# HELP! Puppy , Crate and temper tantrum.



## BeerHunter (Sep 19, 2012)

We just got a new pup. She's 1/2 Lab and 1/2 Golden Retriever. Have had her for about 3 days now. She's 8 weeks old and unfortunately inherited the vocal cords of the Golden Retriever.

We started crate training her and she willingly goes into the crate to play with her toys , munch on treats, sleep etc. Problems arise when we try to close the door to contain her. She has an absolute hissy fit (temper tantrum). It's not that she's alone because the crate is in the living room with us and she can plainly see us. She apparently just doesn't want to be confined and whines and barks..LOUDLY and she can keep it up for ages.

So far all the articles/posts I've read about crate training only go as far as we've gotten and don't address this specific problem.

Tempted to simply leave her in there until she tires herself out but I'm afraid she'll get to resent the crate then. 

Any suggestions?


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## SydTheSpaniel (Feb 12, 2011)

I'm working on crate training my older dog who has separation anxiety. When you close the door, how long do you wait before you give in and open it up? Don't let her out until she's quiet - even if it's a mere few seconds. That way, she'll learn that she has to be quiet before she'll be let out, otherwise she'll continue to cry because she knows that's what gets her out. Do it gradually. And praise and treat every time she does something you like. Praise her for going in the crate, praise her for being calm and quiet.

And also, don't discipline her for being loud, only react to her good behavior!


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## Kjalways (Jan 19, 2013)

I took a different route of creating a smaller space in my bedroom by cutting off most of my room with wood to where he does not have access to a different area that I still utilized. My puppy does not seem like the cave type. He like open space! I leave the radio on or have the cat baby sit him. Ha ha ha!! He still gets upset when I leave him! He act like he was traumatized in my absent. He is a little whiney when I returned as if I saved him from a horrible beast! He is 16 weeks now! He is mostly Chihuahua mixed with Terrier!


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## Erica914 (Sep 11, 2012)

IGNORE HER! They will quiet down. Now some will take longer than others. But if you close the door and she whines and throws a tantrum and then you go to open the door you are teaching her as long as she whines she can have the door open. So the more you do this...the worse it's going to get. So shut the door and ignore her. Watch tv, cook, clean, talk to each other...as long as you don't give her any attention while she's whining. Don't even look at her. Don't talk to her. NOTHING. Then when she stops then give her a treat...or let her out. And after a few times she associates with being quiet to I get to have the cage door open. Or getting treats.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

I would extend the amount of time he stays locked up in the crate gradually. Try just a couple of minutes, and if he's good, unlock, treat. Next, try a few minutes more... again, unlock, treat. And just extend the time gradually  That's what I did with my Meeko. He can be left alone in his crate while I am gone for up to 6-7 hours now. He is also crated at night when we go to bed (well, we live the door open now, but before he used to be crated all night because he wasn't fully potty trained).


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## Highpsi (Dec 20, 2012)

How does she do at night in the crate? (Or I should say do you crate her at night?) We're still crate training our little lab/beagle mix and she is getting used to the crate but she still cries and howls for a bit after we leave the house. I remember the first few days we had her at 8 weeks old and we thought we'd NEVER get any sanity back into our lives again -- wasn't this supposed to be easy and she just goes into the crate and is quiet??  Well, that's a bit exaggerated but you get the point. (Not saying that was your assumption either). 

I think you'll find that TIME is going to be the only real answer. She will get better if you keep working at it. And yes, you'll simply have to ignore her whining and barking for a while. The best idea is to wait after you've played her tired (that shouldn't take too long at only 8 weeks) and when she's getting sleepy, in she goes. Don't let those sleepy opportunities when you are just spending time with her go unused -- we took away the little doggie bed and ANY other area that might be more comfortable for her to sleep than her crate. And the instant she wakes, its out to potty! When she's tired, she probably won't be able to carry on for as long as she would otherwise.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

If she's not taking to the crate well (when the door's shut) try starting with a very short period of time, and very gradually building up.

Also, do you give her anything to do in the crate? Have you tried to give her a kong, stuffed with peanut butter? My dogs didn't like their crates much as puppies, but when we started giving them kongs with peanut butter, they would usually just quietly lay down, and start trying to get all the peanut butter out of the kong....


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## BeerHunter (Sep 19, 2012)

She hasn't been crated at night yet but we're going to have to start. So far , we've been putting her in the crate for her daytime naps (with the door closed) and letting her out as soon as she wakes up and realizes the door is closed but before she starts a tantrum. We leave the door open all day and she does go in and out freely.
One thing that's confusing. Some web sites say to line the crate so she can use one end of it as a bathroom overnight while others say you shouldn't do this.
For us the crate is a temporary stop gap. Someplace to confine the pup until she's well house broken and knows the "rules" of what she can and can't "eat".
Once she's older and the weather breaks (snow goes) , we'll be using the outside dog run to confine her if we have to leave her at home alone for any length of time.
(BTW - we're rural and she gets plenty of exercise).


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## BoxerBabe (Feb 16, 2013)

defenitely ignore her while she is throwing temper tantrums, but i think more importantly you need to only let her out of the crate whens she is calm and relaxed. use her wanting to get out of the crate as motivation


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## Kjalways (Jan 19, 2013)

My puppy rejected the kong with peanut butter. Does crates make every dog happy? My puppy did not like the crate much! He prefer open spaces, while dogs are known as cave or small space dwellers... I don't see that in my puppy! He loves sleeping in my bed and spends most of his time on my bed as his small space. Am I the only one here who choose a different option than a crate? I know a lot of dog owners did not use crates to train their dog. I have crate train a dog once with success. One I confined to the bathroom because it was the right size. This little one, now, is a different story! He's a mama's baby who always want to be with me!!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

When I first got Susie, my Bernese cross, she slept with me from the first day. I am a light sleeper so as soon as I felt her stir, I would get up and take her outside. It was in the summertime so nice weather. She eventually got too big and ended up sleeping on her bed on the floor alongside the bed. She was very easy to housetrain. 

With my smaller dogs, I confine them in a pen with their crate open and a pellet box for them to go in or newspaper or puppy pads down. They also have their food and water in the pen. That is if it is wintertime and too cold and snowy to take a really young puppy outside. In the summertime, I crate them alongside the bed and take them outside when they start stirring around.


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## minnesnowta (Sep 30, 2012)

When I got Cooper, he cried every night for 2 weeks for hours and hours when it was bedtime. I tried everything, putting a piece of my clothing in there, doing meal time in the crate, playing music, the whole nine yards. So finally, for the sake of my sanity, I decided to ditch the crate. Our solution, we got a nice dog bed and put it between our bed and the wall. Then at the foot of the bed I close him in with the crate. So he confined to the length of my bed and about 2 feet in width. It has worked so well for us. Now when you tell Cooper "night-night" he goes straight to his bed and lays down.

(House training was never really an issue for us because he learned so fast, so it wasn't a factor.)


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

i always just stuck mine in there at night (which is the only time they come in) & let they cry it out. they usually like to go in there, so its NP getting them in there, if they dont, i just gentle manuver them in there & say "Let's go to bed." In a happy but not over excited voice


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## jbuck92 (Sep 28, 2011)

When we started crating our first puppy, he would holler and scream just like that, even if we were sitting in the same room. Like others have mentioned, you have to just ignore it and only reward the silence. I'd recommend buying a cheap pair of ear plugs for the time being. If it takes the pup an hour to quiet down... Well, it takes an hour! Eventually she'll get the hang of it!


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

BeerHunter said:


> She hasn't been crated at night yet but we're going to have to start. So far , we've been putting her in the crate for her daytime naps (with the door closed) and letting her out as soon as she wakes up and realizes the door is closed but before she starts a tantrum. We leave the door open all day and she does go in and out freely.
> One thing that's confusing. Some web sites say to line the crate so she can use one end of it as a bathroom overnight while others say you shouldn't do this.
> For us the crate is a temporary stop gap. Someplace to confine the pup until she's well house broken and knows the "rules" of what she can and can't "eat".
> Once she's older and the weather breaks (snow goes) , we'll be using the outside dog run to confine her if we have to leave her at home alone for any length of time.
> (BTW - we're rural and she gets plenty of exercise).


As for the "one thing that's confusing" about lining the crate so she can use one end as a bathroom overnight, I wouldn't do that. If you do that, you are letting her see her crate as a bathroom alternative. Once a dog gets into that habit it's hard to get out of. If she needs to go to the bathroom overnight, set an alarm and take her outside. Lots of us have done it, when our dogs were puppies. And, it doesn't last long. They grow out of the middle of the night trip. But, in my opinion, it's better than letting them go in the crate.

We also only used the crate temporarily, mainly to keep them safe when we couldn't watch them, not for potty training. We occasionally still use them, so they stay comfortable with them, in case they needed to go to the vet, or if we needed to use the crates for travel. Otherwise, they just roam the house free now that they are older!


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## BeerHunter (Sep 19, 2012)

Been following tips and advice and things seem to be progressing. She goes into her crate at night and we're taking turns sleeping on the couch (fairly easy as I'm semi-retired). She will wake us up with a yip or two when she needs out. We take her right outside for her "potty" break , bring her in and put her right back to bed. She settles down again for another 3 hours or so.
We put her in at our supper time. sometimes she yips a while , others she just settles down and waits for us to finish.
really impressed with what she's learning at such a tender young age.
Tiring , but I guess that's all part and parcel of having a now 9 week old pup.


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## Emily Hammond (Jul 29, 2020)

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