Crate Training

[buckley rog]

Hi,

We have been trying to crate train our 5month golden retriever. When he was younger he would happily play and sleep in his crate with the door closed (given kongs, chew toys etc). Now he is a bit older he refuses to be in there if the door is closed. Will bark and carry on (he has a very loud bark). THis is at night time too so it is hard to ignore.

He will go in his crate and sleep/chew if the door is open. He has been sleeping in our room on a bed/mat which he stays on all night but we would prefer him to start sleeping in the crate again with the door shut (which is also in our room). Last night he just chose to alternate between the crate and his mat...

Not sure where to go from here. I think he could possibly be getting to hot in his crate?

[luvsdogs]

Is it big enough for him or has he grown out of it?

[Christina]

Why does he need to be locked in a crate ?

If he is good sleeping in there with the door open or on the mat I can't see the problem.

[jamesanddean]

We crate trained our Golden Retriever and didn't experience this specific issue, but my comments would be to check firstly he has enough space in the crate but obviously not too much. It could be that he is getting too hot. Our GR (who is now 3) will move from our bed to his own bed by the sliding door (which is open on hot nights) or to the floorboards outside the bedroom which are cooler.

If he is sleeping on his mat and/or moving between the crate and his mat and you are not having any issues with this I would encourage you to keep doing it and not worry about crating him all night. If you are not making him stay in there he will be more likely to go in on his own accord. As he gets older he will become easier to manage and his behaviour will be more reliable and consistent.

He could also just be going through a rebellious stage and challenging you on everything he doesn't want to do. You could persevere and make him sleep in there but you may have to be strong for a long time and put up with his barking. If it was me I would give him the freedom to come and go from the crate and his mat as he sounds like he has the hang of it now and he is not getting up to mischief during the night. Good luck!

[Guest belgian.blue]

My Pointer was the same at that age, he went from being perfect in the crate to hating it in there. I kept ignoring him and giving him nice things to do in there in the afternoon, say after a big play/walk.

Then letting him out for the evening, another big play and back to bed in the crate.

Now at nearly 10 months old, he loves his crate. Puts himself to bed and doesn't say a word! Even when he wakes up. he lays there and waits to be let out.

So I'd say put him in the crate in the afternoon with a yummy kong, for half an hour, let him out to play some more and he should soon learn to be happy again.

Also make sure it isn't too small for him.

[GoldenGirl85]

I had similar trouble with my Goldie at that age, I bought her an adult sized crate but because she was so tiny I put a divider in the middle, one day I decided to try taking out the divider and she went straight in, Ive never had trouble since

What size crate do you have for him? I have a 36" for Lexi, but she is also small for a Golden

[buckley rog]

I had similar trouble with my Goldie at that age, I bought her an adult sized crate but because she was so tiny I put a divider in the middle, one day I decided to try taking out the divider and she went straight in, Ive never had trouble since

What size crate do you have for him? I have a 36" for Lexi, but she is also small for a Golden

He is in a XLarge wire crate large enough for an Adult golden (he is a larger puppy). He will happily go in there of his own accord just hates the door being shut. We give him chew toys, kongs, bones etc in there, also if we give him something outside of the crate ie pig ear he will carry it in to the crate to eat it even when the crate is in another room.

Guess I was just worry as I know he should be confined at times. But he seems to be pretty well behaved outside of the crate.. and will go in there when he wants alone time. Is it ok to give him that much freedom?

[Christina]

I had similar trouble with my Goldie at that age, I bought her an adult sized crate but because she was so tiny I put a divider in the middle, one day I decided to try taking out the divider and she went straight in, Ive never had trouble since

What size crate do you have for him? I have a 36" for Lexi, but she is also small for a Golden

Guess I was just worry as I know he should be confined at times. But he seems to be pretty well behaved outside of the crate.. and will go in there when he wants alone time. Is it ok to give him that much freedom?

Its ok to give him total freedom.

Dogs do not lead a normal life living in a crate.

He may have to be confined at times, illness, small child pest visitors, workmen etc or if he is a stud or show dog.

Should be confined does not come into it really. He only needs to be comfortable going in a crate in case you have to ever crate him for a particular reason.

Pet dogs do not need to go in a crate because they should be confined, they shouldn't be unless there is a reason or issue.

There is no such thing as too much freedom. No discipline is another matter but discipline isn't reliant on a crate.

Edited December 17, 2010 by Christina

[OSoSwift]

Your dog doesn't have to be crated as such. However it makes life much easier if your dog is used to being confined and he needs to be down the track.

I have seen some very stressed dogs and people when they suddenly have a dog that need to be crated to recover from orthapedic surgery or a cruciate repair or similar. They are also much less likely to stress at the vets if they need to be left there as they will be in a crate sized cage.

Teach him now, refresh him from time to time and if it is needed then it won't be stressful when he really needs to be relaxed while trying to recover from something.