# Advice on crate training a puppy?



## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

Well I own multiple dogs. A Labrador retriever, a husky, and a pit bull. We recently had to put down 2 dogs down, one of my labs and my German shepherd. Also, one dog, my lab mix is staying with a friend. I've owed all big dogs until now. Now I own a 2 month old pug. He's the first dog I've decided to crate train. I've had him for two nights and both nights he's whined for about 30 minutes, fell asleep, then got up and whined multiple times in the night. He's in his crate from 10 PM-4:30 AM. 9:00 AM-11:00AM. 2:00PM-4:00PM. He does fine during the day naps, but at night he whines. 

Here's a picture of his crate set up: 







He's food and water are in there for two reasons. 1. so that I can easily monitor his take in. The big dogs will steal his food and water. 2. So he learns his crate is a happy and safe place to be. 

Is there anything I should add to his crate? 
Is there anything I should take away from it? 
Should I adjust how long he's in his crate? 
Any advice would be great, and don't be afraid to tell me I'm wrong with something. It's my first time. Thank you!


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## Mrs.Brisby (Jan 4, 2014)

Could he sleep with you? It would make him a happy puppy! When my dog was a puppy, during bedtime I would put a leash on her and tie it to my bedpost. It makes for a lot of bonding time. Which is good for puppies


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## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

I already sleep with my 3 other dogs, so they take up a lot of my queen sized bed. And his crate is in my room, so he's always near me when he's in his crate.


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## Lita (Jul 10, 2014)

If he isn't peeing/pooing in the crate and is just whining you should be ok to just keep what your doing. It's not recomended to have food and water in the crate if they are learning and are in their for a long time as it can cause them to mess in the crate. My dog reacted very badly to crates, she destroyed a heavy duty metal wire crate and ruined the carpet and walls near the crate. I personally am not a fan because of how much stress it put my dog under, and therefore put me under. But if he is just whining a bit you should be on a good path to a dog who likes his crate.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Honestly I would take out the food and water and add some blankets or a bed or a crate mat. Dogs/puppies shouldn't have access to food 24/7 and if he drinks the water, he might be whining because he has to go out in the middle of the night. He will learn though. You, on the other hand, have to be pretty persistent! If he whines/cries - ignore him! Ignore ignore ignore. Any kind of attention, positive or negative, won't help, it will only make it worse. I know its hard but the pup will get used to it in a few weeks. 

If you think hes bored, I would give him a kong (filled with plain yogurt or chicken broth or any one of the kong treats and freeze it to last longer) or bone or his favorite toy to play with. Something to keep his mind occupied. Some people like to put a ticking clock or a hot water bottle to give the puppy something to curl up to. 

But, its all going to come down to time. Its only been 2 nights, give him a few weeks to settle into your routine.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

I'm a bit confused as to why you'd decide to crate train a new dog when all of your other dogs aren't. Doesn't seem very fair to the puppy in my opinion and he may be whining because he sees all the other dogs in bed with you and is confused about why he's not included. All of my dogs are crate trained, from my big dogs down to my chihuahua. If one goes to the crate, they all go or if one is out, they're all out; night or day, doesn't matter. When you have multiple dogs, you're essentially making a pack with them where you're alpha. By separating one dog and treating it differently, it's not going to fit into your pack as well as your other dogs do. Just my two cents. I've raised quite a few dogs and I've found that equality among them leads to better behavior.


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## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

My other dogs have crates, but they're kept outside, in a screened in area, so they only go in there when they're hot and want to get in the shade. There not really crate trained because we never lock them up in there, the door is always open. The one time we did lock them up, they barked all night and two of them got out. We never made them go in as puppies. Now the pit bull is 14, the lab is 8, and the husky 4. I don't want to move the crate outside just because he is such a little puppy. 

Would it help if I put a blanket over his cage?


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Maybe, it would create more of an enclosed den-like environment, some dogs like that.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Put a blanket inside and drape one over the outside as well. I agree that food and water should not be offered while inside overnight. You need him to understand that the crate is for sleeping so the fewer distractions the better.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Still doesn't explain why he can't just sleep with you like the others though. Such a small dog won't take up that much extra room...unless you're worried about squishing him or something >.< We've managed to never squish our chihuahua when she sleeps with us. She usually burrows under the covers and sleeps right up against me.


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## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

How's this set up?


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Looks similar to what I did for all of mine. How big is the crate compared to the dog? Mine always preferred more of a cozy fit to a huge crate and now opt to sleep together rather than in separate crates, silly things. Hopefully the blanket over the top will make your pup more comfortable.


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## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

When he stands in it he has about 6 inches to the back of it and he can easily lay down any way he wants. I can adjust it as he grows. 

Should I make it bigger or smaller?


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

As long as he's comfortable in it, that's fine.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

One thing he might appreciate though is if you were to put a bathmat in to cover the bottom entirely plus his blanket on top of that, that way he doesn't expose the bare plastic whenever he repositions his blanket.


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## MightylilttleMinies (Jul 17, 2013)

Okay thank you.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Looks good!


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