Help Puppy howling all night in crate.

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scewal

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Hi,

I have a 8 week old collie x German shepherd who i am trying to crate train. But at night 3 she seems to be getting worse.
I live in a semi detached with thin walls so gave in last night and let her out. She then slept soundly curled up with my 11 year old collie x springer. She is very good and uses the crate to wee in.

Any tips to help her quieten down and stay in hercrate, thank you.
 
Why do you want her to wee in the crate?

For the first few nights I had mine in the crate at the bottom of my bed. This taught him that night time was for sleeping. He woke up a couple of times a night and I put him outside for the toilet then straight back in his crate to go back to sleep.

Could it be if you are encouraging him to toilet in his crate he doesn't want to sleep in there??
 
can you put a bed/blanket that your other dog has slept on in the crate then put crate near where your other dog chooses to sleep?
is the crate covered with a blanket to make it 'den' like and safe?
is it in a quiet place?
one of mine was noisy at night for the first few nights and it must be hard for them leaving the litter and having to be alone, but i did manage to ignore it and she has been fine for 5yrs now (although she would still rather sleep with me) if you really want the crate to be the sleeping place stick with it-it does make it much easier to take them out and about with you.:)
 
Is she howling because she wants to come out of the crate to have a wee? The main reason for crate training is to help with house training, a dog hates to soil its own bed so will let you know when it needs to go out.
I would persevere with the crate training but be aware she may cry to go to the toilet. Have a word with your neighbours and explain it will hopefully only be short term and then she will be quiet at night. Can she see your other dog at night, if they are not in the same room then I would try putting them together.

ETS If you haven't done already, pm Cayla for a copy of her puppy/crate training guide, it will explain to you how to proceed.
 
She starts as soon as she goes in the crate. Not encouraging her to wee in there but that is where she has chosen to go. During the day she takes herself outside to wee/poo.
Have taken her out for a wee during the night but the howling starts the second she is back in her crate. She howls constantly all night.
Her crate is right beside the other dogs bed. I leave the radio on so its not too quiet. Also she has a blanket covering her cage at night.
 
The way I see it she's a baby and needs comfort. Maybe remove the blanket at night so she can see your other dog? Or could you do crate training during the day for short periods so she associates it with good things and let her curl up with your other dog at night? I had both mine up with me, it doesn't last long, and now they happily sleep in the kitchen. Make the most of them being babies, it's over befor you know it :)
 
It sounds like she isn't associating the crate with sleeping, are you putting her in there for short spells during the day? She needs to see it as her den where she wants to be. When she takes herself outside to wee do you go with her and praise her so that she knows she is doing the right thing, it is good she is going out but if she isn't getting reward then she won't necessarily know that is the place to go.
There is loads of good advice in Cayla's guide, one of the people who bought my pups said it was excellent, and he is an ex inspector of a police dog section!
 
did you bring something with the mothers smell back with you when you bought the pup? Also a ticking alarm clock and hot water bottle are the way we settled ours. Alarm clock for heartbeat and hot water bottle for warmth. Its quite a shock for a pup to be left in a crate all night on its own.
 
ditch the crate! I have had three dogs all rescues, and had to be toilet trained. If poss leave the back door open they will do it themselves if not put newspaper down. H:)e is a baby and needs the comfort of the other dogs and they will teach him if they all go out together he will soon get the idea.
 
It's still really early days and as others say she has probably not got the idea of the crate being for sleeping/resting/chilling out in. The routine has to be quite rigid and timings, the placing of the crate in the house all have a bearing. Second asking for a copy of Cayla's guide. It is a bit of an ask to expect an eight week old baby to spend a whole night quiet and dry in a crate after three days.
 
No nothing came back with her from the breeders. She has been out of the crate with my other dog today and is much happier.
She did try chewing the mat but the older dog told her off!
But she has now just gone in and has remained in the crate without fuss for the last 10 mins.

Will try her in the crate again this evening as she does like to chew.

Thanks for your help.
 
I got my pup a bit older (14 weeks or so) but he is 18 months old now and he did and still does get popped in the crate for downtime after a run around or a long walk (which your pup won't be needed for ages) with a bone or a Kong so he knows that it is his place for chilling with cool stuff.
 
Yes excatly why i have popped her in the crate, just come back from walking the other dog with her being carried. As you say for a bit of down time.
She has a puppy bone, and other toys in her crate too.
 
It does take a little time and patience and although some take to it immediately you will indeed get some calls for "attention";) I would percevere, the noise and damage they can cause at this age due to what they can when say 9 months is ;) is a huge difference, and its est to crate train and out source than need to introduce a crate at an older age (this is when you need the patience of a saint) I have crate trained hundreds of pups and adult dogs (mainly for SA issues) in the older dogs. Training a pup is alot easier, you just need a solid routine.
I do indeed have a detailed puppy/crate guide if you think it will help PM me your email addy and I will send one on.:)
 
With my 2nd dog, it definitely helped to put her in the crate only when she's tired and ready for a short snooze during the day or at night time when it's a longer rest period. Ideally they should associate the crate with a relaxing, stressless time. At night, put her in there as late as possible, and take her out as early as possible in the early hours of the morning - then gradually increase the amount of time that she has to spend in there overnight. If you want to get her used to being crated, then ideally you shouldn't give in to her whining as she'll very quickly learn that she's taken out of there as soon as she starts scratching at the crate/whining.

It's hard though if there's another dog around indoors, who isn't crated as well. The loose one could easily wake the crated one up and make them want to get out of there. E.g. when they jump up and run to the door because they think there's someone there...

Some dogs are just easier to train than others. My Staffie was sooo easy to crate train and house train. He got it all within a few weeks, but my Shih Tzu took just over a year...

Good luck!
 
It's early days yet and she may still be mummy and sibling sick, don't tell her off for howling, as she might become worried about letting you know when she needs something, perhaps you could get a doggy teddy bear toy place it on your collie x bed for the day and stroke the collie with it then put it in with pup at night help her settle in and also help her feel part of the family x
 
I've never used a crate for any of my dogs. I don't have room to set on up. If she'll settle with your other dog, then I'd let them sleep together. Eight weeks is very young to go overnight without a reassuring contact.
 
When mine was a puppy she barked and howled all night in her crate until after her first vaccination- the vet warned us it may make her sleepy, and after she slept well in it for that one night, we never heard a peep out of her again (apart from a little bark occasionally when she needed the loo!). It's worth persevering though- we never could have left ours loose- too much stuff to chew! :D
 
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