his personal area. And I am not willing to negotiate giving him run of the house until he is 18 months old. I have a feeling that even though he is a mellow pup, with the crate I may have to start some level 10 corrections with him. I can’t afford another crate, and this crate is a newer BIGGER crate that I got him after problems with the first one. I am almost to the point that I am ready to leave him in 24/7 except to go potty every 4 hours, and on 1 walk a day to try and force him to knock it off. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

P.S. He is rapidly loosing weight, as I only put his food and water in the crate and make him go in to eat. He grabs a piece of food and runs out to eat it, and only eats about 5 pieces twice a day. I am at a loss of what to do, other than give in, which from what I get from Ed, would be a wrong move to make as I am supposed to control 100% of his life.

 Quote: Jonathan Hensley

Every time I go out he gets AGGRESSIVE when he has to get in the crate.

Have you tried throwing a treat inside the crate to make him go in without having to force him?

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This mellow pup attacks and destroys his toys, attacks the bars

Sounds to me like he's frustrated. Do you exercise him before you put him in his crate? If I will leave my pup in his crate for a couple of hours, I make sure he's exhausted (and has peed) before he goes in his crate, to the point where he WANTS to go in the crate so he can get a nap.

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If I come back in and see he’s peed, I don’t have time to bath him, wash out the crate, and then dry it, so he is basically stuck there until I get off.

Why don't you put a towel inside the crate? That way, the pee will be absorbed and you will only have to change the towel. If you leave him laying in his pee, he will get used to it and it will be harder to housebreak him.

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Right now, I am at the point I am ready to do ANYTHING to teach him that I am in charge, I am the alpha dog and if I say he goes in his crate, he goes no questions asked

Relax, Jonathan. He's just a puppy.

Eat before he does and make him watch you. Exit doors before he does. Do the whole pack leader things that have been mentioned here before 1000 times. He will know you're the leader.

But remember, pack leaders are calm and assertive, and sounds like your everything but that! Don't loose your patience. I know, easier said than done, but give it your best.

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I have a feeling that even though he is a mellow pup, with the crate I may have to start some level 10 corrections with him.

What?! Level 10 corrections are for aggressive dogs and when there's no other way of dealing with them. Level 10 corrections are given to dogs who would be put to sleep otherwise, not to puppies that scream in their crates. Come on, Jonathan!

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I can’t afford another crate, and this crate is a newer BIGGER crate that I got him after problems with the first one.

Even though the peeing might be from anxiety (you said he pees as soon as he goes in the crate?), a BIGGER crate might be TOO BIG for him. This has been discussed before, but the crate should be big enough for him to turn around and stand. Anything bigger might make it easier for him to pee inside.

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I am almost to the point that I am ready to leave him in 24/7 except to go potty every 4 hours, and on 1 walk a day to try and force him to knock it off.

Doing this will do the complete opposite of what you're trying to accomplish. You need to exercise your dog more, and assuming you got him at 8 weeks old and had him for 3 weeks, every 4 hours might be too much time for him to be able to hold it.

The crate shouldn't be a punishment, and your attitude towards the whole situation is enticing it to be one.

Hopefully other members will agree with me and give you more input.

I appologize for coming off so strongly, I was just extremely frustrated, trying to do what's right but not accomplishing anything. I have tried treats (he ignores them), he gets the shirt I wore the day before as a towel (has my scent), but I will try and put a towel under it), and I did not realize that level 10 was that severe. I am completely new to puppies (never had one before), so please forgive me for that misunderstanding. I am just worried that he won't be trained before he gets old so I am trying to hurry and do it (You can't teach an old dog new tricks), and I made the post out of urgency because the lady who lives right under me had jsut screamed at me that if I didn't do something to "shut that dog up" when I'm gone she was going to turn me into the landlord because she couldn't sleep. And I was kind of panicing when I posted.

ok jonathan, take a breath (or 3). now then, your pup is what 11 or 12 weeks old right?
here are some tips that may help:
1) use newspapers as a crate lining. forget the towel/t shirt etc. a dog will always choose to relieve themselves on something like that vs a hard or slick surface. plus, papers are really easy to dispose of & clean up after.
use a disinfecting spray like clorox clean-up if he has an accident in the crate-quick, easy, deodorizing.
2) make sure your pup has had good excercise (like a 30-min walk) before crating him. you'll have to get up and take him out in the middle of the night, or very early morning for a bit--he simply cannot hold his bladder for 8+ hrs!!
if he's stuck in his crate for that period of time (like mine was), accept the fact that he'll have some accidents, take him out as soon as you get home, clean up and stay calm.
3) try covering his crate with a towel or sheet when you do crate him, have him in a quiet room (not the living/dining area of the house). give him ONE chew toy, or none (he should be tired enough that he curls up and goes to sleep pretty quickly.).
4) do NOT respond to screaming!!!! maybe try having some talk radio on in the room that he's in, or classical music, some sort of white noise. vacuum the house after you leave him so you can't hear him!
5) go get him in an hour or two, take him out immediately, tell him "hurry up" or something, and brag him up when he potties!! i basically crate trained/housebroke brix in the middle of a blizzard (talk about loving to get up at 2 am!!), so it CAN be done!
6) make sure you take him out 20 minutes after each meal, and walk him around until he potties--he will!!
7) BE PATIENT!!!!!

oh-- and take him out right after he wakes up or you've have playtime inside!! he Will go potty!!

