For the next several weeks; I would crate the dog thru out the day at various intervals and soon the dog will enter the crate on his/her own to take a nap. When you leave the house; crate the dog. This not only keeps your house safe but also keeps the dog safe until they learn your rules. The rule learning time varies from dog to dog..some take weeks to months.

All of my dogs have been crate trained and love their "rooms" with their blankets to sleep upon (the dollar store is a good source for cheap blankets that bleach and wash nicely--cut a single blanket in half and you have two nice blankets). It's not unusal for me to find a couple of dogs cuddled up and sleeping together in one crate. During the day; four of my dogs are crated while I am gone to work and they also sleep in their crates at night. I only have to announce "it's time to go to your room's" and they file in to snuggle onto their beds.

As I've stressed previously; time is on your side. Don't be in a hurry. Give yourself time to get to know the dog and allow the dog breathing room to get to know you and a set routine. Sucess is on your side if you just allow time to take it's course.

I should also add; if you intend upon waking the dog from a nap; call out to the dog using the dog's name and say come..then whatever phrase you have established to go to the crate. Given the dog's prior behavior; DO NOT TOUCH THE DOG TO WAKE THE DOG! This action could result in an inappropriate behavior with teeth involved..just don't create a situation..think things thru before initiating an action to avoid a bad situation for the dog and you.

OK, we are doing good with the crate. He gets to sleep in it during the day for different amounts of time. If that is all we have to do, then we can manage, and I like to know that it may take weeks or months. At least either we are not going to get frustrated when what we expect does not happen or we know what to expect wich is great.

He now eats in the crate, takes naps in there, of course I need to show him to go in but he always does. It helps that he can see us from his crate. I went to read in the bedroom to be out of sight because I will have to go to work eventually and he can still stay with my husband. Today we needed to go shopping so we left him alone for about an hour in the evening. He was crying after we left, we could hear it, but when we got back he was quiet. It was hard for me not to run back, but I know he can't come out when he cries so it is just as well I didn't come back. I hope he can calm himself down eventually and it won't be a big deal to be left alone. We do not make a fuss when we leave or arrive home, and left the tv on low volume. It is still very quiet here so he sleeps most of the time. When he wakes up he comes to say hi, and we socialize to the extent that he lets us. We sit down the floor and if he sits beside me I give him a back massage and he seems to like it. When he had enough, he will walk away and lies down on another spot. Then we know that our time is up and we go back to the desk to do whatever we need to do. He does not play yet, but loves the walks.

Your building a foundation of trust which will develope into love. Just be patient..take it slow and give the little guy time..

We have been using the crate for 2 weeks now. We have the same schedule evey day (for walking feeding, and crating). In the last few days I noticed that he definitely hates to go to into the crate. When I call him he will not come, in fact he already knows that it is "time to go to bed" before I say it and he will try to hide somewhere else. I have to get him by the collar and show him into the crate, and he has his tail and nose hanging. He absolutely can't stand it, I can see it in his eyes. This morning he woke us up early morning with a huge howling cry; he has never done that before (well, in the last 2 weeks anyway). I feed him in the crate still, and hope he will realize that it is a good place, food is good, but this morning he refused to eat, he would not go into the crate. I showed him his food, he went to look at it, then he came out and just sniffed the bowl from the outside. This is new. I removed the bowl and he didn't eat until the evening meal time wich was in the crate again, and he ate all his food.
Is this a normal development in the process of crate training? All the books that I have read say that he will learn to love his crate and it will be his safe place. From what I see now, I can't imagine that he will ever go in it to take a nap. He does nto have the run of the house, only the living room.
I do not force him into the crate but one way or another he needs to end up in it when it is time. When I feed him, I do not force him in, I nudge him nicely and the door is kept open so if he is finished he is free to come out. During the first week I used to close the door, but since he was eating facing away from the door I figured it made no difference since he didn't see the door.

We heard form the neighbours that he sometimes cries, not all day but enough to notice. We didn't leave him alone for long periods, and initially he was quiet. He is crying now when he is left alone and it worries me that he will start crying in the middle of the night. We will get evicited from the noise he makes if this continues.

What should we do next? I thought we were doing great until today. We are going to see the vet tonight so I hope we get some answers. I keep my fingers crossed.

Andrea

Many dogs during their initial education of crate training will "buck up" and not want to do as you are asking. This is very normal and similar to toddlers who have learned their favorite word "NO"

A few suggestions:

Include and establish within your routine to call out to the dog by the dog's name to come in a very happy uptone and have a treats ready. When the dog obeys; praise the dog like he's just parted the seas. Instruct the dog to "go to your room" and if the dog balks or refuses; gently grab the collar and "escort" the dog in and again praise the dog and give the dog a treat. Say nite, nite and close the door.

If the dog doesn't want to eat (and from your posts you feed twice a day); don't worry about it. The dog will eat when he's hungry and avoid giving the dog any human food that can also contribute to refusing his own special food.

By leaving the crate door open to allow the dog to enter and exit on his own should be an earned privilege over a period of time. It's my opinion that you're starting to proceed a bit too fast by giving the dog privileges that he is taking advantage of and has not earned.

Crying out in the middle of the night can be caused by a number of things. If the dog was allowed access to water late or just before bedtime; he probably needs to potty. Or; if you perhaps fed dinner a bit later, off schedule then again he may need to potty. Or; perhaps he did potty on his last trip out but needs to go again.
Also; if parasites are an issue, this can also cause an upset in the potty schedule.

Some dogs in a single household enjoy the companionship of TV or radio (depending upon their likes) to "keep them company" thru the day. A friend of mine calls home and via the answering machine with the volumn up will leave messages for the dog to hear thru the day. Another friend solved the crying issue by placing a large stuffed animal next to the crate to create a buddy for the dog. I had my doubts on this but it worked in that situation.

We are back from the vet and I am a bit disappointed. He told us that he didn't now about training much which is fine but that we should not crate him if he is not comfortable with it because his dogs sleep with him in his bed. He does not chew and he could not care less for the toys so we should try without it.

I thought that was exactly the point, he needs to learn to be comfortable. Anyway, we will keep doing what we have been doing and hope for the best. I know that when he is not crated, he will cry more than when he is in the crate. We left him out of the crate once when we went down to the laundry to pick up stuff for 10 minutes. We were out of the apartment for less than 30 seconds when we heard him howl at the door. I went back and crated him immediately. He didn't cry after that and we managed to do laundry without him so I know crating is and will be good for him.

The feeding time and the walking and potty times are always at the same time. He gets water at the same time too every day. There isn't extra food or drink available during the night, and only water during the day. Always the same food, no scraps.

We will keep the door closed while he is eating. Question: How will we know that he is ready for the open door? How long is not fast? I know it will take from 6-12 weeks for him to decide that it his his forever home. We will follow the crate routine for at least that long.

I'm glad you're hanging in there! Stick with the crate! By crating the dog; you are creating a "safe" enviroment that the dog feels comfortable in. When you leave the house; crate the dog..no exceptions. Feed the dog in the crate and give him 20-30 minutes. Then open the door if you so choose. Remember..you are in charge. You decide when you allow the door to open..not him. It's way to early to allow him the freedom of choice. And even say..6-9 months down the road..keep the crate and the routine..they love their crates! Plus..you could create additional issues by taking his "room" away.

In the matter of the dog waking up in the middle of the night..well..if it's not a "potty" issue then the dog is probably trying to see if he can "train you". I made this "mistake" with my young border collie who would wake me up barking in the middle of the night wanting a drink of water..then back to the crate..then a couple of hours later..she had to go out to potty of course! And again..waking me up. So solve this; when she would bark; I would get up and tell her how displeased I was in a very angry tone and instructed her to be quiet! As soon as she was quiet; I praised her for being such a good girl and returned back to my slumber..that is..what was left of it. It took about a week; but she finally decided that the "game plan" wasn't working and gave it up. She now "allows" me to sleep till about 5:30 which is far better than the 2 and 4 AM interuptions. I can work with that! It's "almost" time for me to get up anyway!

I wanted to give an update on our progress. I noticed today twice that when I said "go to bed" I didn't need to push him into the crate, he turned around and walked straight in it. It is so much easier to praise when what we expect actually happens. I have to say I was extatic.
We are planning to go camping and we will take the crate and will set it up inside the tent to keep the schedule the same. I am hoping that with the environment change he will notice that his house and bed are a constant and will go into it easier and will know that it is his place.

I was reading a book called the Second hand dog. In it they mention that the dog can be put into the crate when "he was behaving rotten". I thought that the crate should not be used as a punishment.

Can somebody clarify this for me, in what instances should the dog be sent to the crate, and if it can be used as punishment, how is it done so that he will not associate it with something bad? We are trying to teach him that it is a good place to be.

I would appreciate comments.

thanks
Andrea

The book you speak of "Second Hand Dog" is an excellant referance book. This book is given to each and every adoptor from my foster care.

As far as the crate/punishment..well..think of it as a "time out"..the dog has disobeyed and has "lost" his freedom. The crate is his "room".

As with children..when they disobey..they "go to their room"..

Be consistant with routine and patient...time is on your side!