That I haven't tried but will do so tonight and see if it makes a difference. I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier seemings how my mother does the same with her birds... she always tells me it's because they feel "Safer". Thank you. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hi Amanda,
Keep up the good work and the diligence in NOT letting him out when he is throwing a fit. I guess I have to say I got lucky since day 1 that I picked up my MALI she never did whine or bark in the crate unless she had to go out. From day one I have always said "kennel" when putting her in her crate and now she kennels up on command, she will even go and kennel herself in the car when we are through working, she takes a victory lap with her tug and then gets in her kennel. I make sure that nothing "bad" or negative happens to her while she is crated, and the crate in never used for punishment and I also make sure that she is worked and excercised enough so that she is tired but not exhausted. I do make sure that she has an indesrtuctible chew toy (kong) in with her. Her crate is in the living room but not in a high traffic spot so that when she is in it she is not disturbed a whole lot but if she is awake she is able to see what is going on. I also give her a rawhide chew once in a while when I am home. She gets overly large ones that take her a long time (a couple weeks) to finish. That way she is not eating alot of rawhide. She also gets bones from the meat locker (large leg bones or knuckle bones) and that keeps her busy also, you could try that at bedtime and see if it keeps him busy and quiet. Lately she has been whining and yipping in her crate, she is 10 months old now so I think she is getting ready to come into heat as it is NOT her "I gotta pee" whine, it is more like a bored whine (plus my bloodhound is turning into a dumba**, more so than normal so I know something is up) so I ignore her and after about 10 minutes she quits and settles again. I make sure that I do not talk to her, tell her to quit or quiet down unless I know it will have an effect. The hardest thing to do is ignore her, not for me but for my husband. It drives him batty although he knows I cannot get her out when she is complaining because that is just rewarding her for negative behaviour. Again keep up the good work. It will all be worth it soon. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />