I don't think it's a good idea to bang on the dog's crate. Period. Just ignore the unwanted behavior, unless it becomes destructive with a risk that the dog will hurt itself; then something else might need to be tried before advancing to crate training.

I just don'g think it's a good method. I've actually known a dog that was crate aggressive as a result of his owner banging on the top of it when he was a puppy. If he was in the crate, even if the door was open, and anyone got within a few feet of the crate, he would growl.

I think this is why the person said that you can't do this with puppies, and only adults. She also said to cover the crate so the dog can't see you approach, so that they don't think the crate banging is coming from you. It makes sense in theory I guess, but wouldn't the dog smell you anyway? And if the crate banging doesn't work on the second try or so, why would anyone continue to do it. It didn't work with my pup on the first try so I didn't try it anymore.. I was more worried about her not wanting to go into her crate.

I don't think I'll bang on the crate anymore after thinking about it. It did startle the dog and stopped her noise for a few moments, but I don't want her getting scared of anything related to the crate. I only did it two times, and both times she immediately shut up. The silence didn't last long, but it did last longer than me just saying "QUIET!", and it gave me a bried window of time to positively reinforce the silent behavior.

Maybe one of these nights (on a weekend when I can sleep in) I should put her in and then sit close by and wait for her to start whining. Then tell her to be quiet and give her a treat every time she does. Perhaps by focusing more on rewarding the positive behavior (being quiet), she'll get past it quicker. It's like house breaking, isn't it? After a while they don't go in the house anymore, not because they are afraid to, but because they know from all the praise and treats that going outside is preferred.

In the meantime, I picked up some Rescue Remedy, which is a natural calming herbal mixture. I've read about a lot of people giving to their pets. Last night I have her a couple of drops before bedtime and she made very little noise. We'll see over time if it was a coincidence or due to the concoction.

I like the Rescue Remedy. You can use it in all different situations, and you, yourself, can have some if YOU'RE in a particularly stressful situation!

RR has never done a darn thing for me or for my dogs. Of course, I'm not really a firm believer in homeopathy. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how you can dilute a substance to the point where just water remains, and yet the substance is supposed to have some sort of effect?

Anyway, about the crate whining. I adopted my BC at about 10 months old, and she was very noisy in her crate. She's gotten much better over time and is quiet in there most of the time. I believe it is anxiety in my dog's case. This is evidenced by the fact that while she no longer vocalizes in the crate, she does salivate to excess, often creating puddles in the bottom and leaving her chest soaked with moisture. The crate pad really gets to stinking if I don't wash it enough. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

How I've handled this, since crating is a part of her lifestyle like it or not, is through a combination of tactics.

Of course she does not get let out if she is vocalizing. She must be quiet for a couple of minutes before she can come out. This isn't really an issue any more since she's quiet most of the time, but when she was really noisy, it could take a while for her to quiet down long enough to be let out.

Next, a long lasting food treat every time she went in. At first, I pulled out the big guns, but now even just a plain ol' nylabone works for short periods. I used the giant King Kongs, filled them up with concoctions of different combinations of foods like yogurt, peanut butter, bananas, canned green beans, baby carrots, sardines, mackerel, etc., stuck them in the freezer overnight, and always had one or two in reserve (I have three King Kongs so I could rotate). These large Kongs packed with frozen foods take MUCH longer to empty than a normal Kong with some PB smeared inside. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Of course, the amount of food inside is almost enough to count as one meal, so I did cut back on her kibble accordingly.

Lastly, some well timed positive punishment in small yet impressive doses. I used a Super Soaker filled with plain tap water to give her a squirt while saying "QUIET!!!", since a spray bottle has little to no effect on her.

And, she sleeps in her crate next to my bed just fine. The only problem is that since we use it as a nightstand, the lamp gets kind of precarious when she turns in circles and finally flops down with a sigh. It hasn't fallen on our heads yet, though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Originally posted by Lisa Swanston:
It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how you can dilute a substance to the point where just water remains, and yet the substance is supposed to have some sort of effect? I think the current theory has to do with altered atomic vibrations in the water, but I'm not really sure (haven't paid much attention).

my pup is noisy in her crate too sometimes, not like yours. I found sometimes she is hungry, other times thirsty....but when its just plain noise I found a really dark room and a fan whirring noise really helps settle her. Maybe the dog is over tired? Or not tired at all? What about having the dog sleep outside?? One of my dogs wont' sleep unless he is out in the garage or backyard.

have you tried giving her a blanket that is all her own? or something with your smell on it like someone suggested? Both my dogs have their blankies, can't sleep wihtout them....funny sometimes I find the blankets out in the yard when the older one is too hot and takes his outside to sleep.

I think, if anything, that the dog is not tired enough. She is by herself outside during the day while we're working, and I imagine that she is doing most of her sleeping then.

Last night I took her for about a 4-mile walk, and we got home and she still had plenty of energy left. She's like the Energizer bunny! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The Rescue Remedy seemed to work pretty well last night, she didn't make much noise at all. Then unfortunately, she would bark for about 5 minutes every hour or so until I got out of bed... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Have you ever tasted the Rescue Remedy? My theory on it is that the dog's thinking "Maybe if I sit here real quiet like, Dad/Mom won't give me any more of that nasty stuff!". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

But all joking aside, the exercise should help.

Oh, and Eric check your PMs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />