How to Train Your Older Dog to Sleep in a Crate

Hello Rick, Most dogs will adjust given time and consistency for 2-4 weeks. Some dogs adjust as soon as three nights, but it can take up to 1 month. Stay consistent if you go this route though - because letting pup out when they don't really have to go potty will make it take longer. Following treat methods during the day at the same time can usually help the process go more smoothly with less crying. It isn't required for many dogs but helps the process. If you wish to do that, then check out the Surprise method from the article linked below. Because you don't want your other pup to eat all the treats in an open crate, you can skip right to the part where you lock pup in the crate - giving treats if he gets quiet for a few seconds. Only give treats during the day though - no food at night. At night, at this stage it will simply look like ignoring the crying. Going to bed early so that the house is quiet but everyone is reading or doing things in bed can make this process easier - so pup isn't keeping everyone awake during the crying phase before he finally falls asleep. I would also move his crate away from your other dog's crate, so that your other dog doesn't get agitated. In the end the other dog's presence probably won't be helpful enough to your new pup to make it worth your current dog having to listen to it so closely. Even though pup may cry some at first in the crate for a few weeks, the amount of time it takes pup to quiet down will probably decrease to 30 minutes within a week. If you don't see improvement, then check back here. You can correct the crying - but that's not recommended as a first course of action. Almost all dogs will cry at first and will adjust without corrections if things are consistent and time is given. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Edel, Since pup is already used to the crate and the crying appears to be him being demanding and not something else, I suggest correcting. Crate him during the day some and whenever he stays quiet in the crate, sprinkle some pieces of his dog food in without opening the crate door, then leave again. Whenever he barks in the crate during the day, go to him, tell him "Ah Ah", then spray a small puff of air from a pet convincer - which is a small canister of pressurized, unscented air, at his side (NOT face), then leave again. Practice this so that he learns quietness equals rewards and barking equals corrections. At night, whenever he cries, tell him "Ah Ah" and spray a puff of air at his side through the crate, then leave again. Don't reward the quietness at night because you don't want him needing to go potty or waking up for treats, just correct the cries. Since you are practicing this for a bit during the day, the treats during the day should help reinforce the quiet lesson without having to give them at night, and the consistency of correcting along side rewards should serve as a yes - be quiet, no - don't bark lesson. Only use unscented air canisters - NOT citronella - citronella is too harsh because of how sensitive a dog's nose is, and lingers for a long time, making it confusing for a dog. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, cute little Max is lucky to have you!. Be patient and yes, you are right that things will take time. Getting him to like his crate is the first step. Here is an excellent guide: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate. All three of the methods are good. Please take a look. Another option is to set up an exercise pen area. Max will be safe in one spot but will not feel so confined in a crate - which is a big change based on his upbringing. This is an excellent article on setting up a welcoming space for Max at night. https://www.preventivevet.com/dogs/how-to-set-up-puppy-long-term-confinement-area. All the best!

Hello! It is definitely not too late to re-train to sleep in his own space. The adjustment period might take a little while, up to about a month, but it is worth it. You can start by putting his crate in your room at night. You can leave the door open if he will stay in there. If not, just close the door. If he is whining or unsettled, try to ignore him for a good 20 minutes. So you may need to set this up before you actually need to go to bed. Do your best not to give in. He will start to understand that he needs to stay in his place. Teaching him to sleep on an open bed of his own may be a little trickier, because he is able to move around on his own. You can start with his bed next to yours like the kennel. And just re-direct him to his bed if he jumps on yours. Eventually you can move either the kennel or bed out of your room and into the space you want him to be in.

Hello Hannah, First, is the diarrhea happening during the day too when not in the crate? If the diarrhea is something going on in general and not just because pup is in the crate, you will need to check with your vet and get that resolved before being able to make progress with the crate. I am not a vet. If the diarrhea was due to anxiety and pup is otherwise fine when not crate, then I would address the issue behaviorally. Check out the Surprise method from the article linked below and work on that method to get her used to you being out of the room while she is crated. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate She also needs to build her independence and her confidence by adding a lot of structure and predictability into her routine if you haven't already done so. Things such as making her work for rewards like meals, walks, and pets by obeying a command like Sit first. Working on "Stay" and "Place," commands while you move away or leave the room, and teaching her to remain inside a crate when the door is open as well as closed. Give her something to do in the crate or on Place during the day while you are out of the room (such as a dog food stuffed Kong to chew on). Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo Down-Stay: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-your-labrador-to-lie-down-and-stay/ If pup's independence is worked on enough and the crate introduced gradually, and pup taught to stay inside with the door open, often that will be enough - but will take a lot of patience and repetition from you. If doing the above is not sufficient, you may need to use a form of mild correction to interrupt pup while also rewarding calmness and quietness in the crate. I would hire a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues to help you with this, to tailor the training to her and be able to evaluate how she is responding. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello! Here is information on crate training. Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age, temperament and past experiences. It's important to keep two things in mind while crate training: The crate should always be associated with something pleasant and training should take place in a series of small steps. Don't go too fast. Step 1: Introduce your dog to the crate Place the crate in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the crate. Take the door off and let the dog explore the crate at their leisure. Some dogs will be naturally curious and start sleeping in the crate right away. If yours isn't one of them: Bring them over to the crate and talk to them in a happy tone of voice. Make sure the crate door is open and secured so that it won't hit your dog and frighten them. Encourage your dog to enter the crate by dropping some small food treats nearby, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the crate. If they refuse to go all the way in at first, that's OK; don't force them to enter. Continue tossing treats into the crate until your dog will walk calmly all the way into the crate to get the food. If they aren’t interested in treats, try tossing a favorite toy in the crate. This step may take a few minutes or as long as several days. Step 2: Feed your dog meals in the crate After introducing your dog to the crate, begin feeding them their regular meals near the crate. This will create a pleasant association with the crate. If your dog is readily entering the crate when you begin Step 2, place the food dish all the way at the back of the crate. If they remain reluctant to enter, put the dish only as far inside as they will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed them, place the dish a little further back in the crate. Once your dog is standing comfortably in the crate to eat their meal, you can close the door while they’re eating. The first time you do this, open the door as soon as they finish their meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few minutes longer, until they’re staying in the crate for 10 minutes or so after eating. If they begin to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length of time too quickly. Next time, try leaving them in the crate for a shorter time period. If they do whine or cry in the crate, don’t let them out until they stop. Otherwise, they'll learn that the way to get out of the crate is to whine, so they'll keep doing it. Step 3: Practice with longer crating periods After your dog is eating their regular meals in the crate with no sign of fear or anxiety, you can confine them there for short time periods while you're home. Call them over to the crate and give them a treat. Give them a command to enter, such as "crate." Encourage them by pointing to the inside of the crate with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the crate, praise them, give them the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the crate for five to 10 minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time and then let them out. Repeat this process several times a day, gradually increasing the length of time you leave them in the crate and the length of time you're out of sight. Once your dog will stay quietly in the crate for about 30 minutes with you mostly out of sight, you can begin leaving them crated when you're gone for short time periods and/or letting them sleep there at night. This may take several days or weeks. Step 4, Part A: Crate your dog when you leave After your dog can spend about 30 minutes in the crate without becoming anxious or afraid, you can begin leaving them crated for short periods when you leave the house. Put them in the crate using your regular command and a treat. You might also want to leave them with a few safe toys in the crate. Vary the moment during your "getting ready to leave" routine that you put your dog in the crate. Although they shouldn't be crated for a long time before you leave, you can crate them anywhere from five to 20 minutes prior to leaving. Don't make your departures emotional and prolonged—they should be matter-of-fact. Praise your dog briefly, give them a treat for entering the crate and then leave quietly. When you return home, don't reward your dog for excited behavior by responding to them in an enthusiastic way. Keep arrivals low-key to avoid increasing their anxiety over when you will return. Continue to crate your dog for short periods from time to time when you're home so they don't associate crating with being left alone. Step 4, Part B: Crate your dog at night Put your dog in the crate using your regular command and a treat. Initially, it may be a good idea to put the crate in your bedroom or nearby in a hallway, especially if you have a puppy. Puppies often need to go outside to eliminate during the night and you'll want to be able to hear your puppy when they whine to be let outside. Older dogs should also initially be kept nearby so they don't associate the crate with social isolation. Once your dog is sleeping comfortably through the night with the crate near you, you can begin to gradually move it to the location you prefer, although time spent with your dog—even sleep time—is a chance to strengthen the bond between you and your pet. Potential problems Whining: If your dog whines or cries while in the crate at night, it may be difficult to decide whether they’re whining to be let out of the crate, or whether they need to be let outside to eliminate. If you've followed the training procedures outlined above, then your dog hasn't been rewarded for whining in the past by being released from their crate. If that is the case, try to ignore the whining. If your dog is just testing you, they'll probably stop whining soon. Yelling at them or pounding on the crate will only make things worse. If the whining continues after you've ignored them for several minutes, use the phrase they associate with going outside to eliminate. If they respond and become excited, take them outside. This should be a trip with a purpose, not play time. If you're convinced that your dog doesn't need to eliminate, the best response is to ignore them until they stop whining. Don't give in; if you do, you'll teach your dog to whine loud and long to get what they want. If you've progressed gradually through the training steps and haven't done too much too fast, you'll be less likely to encounter this problem. If the problem becomes unmanageable, you may need to start the crate training process over again. Separation anxiety: Attempting to use the crate as a remedy for separation anxiety won't solve the problem. A crate may prevent your dog from being destructive, but they may get injured in an attempt to escape. Separation anxiety problems can only be resolved with counterconditioning and desensitization procedures.

Hello, I think that setting up an exercise pen area may be ideal for Maddie. Buy her a super comfy bed and make the area accessible to her during the day as well. Take a look here (minus the litter box of course, if she is trained to pee outside): https://www.preventivevet.com/dogs/how-to-set-up-puppy-long-term-confinement-area. The following guide is to teach a dog to like a crate (and if you choose a crate, it is good for teaching that) but can be used to help Maddie like her exercise pen. All of the methods are good but the Surprise Method may work well because it encourages her to go into the area on her own during the day: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate. Because she is used to sleeping on a bed you may have to persevere if she whines a few nights. But she may settle just being in your room. You can also try buying dog appeasing pheromones which work to emit a natural scent that is calming via diffuser. You could try that near the pen area at night. Good luck!

Hello! I usually avoid recommending bark collars, or recommend using them as a last resort. But in your case, you can probably go with a vibrating collar. They vibrate instead of shock. Your dog has fallen into a very undesirable habit, AND you run the risk of being fined. Your dog simply needs to re-establish his good habits and re-train his brain to sleep in a little longer. The use of a collar and potentially something that emits white noise (a fan or white noise machine) will help to block out any noises that may be contributing to his early morning wake up calls.

Hello Kim, Check out the Surprise method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate I also recommend looking into Jeff Gellman from SolidK9Training and specifically some of the separation anxiety cases he has videos talking about if pup won't adjust to the crate even after using the Surprise method. For most dogs the Surprise method is sufficient but there can be more extreme cases of separation anxiety. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lidwine, First, at this age pup likely really does need to go potty at that time. I suggest taking pup potty on leash when they wake then if it's been at least five hours since they last went potty outside. Keep the trip calm and boring - no play or treats, then right back to the crate after they go. When you return them to the crate, you have three options at this age. 1. You can either ignore pup barking until 7/8/9 (whenever you normally want to get up) - which will probably mean an hour of barking for a few days until pup learns to just go back to sleep until breakfast, and gradually begins to sleep longer and not need that 4:30am potty trip as their bladder capacity increases. 2. Another option is to stuff 1 or 2 kongs with puppy food and freeze the night before, and give pup that in the crate for a few weeks, until they are old enough to not need to 4:30am potty trip, then you will need to ignore/correct the crying later, once pup is older and can be expected to sleep through. To stuff a kong you can either place pup's dry dog food loosely in it and cover 1/2 of the opening with a larger treat - so the dog food will dispense more slowly, or place pup's food in a bowl, cover with water, let sit out until the food turns to mush, mix the mush with a little liver paste, treat paste, or peanut butte (avoid xylitol! - it's extremely toxic to dogs and a common sweetener substitute), place a straw through the kong's holes, loosely stuff the kong with the mush, place in a baggie, and free overnight. Remove the straw before giving pup and grab the kong from the freezer as needed - for a time-released treat. 3. The third option is to correct the crying once you return pup to the crate after the potty trip. 5 months is usually the earliest I would recommend doing this, so it can be done now or once pup is a bit older if you use the Kong solution for a bit. To correct pup, first, work on teaching the Quiet command during the day using the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, during the day practice the Surprise method from the article linked below. Whenever pup stays quiet in the crate for 5 minutes, sprinkle some treats into the crate without opening it, then leave the room again. As he improves, only give the treats every 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hour, 2, hour, 3 hour. Practice crating him during the day for 1-3 hours each day that you can. If you are home during the day, have lots of 30 minute - 1 hour long sessions with breaks between to practice this, to help pup learn sooner. Whenever he cries in the crate, tell him "Quiet". If he gets quiet - Great! Sprinkle treats in after five minutes if he stays quiet. If he continues barking or stops and starts again, spray a quick puff of air from a pet convincer at his side through the crate while calmly saying "Ah Ah", then leave again. Only use unscented air canisters, DON'T use citronella! And avoid spraying in the face. Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Repeat the rewards when quiet and the corrections whenever he cries. When he cries at night or early morning, after you take pup potty and return them to the crate, or pup cries before 4-5 hours (so you know it's not a potty issue), tell him Quiet, and correct with the pet convincer if he doesn't become quiet and stay quiet. Don't give treats at night/morning though - practice during the day proactively to help pup learn that quiet is good, since you don't want to encourage pup to stay awake in the early morning, but to go back to sleep instead. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Susie, First, if pup cries after it has been at least 6 hours, at this age pup likely really does need to go potty at that time. I suggest taking pup potty on leash when they wake then if it's been at least six hours since they last went potty outside. Keep the trip calm and boring - no play or treats, then right back to the crate after they go. When you return them to the crate and they initially cry when put in, you have three options at this age. 1. You can either ignore pup barking until its been 6 hours since the last potty trip. Consistency with this is super important. If you let pup out, they will learn to continue crying until let out the next time. For most puppies this means 1-2 hours of barking for a few days until pup learns to just go back to sleep. Some puppies are extra persistent or their are apartment neighbors who complain so this route isn't an option though. 3. Another option is to correct the crying once you return pup to the crate after the potty trip, or if they cry when first put in. 5 months is usually the earliest I would recommend doing this because most puppies will adjust if you are consistent with ignoring the crying when little (although exceptions are certainly out there that need a different approach than ignoring). To correct pup, first, work on teaching the Quiet command during the day using the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, during the day practice the Surprise method from the article linked below. Whenever pup stays quiet in the crate for 5 minutes, sprinkle some treats into the crate without opening it, then leave the room again. As he improves, only give the treats every 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hour, 2, hour, 3 hour. Practice crating him during the day for 1-3 hours each day that you can. If you are home during the day, have lots of 30 minute - 1 hour long sessions with breaks between to practice this, to help pup learn sooner. It sounds like pup probably already is quiet most of the time during the day, so you will mostly just be sprinkling a treat in every 10 minutes at the beginning of this, working up to one treat at the end of 3 hours, just to reinforce pup loving the crate. Whenever he cries in the crate, tell him "Quiet". If he gets quiet - Great! Sprinkle treats in after five minutes if he stays quiet. If he continues barking or stops and starts again, spray a quick puff of air from a pet convincer at his side through the crate while calmly saying "Ah Ah", then leave again. Only use unscented air canisters, DON'T use citronella! And avoid spraying in the face. Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Repeat the rewards when quiet and the corrections whenever he cries. When he cries at night or early morning, after you take pup potty and return them to the crate, or pup cries before 5-6 hours (so you know it's not a potty issue), tell him Quiet, and correct with the pet convincer if he doesn't become quiet and stay quiet. Don't give treats at night/morning though - practice during the day proactively to help pup learn that quiet is good, since you don't want to encourage pup to stay awake in the early morning with treats, but to go back to sleep instead. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden