posted 09-11-2003 10:41 AM            

We have been lucky in that our puppy doesn't complain too much about the crate. She doesn't want to go in, but at night she settles right down after licking my fingers through the bars (as I lie in bed).

She goes back in during the day while we are at work (my husband puts her in because I hate doing it). She knows the routine and is fine.

The last couple of days we have put her in for about 30 mins during dinner so we can eat in peace. She yips for a minute or two and then quiets down.

Whatever you do, do NOT let your puppy out if he is crying. That only teaches him to cry more when he wants out. It is hard to do, but necessary.

Good luck to you!

posted 09-11-2003 10:55 AM            

Your pup should have no problem being crated for four hours at a time. My 14 week old lab has been crated at night since he was five weeks old and loves the thing. Now that the weather is turning sour here in Seattle he's beginning to spend a bit more time in the house. When I can't physically watch him, he's in the kennel. He can't hurt himself in there, can't chew our stuff, and he never gets in trouble when he's kenneled. He soiled the kennel on the first night I put him in (6.5 hours), and has not had one accident in there since. In all, I have had a total of three accidents in the house. Each time it was my fault, I wasn't watching him close enough.

Last time I was at Petsmart they had the large "Bargain Hound" kennel for $49.99. This is admittedly a lower end crate but it works great for applications where it won't be moved around too much. It is approved for air travel, but in looking at the construction, I don't think it would survive too many airline handlings.

For home use and the occasional trip the "Bargain Hound" would probably last his lifetime.

Good luck!

posted 09-11-2003 11:17 AM         

Well anyway my $0.02 for what its worth: We started out by gating off a tiled area of our family room. We did have a crate that we left in the corner propped open with a bungee cord. We made Max's crate very comfortable with a big comfy blanket in it. We kept this situation until Max was 14 weeks - 15 weeks old. It was my understanding that puppies can't hold their bladder for longer than they are months old.. 1 month - 1 hr, 2 months - 2 hrs... so we didn't want Max to be in his crate for 4 hrs until we were sure he could physically hold it this long. We didn't want to "force" him to eliminate in the crate and get used to doing so. He did have accidents nearly everday on the tiled floor but we just cleaned them up with a odor neutralizer. During the month or two the crate was always left opened and his "safe" spot was the entire gated area. He learned to get adjusted to the crate and would start going in there to sleep more often just on his own.
That said I won't lie and say Max didn't bark. We left him the first time to go outside and mow the lawn and he barked the entire time. We would make quick trips out to get the mail or out to dinner. But realistically we got him on a Friday so he would have the whole weekend with us before we left him. But come Monday we had to go to work and leave him for four hours. He barked and whined when we left but according to our neighbors and me sneaking up on the house he was sound asleep or quietly laying there everytime we got back. Now Max is at the point that if we are home and he knows it he certainly cries and barks to be with us(well we are almost ALWAYS with him so no biggie here). But we rarely hear a bark or whine we leave the house in the morning. We bought one of the infamous kongs and we just put it in the crate and he goes in and lays down. He's now 16 weeks old and never any accidents in the crate.
I'm always so long - winded =). I feel pretty sure that your puppy will calm down as long as you give him a toy or two to occupy him. If you can/want to ask neighbors to listen for his barking just to put your mind at ease. And I would think that your kitchen would be the best bet for him at this point. I was against the whole crate thing, but they certainly are as good as everyone says. Get one now and start getting your puppy used to it. In a month or so you can just use that and it will help with house training too.

posted 09-11-2003 11:17 AM         

I am trying the crate now. I just put him in it with a few chew toys, and already he is crying. It is hard to listen to! I am trying to ignore him so he realizes that crying will not help. I will try this for 15 minutes now, then I will play with him, then try it again for 30 minutes later today, and keep up this routine for a couple of days. Also at night he sleeps in our room on his bed, and does very well. He has not eliminated in our room at all. Should I get him used to sleeping in his crate at night in our room? The problem I see with this is I will have to move his crate from the living room to the bedroom every night. Sorry if this post is long!!! I have just a couple more questions though. I want him to be a family dog, so I dont want him to spend all the time while we are home in his crate. This is my fear.

posted 09-11-2003 11:22 AM         

ALSO like Jamiya said important point Don't let your puppy out while he is crying even if it's only a few seconds of silence let him out then.

posted 09-11-2003 11:35 AM         

sorry I cant give advice since we were so poor on our training, we tried crating and just cried - my husband felt so bad and put him on our bed and that is where he sleeps to this, muc to my chagrin.

We also had problems with him crying when we were not home - this wnet on for a few years before we got a new neighbor that complained. I checkd with other neighbors and sure enough, but they were to afraid to say anything - We did not know this, he was able to go in the the garage and oustide. So we finally resorted to puttiing a dog door in the house which solved the problem.

posted 09-11-2003 12:23 PM            

Our puppy is terribly stubborn, but the crate at night is the only thing she adjusted to right away and we have no problems with.

They say if you leave the crate out, they will eventually start going in there to sleep on their own. I guess it must be true because people say their dogs do it, but I just can't fathom it!

Right now, we have the crate in our bedroom so she can sleep in our room at night. I am seriously considering buying another for the family room so we can at least try to get her to use it for a regular bed (even with the door open). It is much too hard to move from room to room.

I have read you are supposed to stick them in there and quietly shut the door when they fall asleep on the floor during the day, but I have never had the heart to do it. She is in the crate at night (usually only 4-6 hours, though) and then for 4 hours in the morning and another 3-4 in the afternoon until I get home from work. Once I am home, I hate the thought of putting her back in.

To my surprise, she did just fine when we put her in during dinner the other night, even though we were all still home and she could hear us. I felt bad that she was alone in the bedroom, but after 1-2 minutes of yipping she quieted down and when I went in to get her she was just lying there chewing on her toys.

The other problem with leaving the crate in the family room is that she likes to pull her bed out and start to shred it. I want to avoid that and it gets very old, very fast trying to make her stop (on top of all the other things we are trying to make her stop doing)!

posted 09-12-2003 07:10 AM            

Some days she just lies down at the gate and chews on her toys and waits for us to finish. Other days, she does not. I usually just ignore her, but my husband needed the peace and quiet for dinner that night. Letting the caregivers rejuvenate is very important or tempers will get short and everyone suffers.

Her meals are not associated with ours in any way. I have heard the thing about eating first and then feeding the dog, and I have also heard to NOT do that. I feed her at 6am, noon, and 5pm. Our meals are not that scheduled. We eat whenever we eat. I am starting to feed the cats before her, though, so maybe she will get the idea that they are above her in rank - I doubt it, though.

This solution is not forever. I just can't work on everything all at once. Just like with a child, you have to prioritize and pick your battles.