muffinmclay

I will - your advice of patience has worked so far! It is just hard because I feel terrible that my poor husband gets no sleep an my poor dog is not happy! I'll report back in a day or two. Hopefully other forum readers with a similar problem will benefit from knowing whether the virtue of patience is worthwhile!

We have been doing the short term confinement in the crate during the day for up to 1 hr, as Dunbar recommends. Then when I have to go out, he goes to his long term confinement area (bathroom) with his crate (door open obviously), a bowl of water, some toys and a one of those absorbent pee pad things. I have to say, i channeled the grasshopper yesterday and exercised extreme patience, and today he is much happier to be in his crate for up to an hour for a sleep during the day. He whines for about 10-20 seconds, then just lays down and accepts it and has a snooze. Now my problem is that when he is in the bathroom for his long-term confinement, he barks and whines THE WHOLE TIME! Today, my husband was asleep at the other end of the house (night shift worker) and said he carried on for 3 hours - barking for 5 mins, quiet for 5 mins, barking again and so on. What can I do about this? Do I just need a bigger dose of patience and hope that he just eventually stops?

I just have to say, i really appreciate you all taking the time to respond - i wasn't expecting anyone to care! I am off to the pet shop this afternoon to see if I can get a wire crate (my husband is going to murder me - i spent $160 on the crate i've got - anyone want to buy a hardly used crate *lol*). Pup had two good sleeps in the crate today while I either lay on the lounge on the other side of the room or worked on the computer in another room. After an initial 20 mins each time of fierce yapping, he quitened down and slept for about an hour before waking and whining to be let out. I waited till he was quiet, took him outside for a pee and then had a play. I know i'm supposed to use the crate not only for sleeping but also for chewing toys, but he isn't interested in doing much chewing at the moment - seems to want to just pee and sleep. He doesn't even really eat that much. We have him on what the breeder was feeding, which is the science diet puppy biscuits three times a day but he barely eats half of his recommended daily amount. Should I be worried? Questions, questions, questions - i dont think i asked this many when my kids were babies!

It still sucks! I tried feeding him his lunch in there, but he just went in, took a mouthful of biscuits, came out and spat them out on the floor and ate them there. He really isn't very interested in toys or treats, so that doesn't work. If I leave the door open and put all his toys/food in there he just chooses to ignore the toys and food anyway. I waited till he was quiet for 1 min, then let him out for a pat and then put him back in. Did 1 min again, then 2 mins, then 3 mins. Each time i put him back in he barks for 10 mins before he is quiet - isn't he supposed to bark for less time?

When he stops barking for 30s, let him out. Ok - he stopped - i waited one min, then let him out. We went outside, he peed, we played - it's been about 30 mins and he's flopped out on the floor next to me. My next plan was to give him his lunch in the crate then pee/poo again and another sleep. Am I on the right track?

He is being exercised for approx 30 minutes after he wakes and pees. I try to get him to run around and play, but after about 30 mins he just flops out on the floor so i'm assuming he has had enough. We have a ball he likes, and he loves the rope toys so we play chasies etc with these. I never thought about setting the alarm at night - thanks! Also, i think I might have bought the wrong crate. It seems to be an ok size - he hasn't peed in it and definately has enough room to move around. But it is one of those soft collapsable ones and he bites it when frustrated. Do you think i should get a wire one? So he just had a 30 min sleep in the crate, then woke and whined so I waited approx 30 seconds then took him outside for a pee, but he didn't do anything and just lay down on the grass so after 3 mins I brought him back in and put him back in the crate again, with the idea that after another 15 mins i'll take him back out again. Is this the right thing to do? Of course, he is now barking his head off...

We brought our 9 week old labrador pup home on Sunday and had a crate & lots of kongs/chew toys at the ready. For the past two days, every time he is put in the crate he howls and wines and barks non stop for up to 30 mins, when he then lies down and sleeps for 10 mins and then the crying starts again. We've tried rewarding him when he is quiet, but any attention we pay to him just makes him start again. Just now he is asleep in the crate (finally) but the phone rang and as soon as I got up he started again and is still going. He is soooo not interested in any of the hundreds of chew toys he has - we have stuffed kongs with things like cooked bacon, cheese, kibble, liver treats and cooked sausage, rawhide bones, pigs ears, rope toys, nylabones - no interest!!! I am at my wits end - very tempted to just give up this crate thing and let him be where he wants. Only problem with that is that he then pees on the floor. We have done everything according to Dr Ian Dunbar's books and can't figure out what else to do! He is fed, watered, well exercised and has peed/pooped before he is placed in the crate. We pack the toys in there, with a t-shirt with my scent on it and even a heat pack. AM I INSANE? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? The only good thing is that we put him in the crate next to the bed at night, and he only whines to go out to the toilet - usually twice a night (about every 3 hrs). Do I just let him do his thing during the day and crate him at night, and follow him around every waking moment waiting for him to need to pee? I have to go to work tomorrow (i've had a few days off) and he will be put in a long term confinement area for approx 4 hrs, but i'm so worried that he will just cry the whole time. I really want him to get used to his own company and to be comfortable for short/longer periods on his own. Sorry for the long winded post - i've looked everywhere on this site and others and can't find an answer to my problem.