Crate/Playpen Issues
As far as not having accidents while in the crate, he's had several during car trips, and just can't seem to hold it in there at all. It's not even that big, just a small one big enough for him to turn around but not one where he has too much room. Anyway, as far as the playpen thing, he doesn't bark when he's in there all the time, just sometimes, but he's just so hyper and won't stop barking, and he's so attached to me that as soon as I leave the room and leave him in his playpen he barks and cries. I have the radio on a "Soft rock" station and it sort of helps but he still cries. Any advice on making the crate a good place to be, and curbing the barking while in the playpen? |
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| I wrote a post about why using crates and when reading your post about Odin I cannot get my head and heart around why even put him there in the first place?!
If he so clearly expresses that he doesn't like to be in a cage why have him there? I wouldn't like to be in a cage myself. What's your purpose for having him there? Y |
| I'm no expert on this at all, I know many others have dogs that love their crates, but I know one of the most important things is consistency. Clyde doesn't like his crate but he does know it's his own little place and that it's not a place for punishment. He sleeps in there at night and during the day while we're at work.
I guess what I'm saying is I think you might either want to crate train completely or don't use the crate at all. He needs to understand that the crate is his place and that not only should he not mess in it, he's not being locked up because he's in trouble. It sounds like the problems that you're having are happening because he's just not used to it and really doesn't know how to behave in it since he doesn't really spend a lot of time in there. Even though it seems silly to put him in there if you're home and stuff, it gets him comfortable with using it. That's what we did with Clyde to introduce him to it and, like I said, he doesn't love it, but being in there keeps him safe and now he treats like his own place. |
Fnissa wrote: I wrote a post about why using crates and when reading your post about Odin I cannot get my head and heart around why even put him there in the first place?!
If he so clearly expresses that he doesn't like to be in a cage why have him there? I wouldn't like to be in a cage myself. What's your purpose for having him there? Y He spends very little time in his crate. I have him in there when I'm cleaning out his pen area, etc..most people have their dogs in crates at some point or another, I don't think it's really that cruel. But like I said, I'm not really crate training him because he hates it. The only time he doesn't mind being in there is when we're in the car. He's in the pen overnight because just letting him have the run of my room was only leading to frequent accidents all over my wood floor. Not to mention him chewing *everything* from my bedsheets to cd cases. o_O And anybody with wood floors should know how the urine soaks into the cracks and is hard to get rid of.  When we moved into the house the previous owners that lived there must have had a dog in my room because there was a really bad urine smell from the floors. Letting him do whatever he wants was just really stressing me out, and the playpen area helps a lot when I have to do chores and sleep, etc. I wish I could let him roam all day but it's not really possible. All puppies have to be left alone at some point, in a confined area. Many people use blocked off rooms like kitchens, bathrooms etc, but I'm worried what would happen to the rooms while we're gone. That's why he's in the playpen while we're not home, but we're never gone that long. My family and I all give him plenty of attention when we get home and I think he's doing fine so far.
ButtersStotch: Thanks for the advice, though I'm really not sure I'll try to crate train him at all at this point..he just cries so much and I feel so bad even for leaving him in there for all of two minutes. |
Flare and Odin  ! ( the swedish/norwegian God!)
First off I have to ask what a playpen; pen area, is because I do not understand the word but imagine some kind of fenced area? Is that right? I have wrote some posts about this in different threads now but I want to say that even though I can understand that there are floors one do not want to get peed in I can see that that are solutions to that since the housebrokentraining is just for a short while and that the positive effects on letting the dog know that it is not caged are much more than the other way around. If I were you I would definitely listen to Odin when he talks to your heart telling you that the crate is not for him!  |
Fnissa wrote: Flare and Odin
! ( the swedish/norwegian God!)First off I have to ask what a playpen; pen area, is because I do not understand the word but imagine some kind of fenced area? Is that right? I have wrote some posts about this in different threads now but I want to say that even though I can understand that there are floors one do not want to get peed in I can see that that are solutions to that since the housebrokentraining is just for a short while and that the positive effects on letting the dog know that it is not caged are much more than the other way around. If I were you I would definitely listen to Odin when he talks to your heart telling you that the crate is not for him! Heehee..Yeah, my boyfriend suggested the name Odin like the God and I thought it was a really cool name and it suits him. The playpen is just a fenced in area, yes. They're the kind that expand to make different shapes. One has a little door that has two locks and the other locks with clips. They can be used indoors or outdoors but I only use mine indoors. Odin spends more time out of the playpen then in it. Mostly it's a safe place for him while I'm sleeping or when he can't be watched. I do listen to him when he barks and cries, and that is why I'm not crate training him. The crate is only used once in a while, I think that's how he prefers it. |
| Hi Flare and Odin! We are in the same position you are. Bailey is 11 weeks old and has been with us for 1 week. We started with a fenced in "playpen" in the kitchen, but on day 6 Bailey learned how to jump out of the playpen! So we got a crate. He's fine with the crate during the day if I have to go out and run errands. But he doesn't like being in the crate at night. This has more to do with the fact that Bailey is nocturnal - he sleeps all day and wants to play at night If we leave him out of the crate he comes in and wakes us up so he can play with us. I sure hope he gets on my schedule soon. Because my boss won't appreciate it if I adapt to Bailey's schedule! |
| Hi Flare, I can really relate to what you are going through, it is such an adjustment. The first week that Max was home with us, I did not use a crate (as my breeder told me these dogs don't need crates). Well, after one week my husband and I looked at each other and said "Get the crate". Max was chewing everything in the kitchen (we gated the kitchen) and I constantly was giving him appropriate toys. But I didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone in the kitchen if I had to run errands. So we began crate training and things have worked beautifully. Our dog is happy, and I sleep well at night. Max sleeps for 7 hours now without going outside (he's 14 weeks old). He's out of his crate most of the time during the day. He usually naps from 11 am to 1:30 pm, so I put him in the crate for his nap and I get things done or run errands. The rest of the time he's playing with us inside or we play outside, he rarely has an accident in the house. This whole experience reminds me of when my kids were little, they napped in a crib, and I put them in a playpen when I couldn't have them roaming around, but wanted to keep an eye on them. I figure eventually Max will grow up just like my kids did and he'll definitely not have suffered at all. I'm much more patient with Max because I can get a break everyday and not worry about the havoc he could be getting into!!
Good luck, Sharon  |
| Lol. I'm definitely not a pusher of crate training-- in fact, that's why I did offer the advice. I really do think it's an almost all or nothing thing. If you can keep him out, go for it! If I could do the same, I would too. I use the crate because it keeps him safe and gives him a place of his own. However, if my house wasn't such an open floor plan (I don't have a doorway less than 15 feet wide), I would confine him to an area instead. Good luck! |
| When crate training, the key is to make it a fun experience. It's natural that your pup may not want to be separated from you, specially given the velcro nature of the OES. Play some games where the idea is to go inside the crate to get a reward, and offer him treats and fun activites while inside.
Start by encouraging him to go inside with the door open, make a big fuzz over going in and NONE for going out. Keep his toys inside the crate and allow him to play with them inside. Start increasing the time he stays inside, them close the door while you sit next to the crate, talk to your pup and make him fell safe. Later on, you can leave him for longer and longer periods of time until he gets used to staying in the crate. Just remember the hold rule for pups: Your pup will hold it for the same amount of hours as his age in months until the 12 or 14 months, so plan trips at lunchtime or have someone walk him to relieve if you cannot be there. Hope the tips work... Puppies should not be given full roam of the house until they are about 10 months old or so, they are too curious and like to bite on unsafe things like cables, furniture, walls, rugs and many other things. |
| How are things going Flare ? |
Willowsprite wrote: How are things going Flare ?
