Kobi'sDaisy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Hi everybody, we have a 11 week old Hungarian Vizsla who has been making leaps and bounds every day but from day one has always had a problem with his crate. At the start he couldn't even have the door closed even when we were right next to him now he sleeps in there OK until last night! He's never really cried at night, last night it lasted hours after ever time he work up I have no idea why! It's in the laundry which is at a nice temp and there is always a toy or two to keep him company on a bed and a blanket. We try to put him in there for naps during the day as he never goes in there by himself and have tried to make the area fun but he always wants to be where we are (a good trait of the dogs) anyone with velcro dogs had this problem? How have you overcome it? thanks in advance and looking forward to more sleep tomorrow night! Edited February 23, 2011 by Daisy85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi everybody, we have a 11 week old Hungarian Vizsla who has been making leaps and bounds every day but from day one has always had a problem with his crate. At the start he couldn't even have the door closed even when we were right next to him now he sleeps in there OK until last night! He's never really cried at night, last night it lasted hours after ever time he work up I have no idea why! It's in the laundry which is at a nice temp and there is always a toy or two to keep him company on a bed and a blanket. We try to put him in there for naps during the day as he never goes in there by himself and have tried to make the area fun but he always wants to be where we are (a good trait of the dogs) anyone with velcro dogs had this problem? How have you overcome it? thanks in advance and looking forward to more sleep tomorrow night! Move the crate to your bedroom! My guess is that its the social isolation that's upsetting him as much as the confinement. If that's not possible, move the crate to where you spend most of the time - the living area. You want it to be a place he can find and use when you're chilling out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 His crate needs to be a good spot. It should be where he gets fed , where he gets treats , etc. You also need to learn how to let him cope by himself. I am not a fan of velcro dogs , if it means they suffer when left alone Give him a safe big bone ..leave him alone .... feed him ...don't hover . Give him a puppy kong with treats... leave him alone...either outside, or in his crate .Not for hours... but totally alone .. no talking/watching for 10 minutes or so to start with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I had issues with my weimaraner and crate training when she was a pup. She would work herself up and my OH was always concerned about the neighbours so we had to try something else. She is quite happy to go into her crate during the day if it's open and she loves her crate at shows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Have you tried crate games? Another member with an 11 weeks Viz (maybe the litter brother) did this with theirs although from memory she did say he was happy in his crate before hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 11 weeks still seems pretty young to me. My girl came to us at 12 weeks and I didn't move the crate out of our bedroom until about 16 weeks. Putting a big soft bed in there also helped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundyburger Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi everybody, we have a 11 week old Hungarian Vizsla who has been making leaps and bounds every day but from day one has always had a problem with his crate. At the start he couldn't even have the door closed even when we were right next to him now he sleeps in there OK until last night! He's never really cried at night, last night it lasted hours after ever time he work up I have no idea why! It's in the laundry which is at a nice temp and there is always a toy or two to keep him company on a bed and a blanket. We try to put him in there for naps during the day as he never goes in there by himself and have tried to make the area fun but he always wants to be where we are (a good trait of the dogs) anyone with velcro dogs had this problem? How have you overcome it? thanks in advance and looking forward to more sleep tomorrow night! Move him to your bedroom. Vizsla's need to be near their people. Our pup screamed his heart out when he was in the lounge room. We moved him to the bedroom and he was fine... A few months later, we tried again and had the same problem... So now he just stays in our room... Wouldn't have it any other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 We're crate training at the moment too. To avoid developing any separation issues from the start, we have crates set up in each of the main rooms we use during the day and one in our bedroom at night. Our dogs sleep in the bedroom with us (in their own bed) and the pup has had his own crate in there from the first night. We've found that by making the crate a wonderful place to be using the ideas other posters have suggested, the pup is eager to go in there and when we move about the house, the pup moves from crate to crate too. Yes it's a hassle to start with but he'll eventually graduate to beds or his 'spot' and we'll end up with another well adjusted dog. For now, he is more than happy to be in there, as long as he's with us. The crate acts as his place to go to and we can reinforce him staying there by closing the door if