Crate Training Older Pups...

[ShellyBeggs]

Ok I have finally caved in and bid on 2 crates on ebay.....

I have always been anti-crating but feel my crazy pups (both 9mo) need it. And I need it too!

What changed my mind was that my little aussie has been unwell however doesn't want to be seperated from me or the other dogs and yet the other pup is pesting him a lot. If he felt safe and happy in a crate he wouldn't have to worry about the kelpie jumping on him every 5 minutes to play. He also was very fearful while he stayed at the vets and was a bit snappy at the nurses and some of that may have been that he was crated. AND they have started jumping on me in bed to wake me up at 4am and if I dont get up the wrestle on top of me. Grrrr!

The aussie also panics when I leave him to train the kelpie, my wonderful insturctor (thanks Zed n Q) suggested he might feel safer in a crate where he can still see everything but not worry about strange people/dogs.

I have read previous messages on crate training and they are usually for a small young pup.....these 2 are absolute terrors usually and can't stand being seperated from each other or me. If I bath one, the other is usually in hysterics outside the bathroom door....or when I go to the loo they both sit outside and whine (which means I can't come out until they are quiet....I could have read War & Peace by now).

So any ideas on how I can train 2 very clingy older pups to sleep in their own crates?

How do I teach them which is their own crate?

(and ideas on how I can learn to cope with the idea myself.........I am still cringing and not just at the price - yes guys it is likely me that will have more problems than the dogs)

Also did I get the sizing right.....

A medium for my small Aussie (upto 23kg 30 inches - I am hoping if he gets well he might grow) and a large for my long legged kelpie (upto 35kg and 36 inches)......I can still change it if they are wrong. And they are just to sleep in at night and in the car etc..... I don't want to keep them in the crates when I am not home!

[Reddii]

Hi there,

I crate trained my girl when she was 9 months old and really it was just a matter of doing exactly what everyone says for younger dogs.

As for the clingy thing, I have a similar problem with my two, only it's more about 'jealousy' than being clingy - if one thinks the other is having fun then all hell breaks loose. We are on the way to solving it by ignoring the noise (worse for us than for them) and praising big time when they quieten down. It is a slow process though.

As for teaching them which one is which I just make sure they go in their own crate when I put them to bed. Occasionally if I'm too tired to bother fishing one of them out of the other's crate they'll swap, but it is only for one night then they swap back on their own - go figure.

Initially I had them side by side so that just the 'bars' were between them and they could see each other. Now they are covered seperately with no problems.

Just patience and consistency.

Hope this helsp.

Tony.

ETA - once you've crate trained them you'll never look back, I was anti it until we started dog sport, now I can take them any where and leave them for a while knowing they are safe and can't get in to any trouble.

Edited October 2, 2007 by Reddii

[Sezy]

I trained Cally at about 12 months.

I started off by throwing in 1 or 2 treats and would send her in to get them but leave the door open. When she was ok with this still throw the treats in and then close the door, first for a moment and then build up the time.

At the start I would always feed her in there, give her bones, her kong and anything else that was a good thing for her.

At 4 she still loves her crate and sleeps in there by choice as well.

[Guest Steph & Bam]

I have just started crate training Bam, I got my first crate on friday last week, and my soft crate arrived on monday. I started by feeding Bam in his crate, throwing treats in there randomly, and giving him his bones and pigs ears etc in there. He loves his crates, I can leave him in them for hours now and he just sleeps. He chooses to sleep in there when he's tired too.

ETA: Pics

The Wire Crate:

The Soft Crate:

Edited October 4, 2007 by Steph & Bam