Well I've decided not to crate train him. We keep him in the playpen when he can't be supervised and when I'm sleeping. The one we have downstairs is a little smaller though and he's getting so big that soon he'll be able to jump outta there. He still cries when I leave him in the downstairs playpen, or if I leave my bedroom for one minute when he's in the one upstairs playpen. Even if we're just eating dinner in the adjoining kitchen. I guess it's that sheepdog thing of wanting the family all in one room. As he gets bigger we'll be making the guestroom his room. We'll need to use our bigger crate soon because he's quickly outgrowing the one he came with. |
| Flare, how old is Odin? I was just looking back at my post from last Monday and I can't believe how much improvement we've seen in Bailey in just 10 days. We got some special, super smelly, steak shaped treats that Bailey gets whenever he goes into his crate so he actually looks forward to getting in the crate so he can get his treat. He has an equally super smelly blanket in the crate that he cuddles with - I'm afraid to wash it and ruin the crate ambiance! We leave the doors to the crate open when we're home and use it as the storage place for his toys, so he wanders in and out of there whenever he feels like playing with something different. And covering half of the crate with beach towels really seemed to help, it gave the crate that "den" feeling that he seems to like. He stays in his crate now from 10pm to 5:30am without barking. Sometimes we can hear him moving around and playing, but he doesn't bark for us. And he has to stay in the crate when I'm out of the house on business, but on days when I have meetings we have a dog sitter come in mid-day and take him out for a walk and some playtime. Our goal is to put a doggie door in and get rid of the crate at some point, but at 3 months he's still chewing and eating things that could hurt him, so much as I hate to leave him in the crate I know it's the safest place for him.
Sue |
Bailey's Mom wrote: Flare, how old is Odin?
Sue He'll be 11 weeks on friday.  |
| Bailey will be 13 weeks on Saturday. Odin is the same age Bailey was when he started jumping out of his pen. LOL! I guess you have that to look forward to!
But that brings up another question - Bailey has learned to go up the stairs but not to come down the stairs. Can Odin get down the stairs alone? |
Bailey's Mom wrote: Bailey will be 13 weeks on Saturday. Odin is the same age Bailey was when he started jumping out of his pen. LOL! I guess you have that to look forward to!
But that brings up another question - Bailey has learned to go up the stairs but not to come down the stairs. Can Odin get down the stairs alone? Heehee...He's almost as tall as the downstairs pen so I foresee that happening soon, the other is much taller though. Odin's only gone down the step connecting the kitchen to the family room. He went up almost right away, but going down it took him a little longer. We try to get him to go down the back patio steps-at least one anyway but he's more afraid of those. He did climb one of the steps leading to upstairs once, in an effort to velcro me while I was upstairs putting away laundry. But other than that he hasn't tried to conquer the stairs yet, I think that's better though. I'd be worried about him hurting himself |
Quote: When I put Odin in his crate just for a few minutes, he goes totally psycho; barking, whining, and scratching at the door. I admit I'm not crate training him..he just hates the crate. The only time he likes it is when we take rides in the car, he's a great car dog. We keep him in a puppy playpen area when he can't be supervised and this is where he sleeps at night. He seems to do ok most of the time, but sometimes he just acts completely nuts and doesn't wanna be in there. I really did try the crate thing the first few nights but he kept shifting positions, and crying and barking. So then I let him sleep next to my bed out of the crate, and he was fairly good there, but it let him just have accidents all over the place. So now he's kept in his playpen at night, and when we can't watch him-during the day, when I do chores around the house, etc.
He probably doesn't like being seperated from you. Try this: take some yummy treats (liver ones work really well, even BilJac) and place them in the crate. The first few days, just let him eat them without going into the crate. After a few days, lure him into the crate with treats, then close the door. Once the door is closed, hand him a few more and stay close to the crate, doing something. Do this daily, and slowly move away from the crate each day. |
| I actually taught Clyde to go up the stairs because the first month that we got him, I caught pneumonia and my bedroom is on the second floor. It was easier to just keep him with me than have to crate him or worry about him. He was pretty scared at first so I put a treat on each step and he ate his way up. However, he didn't learn to go down until about three weeks later and it was the funniest thing ever. He looked like he was drunk! He'd put his butt up against the wall and take each step super slow, hugging the wall the whole way. Sometimes he would just stop in the middle and lie down, like it was this huge undertaking. He was so slow and cautious I never even had to worry about him hurting himself. Today (at 7 months) he was chasing me and-no exaggeration- went down 11 steps in two giant leaps. He slid on his belly in between leap one and two a little. It was like nothing I had ever seen before! Ironically, now that he's older, I have to worry about him more! |
| They are dogs not people! your dog will never listen to you now. They are den animals by nature they feel secure in their own space. You are insecure about how to train your dog and so he senses that and cries when your away doesn't know how to be alone. |
| Guest, that was a liitle harsh. Please be nice. |
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