he looks like he wont stay there by himself. By using this method we are not setting him up to fail, something that could happen if he were free rein to run loose in the house without supervision. We are now starting the process of leaving the room for short periods while he remains behind in the closed crate. At first it was only 10 seconds, then 30 seconds but now we are up to a couple of hours without a whimper. Each time we return to the room, we initially ignore the pup and act as if everything is completely normal, waiting until he is settled and calm before we open the door again. That way he wont associate us returning with him coming out. In time, the crate in the bedroom will be replaced with a big dog's bed, the lounge crate will go and he will graduate to the Lofa with the other dogs and for the other rooms, he will learn to chill out in his own special spot. A few questions: Have you tried lures to get him to go into the crate in the first place? Some DOLers are not a fan of this but I figure that if you can get the dog to do a behaviour because he wants to and then reward for it, why not? We asked our breeder to assist with crate training as we wanted him to see it as a happy place because he had a 52 hour flight ahead of him in it. Our breeder used our pup's favourite toy as a lure to start with. During play time over a few days, she threw the toy next to the crate opening. Then she threw the toy just inside the crate, then right inside. Then she always put the toy in there. From luring the pup into the crate in an excitable state, he would then look to the crate to find his toy and over time, withdrew to the crate to chew on it and eventually fall asleep in there. Can you use a toy or his dinner as a lure so that he really wants to go in there? Is there a reason the dog cant sleep in his crate in your room to start with? Is it your long term goal to have the dog sleep in the laundry? If so, you could start out with the crate next to your bed and gradually move it towards the laundry, or another way is to set up a bed for you next to his laundry crate and over a few nights (using your dog's reaction as a guide), slowely move your bed away from his crate until you are outside the room. Not a comfortable option for you in the short term but it can have years of benefit if done right. Are you able to set up temporary crates in the main rooms in your house? In time, you can reduce the number of crates or even swap them for beds if you wish but for now it will give him a familiar space in each room that has amazing treats he can enjoy and still be able to see you. If you have a home office, can you set up a crate right next to your desk to start with? That way your pup can be in his crate right next to you to start with and you can give him lots of praise every time he is calm in there. Once he is comfortable in the crate next to you, slowely move the crate over to another part of the room. That way he is still with you, getting praise for calm behaviour in the crate but he will not be under your feet. In time, swap the crate for the blanket that is currently in the crate. Hope this helps. If it's as clear as mud, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobi'sDaisy Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Thanks everyone for the great replies ill let you know where im at with a few things.. Unfortunately we are in a rental where he is not allowed in the front of the house the laundry is fine as its fully tiled and we have been letting him in the lounge room/kitchen supervised only. He has a bed in the lounge as well which he is happy to have naps on whenever. But we are unable to have the crate in the lounge, although I might have to try and negotiate with the real estate if this continues! We do leave him for an 1-4 hours a day when at work which he stays and sleeps in the crate fine. He is not very toy orientated they interest him for a minute or two or not at all even stuffed kongs!! and have tried to lure him in there with a toy but does not work. We are now feeding him TOT style as i was hoping it to help with structure and help with the crying when trying to get what he wants. In the future we are happy for him to sleep in the lounge, even the bedroom if we were in a house that would allow, just thought it would be easier from day one to have him where we expect him to be for a while. As i said he had been going really well the first few weeks, seems to be getting worse, maybe the attachment and velcro-ness is getting stronger? The multiple crate seem a great idea, just a little expensive! First dog for us so only one crate plus another "daybed" These problems are really just at night lately i will try some crate games with him to see how he goes just wish i could get him to learn to amuse himself more, usually just sleeps when we're not there if he could do that perhaps he would like the crate more.. At least its not barking! Thanks again everyone, its really good to vent a terrible nights sleep to people that understand and get some GREAT ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 he is only 11 weeks old.... sleeping is still a BIG part of his needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 How is the landlord going to know if you only let him up the front to sleep in his crate? Put something yummy in his crate when you put him in there. Definitely recommend crate games. http://www.clickerdogs.com/crate_games.php I think Agilityclick.com sell it in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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