Sudden Crate Reluctance

[persephone]

have you measured her .., lying on her side .....nose to stretched out tail tip ?

if the crate is even a bit shorter than that .. then it may not be as comfortable as it could be ..and is it plenty wide enough for her to turn around easily? No doubt she's grown ..and possibly still is ..and dachsies have very long backs to accomodate/bend ;)

have a look at bedding etc .

if a dog gets zapped with static electricity .. they will NOT want to go near the source again ..it will also make them wake up and want OUT .

synthetic bedding.. a rubbing dog ..a soft crate ,or extra bedding .. and there may be a "ZAP" problem

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Apart from bed time, is she going in this crate every day, during the day? If so, how many hours on average per day is she going in there?

It may well seem like a prison to a young dog who wants to run and play. Why can't she go outside? Why not use a litter tray on the concrete or a bit of faux grass? If she toilets on the concrete you can clean it up - use bicarb of soda sprinkled followed by vinegar and then clean up with disinfectant.

By the way, I do have crates and I use them but I work and am out for 8+ hours a day, I do know some owners who put their animals in crates whilst they are out and I don't consider this a normal life for a dog.

[Puppybella]

So over the weekend I did a bit of positive association with the crate, which was good at the time, but didn't seem to help much with bedtime reluctance. I also shifted the position of the crate, which also did nothing for the bedtime reluctance but maybe helped for the morning barking.

I also really don't think size/comfort of the crate is the issue, she has plenty of room to curl up/turn/lie straight, and has comfy appropriate bedding depending on the weather (no new/change of bedding is associated with the reluctance).

During the day she is hardly crated at all, like I said occasionally for a few hours, but checking with other family members it might be a half hour every now and again. Otherwise she gets the run of the yard/house and gets walked and played with so she gets plenty of exercise.

I think that it's probably just a phase, just like her 'play barking at night for 3 months' phase. Whilst it would be lovely to have an 'in your crate' command, with her I think it's highly unlikely. I also have the advantage of being able to put her in there despite her reluctance, since she is comfy, fed, toileted, healthy, no pain, otherwise happy, she just needs to deal with the fact that it's bedtime now.

Thanks for your input :)