Jonathan,
I agree with what Richard is saying. The pup is just a baby and you may have to change your strategy. Don't give up. Exercise him more, give him some different treats in the crate (maybe a soup or knuckle bone) and leave the crate open while you're there. Take your days off to ease him into it when you don't have pressure to get to work.

I am sure you are frustrated, but until you can get him a no bark collar (is he to young now?) you'll have to try and teach him that the crate is an okay place to be. Hang in there.
Lisa

Yes, everything Ann said!

Hi Johnathan- I type slow so forgive any repeats!

I understand your frustration.

How old is your pup?

I agree with what everyone has said.

Make the crate the most appealing place a puppy can be.

I feed my pups in thier crate so they associate it with a pleasant good place. I pull out the bedding and then put the bowl in while they sit then they can go in, leave the door open at first.

When you have a day off dedicate a big portion of it to working with him and the crate issue it will pay off.

After dinner (bowl sits in for 15 min), I pull it out and clean up if there is any thing left. Take him outside after every meal (with in 15 min to avoid accidents), nap and play session.

Be consistent everytime it pays off as opposed to haphazard handling this leads to a drawn out learning phase. 2 weeks of focused attention will do wonders.

Exercise mental and physical is key to a content dog. If hes only 11 weeks a solid hour should wear him out, take him for a walk, play with his favorite toy .

With exercise every dog if different so expieriment and see what tires him out. after his exercise do some obiediance with him just work on sit at first, and massage him to calm him down before bed and take him out one last time.

Cut off his water 4 hours before his bedtime.

put him in his crate and cover it with a blanket so he shuts off, this is his cue to sleep. He will howl like a banshee but just ignore him.

let him be with you when your home so he bonds with you.

Never ever let him out if he whines in his crate (if your sure he has relieved himself) if your not sure just take him straight out no praise no playing just buisness.

reward him when he does pee/poop and take him straight back to the crate. Make sure your calm and tell him "good crate" "good boy".

Dont associate the crate with anything negative. Dont yell at him or correct him for this problem he wont understand.

Dogs are den animals so eventually he will come to see the crate as his space. Also but a couple on indestructable chew toys in his crate so he doesnt chew his bedding.

I would talk to the neighbors, apologize and explain that your doing your level best to correct the situation and to please be patient.

Hope this helps I was in a similiar situain when I was younger and had a GSD pup, eventually he calmed down and was quiet in his crate.

Make sure your socializing him also. New people and places (noises/smells) are mental work so he will get tired processing new information.

Hope this helps. Dont give up!

Hi Jonathan,

I've read your posts regarding this problem and one thing jumps out at me: The neighbors. You live in an apartment and you are rightly concerned about the noise bothering the neighbors.

Are you taking him out of the crate when he screams (whether it's going on for a few minutes or longer) for fear of what the neighbors are going to do or say? I know for me the temptation would be VERY strong to remove him from the crate to avoid the wrath of the neighbors...and this is the very thing you don't want to do. Each time you take him out he's learning that screaming will get him somewhere...namely, out of the crate.

Try talking to your neighbors and let them know you are doing your best to tackle this problem but that it may take a night (or two) of solid howling to get past this.

You've received very good advice...especially taking time on the weekend to devote yourself to this. I'd add that food and water should be put up early. Ed also says that using heavy duty rubber cow mats in crates can be good for destructive dogs. They have an advantage in that you can easily wash them off.

I followed Ed's crate training advice to the letter and to the extent that on the 4th day we had our pup we put him in the office in another building on our property. He probably screamed all night and he was hoarse for 2 days after but that was the last time he kicked up a fuss in the crate. It was tough love but it worked. You may not have this option in your apartment so you may have to get creative and find someplace where you both can go and let your pup raise holy hell for the weekend. Your nerves may be shot but at least your neighbor's won't be.

I remember how tiring and frustrating this was and you have my sympathy It will get better!

Hey There ...

Here's a thought ... you bought the bigger crate, right? How about you take the door off of that crate and use that one for when you feed him. If the door is off, then he might not be as panicked about entering it for eating.

And go back to the smaller crate do to the potty issues. Since you have both crates, why not use them?

Also, is your bedroom right above the neighbors bedrooms? Try putting your pup in a room that isn't above sleeping areas, if you can do such a thing.

Music for the Pup, Bribes for the Neighbors.... oh yeah, are you EXERCISING him before he goes in the CRATE. Very Important.

Cover Up The Crate ...

Good Luck!