miniizzy

Thanks guys, I think we are just going to do things our own way - take the basic idea of crate training and adapt it to suit us. He slept well again last night, only 1 toilet break apart from just before us going to bed. The real test will come when we start up back at work next week and he has to be left from 7! Getting into a morning routine now to try and ease him into it and we're going to try for 3 and a half to 4 hours on his own today. Hopefully that's too long but I guess they need some tough love every now and then! Also went over to our neighbors to let them know there may be some crying and to see if they could keep an ear out and let me know if it's a lot. Turns out they have a 1 yr old female lab and they want to do play dates! Very happy and especially handy in case I need advice or pep talking! Positive thoughts today! Relax and enjoy him mistakes and all :D Don't know what I would do without this forum, the advice here is fantastic Oh and my photobucket account has locked me out for some reason, photos once I can get it to work!

Thanks buddy1, just did a quick search on youtube and had a look at some people demonstration Susan Garrett's teachings so I will have a look online for a copy :) Good point too about deciding what I want from the crate myself - I guess everyone has different situations and every puppy is different, I have to find what I need from the crate and work towards that. I think I'm with you on this one! I think I just need to relax and work with what works for us instead of trying to recreate what is in the books! How old was your pup when she started sleeping through the night? Did you gradually decrease the number of wee breaks until eventually there were none? Thanks Kavik :D Yes I have started hiding treats in his bedding as well so hopefully that will encourage him to go in randomly in the hopes of finding something good! They are good ideas, I do feed him his meals in there but I have hidden some treats in his bedding in there now and also put his favourite toys in there :) Yes, I think I should use the crate primarily for night time and as a restriction to his inside area when neither of us are home. We will then build up to going into the crate when we are home with lots of training as it would be handy for when we need him out of the way or when he needs to quieten down a bit. Definitely agree with you!! I don't think there is a 'right' way of doing it..you just have to figure out what works and hammer away at it! Thanks guys for all your replies! Think I was too hung up on having the perfect puppy and being the perfect owner! It's good to know it doesn't always happen in such a short amount of time as some books have you believe. Happy to report that he fell asleep on the floor inside, I placed him in his crate with a few treats and shut the door, he plonked off to sleep and I stayed in the room. He woke up about 40 minutes later and I took him out for a wee (which he did very well!) and then we had a good play. Just before going out I hid some treats in his bedding and sat him in it with a pigs ear. Pushed the crate up to the dog door and he didn't even notice he was so busy munching! We were gone for an hour and a half and when we came back he was asleep in the shade on the pavers, still there now. No pees or poos in the crate Very happy so far, and feeling much more relaxed as he seems much happier when he is outdoors, and a happy puppy is a happy Mummy!!

Crate training doesn't mean he has to sleep in the crate every single time he sleeps. As long as he's okay in there when you put him in there. But don't forget - he's only been with you a few days! Sleeping under a tree is also probably a lot cooler than the crate, depending on what's in it and where it is. I tried to make the crate my pups "happy place" but 99.99999% of the time she won't go in there to sleep voluntarily, she decided her den would be under the dining roon table, not the crate. And because I'm more about her being safe and happy rather than sticking to my strict crate training ideas - I let her keep under the table as her happy place. If you were trapped in one spot all night (the crate), would you be likely to go there voluntarily if there were better options available (ie: under a tree or under a table?). My pup is now 5 months old and it really took a lot of work for me to let go of my "I must crate train and I must do this and this and this" and relax a bit. Though I still feel like a failure because she cries and screams if she's crated during the day, even for 1 minute lol edited to add: puppies naturally won't want to toilet where they sleep - it's more about teaching where the appropriate place to toilet is, rather than teaching where NOT to go (in my opinion. some may disagree). Sleeping in a crate when no one is home isn't teaching him where to pee. I think I have read so many books/articles on crate training and the do's and donts that I have become a little bit of a control freak about following things to a tee. My partner and I have to do some grocery shopping today, so will leave him in his crate pushed up against the dog door and see where he ends up. If he keeps going outside I'll just let him sleep where he wants during the day. I guess as long as he goes toilet in the right place (which he seems to be getting an has been doing very well in) then I should just let him be. Thanks guys, having a puppy is much harder then I remember it being!!

Minimax and Megan - I personally don't mind if he sleeps outside during the day, I just thought that would defeat the purpose of crate training so he learns where an appropriate toilet place is and not to soil where he sleeps. I have also read a few posts on here that say young puppies shouldn't be left alone outside unattended because it's not safe? I have fenced off a small section of garden and am heading to bunnings to buy some chicken wire to cover the sandy areas because he has also taken a liking to eating rocks, so am going to cover them up. Maybe I should start leaving him out during the day then and bringing him in when we are home, crate only for night. Edited because I missed out words, I think faster then I can type!

Thanks mumof4girls, that's very helpful. My worry is how he will cope when we go back to work next week. Both of us work all day, we are new to the area and don't really trust our neighbours to let him out halfway through the day, no family and friends that's live close enough to us to come over either and so far we haven't really found a pet sitter that we like the look of in this area either. Our plan was to put the crate with his bedding and a few safe toys up against the dog door which leads out to a sectioned off area of paving and grass. I worry, though, that he doesn't see his crate as his bed even though he sleeps in it ok at night. As soon as we go outside for toilet time he either thinks it's play time with the grass or sleep time on the grass/paving. That makes me think that he could possibly start toileting in his crate during the day instead of on the grass. So far he has been going on the grass each time we take him out though, no accidents in his crate. I thought this was a really good plan until I realized how much he likes outdoors and how he'll choose to fall asleep anywhere BUT the crate. When I go to work I obviously won't be able to watch and correct him like I am know so he could learn some bad behaviours. I am thinking of moving his sectioned off outdoor area to the other side of the back garden which has a large under cover paved area, and then extending it out to include a small run of grass. He can sleep inside at night and come in whwn we are home, but when I'm out maybe buy him a raised bed to go in the sheltered area (the breeder has these in all the kennelsbut the puppies mostly slept under them on the cool ground) in lieu of the crate and dog door and he can stay out there? Or I could confine him to the bathroom with pee pads and his bed and as he gets older hopefully I can move him outdoors when we go out. Only down side is I don't want to confuse him about going to the toilet inside.. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I am becoming so disheartened about my plans possibly not working. It's a bit ridiculous, I know, but I am a worry wart!!

Thanks Bully, definitely good info! Maybe I shouldn't be expecting him to spend time in it apart from sleeping just yet :)

Hi bundyburger, Thanks for your advice. I think I may be putting a bit too much pressure on myself to be honest. It can be quite discouraging to read articles/books on crate training that make it sound so easy. One article said she has practiced positive association with puppies and within a day they are running into the crate for treats, so it makes me wonder what i'm doing wrong! He is a very good puppy, I'm just so worried I will mess it all up by not training him properly!

Hi there, Thanks for your reply. Sorry, I should have said I have been feeding his meals in there. Should I be closing the door while he is eating and leaving him for about 10-15 minutes then taking him straight out to go to the toilet? I agree with you regarding crating them unless you are actively supervising, I think that he would get bored no matter how many toys I put in there and would probably end up with him resenting the crate which is definitely not what I want. I just wasn't sure if it was suitable to let him out in case he doesn't realize he has to hold it until I take him out. In the crate he has to so he doesn't soil his sleeping area but around the living area he could go wherever he chooses if I don't catch him in time (so far I have been). When discussing crate training with someone who has done it with her dog, she said that the crate allows us to control when and where he goes to the toilet until he can himself and that letting him run around with us inside takes away our control. Not sure if I agree with that, but I'm worried he won't 'get it" if I introduce him to too much too soon. I am watching him and taking him out every hour, after sleep, play or a drink/food, but again he just wants to lie down on the pavement, sometimes the grass which he is fascinated with, or lie in his waterbowl (true labrador). Sometimes I don't know if I should just let him lie there or if I should keep picking him up and taking him over to his toilet place until he actually goes then let him fall asleep and carry him into his crate?

Hello all, I was hoping for some advice on building positive associations with the crate for a young puppy. We bought our 9 week old labrador Finn home yesterday, but we are having some problems with creating a positive association with the crate for sleeping, relaxing etc. I have tried the old 'lure him in with a treat and then praise' over and over, but he just doesn't seem interested in food rewarsd(never thought I would say that!) He gets distracted by my feet, the bedding, even the wires on the crate and doesn't seem too interested in getting the food rewards. He also MUCH prefers sleeping outside on the gravel that's in the shade. When I take him out to go to the toilet he just plonks himself down in the shade. Eventually after picking him up and taking him to the grass and using the command word (which I don't think he even notices I'm saying??) he goes to the toilet i make a fuss, scratch his ears, give him a treat every now and then, but he just walks straight past me and lies on the pavement?! Yesterday I picked him up and put him into the crate after he fell asleep (which he did a few times). Today I have practiced the 'bed' command with treats but he doesn't seem all that interested in repeating it once he has a treat, and his reluctance never subsided with each treat and praise. He went outside after lunch and play/training time to go to the toilet, I praised, he lay down and started to fall asleep. I tried luring him into his crate which he eventually got, but then wanted to get straight back out. I ended up giving him a couple of his favorite chew toys and closing the door, staying in the room and saying 'shh' for a few minutes, went about my business so he knew I was still there but he cried for about 10 minutes then settled down for a nap. My main questions after ALL that are: 1) is it acceptable to close them in the crate with a few toys if they start crying or will this form a negative association with the crate? 2) my partner has suggested we buy him an outdoor kennel and see if he prefers to just sleep outside in that and then crate him at night time - while it makes sense if he enjoys it out there, I am worried it will make it hard for me to control where and when he goes to the toilet during the day. 3) are there any really irresistible treats you would recommend? He isn't a fussy eater, has lapped up all his meals so far. I have given him dried liver and also some cut up chicken sticks from purina, I think they're called Ruffs. he isn't all that enthralled by them though. 4) what should I do about him when I am home and he is awake? I have the crating routine down pat for when we go out to work, but when we are at home it seems cruel to make him stay in the crate when he just wants to run around. If I let him run around I cannot control what he is doing if I need to leave the room, but I just can't seem to get him to associate the crate with good things :s Just to clarify - be slept quite well last night in his crate. Put him to bed at 9.30 when he was sleepy. Out at 10.30 for toilet break before we went to bed. And then again at 12.30 and 3.30. Each time he went to the toilet and went into the crate with minimal fuss, about 10 minutes of crying at 10.30 and the same at 3.30. He is now napping in his crate in the same room as me, after about 10 minutes of whining he has been asleep for about 15 minutes. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the awfully long post! Just feeling a bit disheartened, I have done so much research and preparation for crate training but it seems like all the things I've read just aren't happening for us

Hello all, Just popping my head in to introduce myself - we picked up our 9 week old black lab yesterday - his name is Finn :) This forum has come in handy for all my preparation and no doubt it will continue to come in handy for all my niggling questions! ETA - not sure if this was the right place to post, I just went straight to the puppy section!!