# New Puppy - Cries in crate and when I leave



## ktyk (Aug 11, 2011)

My husband and I just got a new puppy from the humane society. He is around 10 weeks old. They told us he was a lab/retriever mix but the vet things that he has little hound in him. The humane society is unsure because he was a part of a litter of stray puppies. We got him five days ago and he is amazing and great. We have been fortunate that he has not chewed on any furniture however he is exploring and does try to chew on anything fabric. He is learning the word "No" and will usually stop after one to two "No"s. He is pretty much potty trained already with only a few accidents some may be due to marking territory because of the smells of a previous dog the that my husband had. He knows where the door is and goes there regularly. He is great with playing, loves his toys, loves new people and new dogs and learned the command "Sit" with in two days. I do have a few concerns and my husband and I cannot agree. I have a background in Behavior Training (ABA) because of my work with children with autism but my husband could use a little work when it comes to training. 

Two issues I have are one Chief, our puppy's name, eat every thing outside, flowers, rocks, sticks, dirt, grass, anything. I was just wondering what is the solution to getting him to stop. He does let me take them out of his mouth and he is responding to No but he still tried more often then not. He does try to chew on some things in home like blankets, electrical cords, long hair, and pillows but he does stop after I say no a few times. I have tried Bitter Apple and there is no effect, he actually seemed to enjoy it. After spraying it on an item and he kept licking it. I tried spraying it on my fingers and sure enough he licked it from there as well. Any suggestions?

My next concern is his anxiety about being in a crate and being left alone. The first night we had him sleep in his crate and he did okay. It is in the basement, we played with him near it, give him treats in it, he went in there no problem. We shut the door and he cried. I knew from previous experience with my family dog when I was younger that this is normal. We left him alone and he stopped within twenty minutes. When we let him out he did pee in the crate. I tried this again the next night and he fell asleep after about 45 minutes of crying and woke up two hours later and cried for about an hour. I know I probably shouldn't have but I went down there opened up the crate. I let him out to go potty and he wouldn't go. I went back to put him in the crate. It took some encouragement with treats but he went in on his own and I was able to shut the door. The crying continued. I went downstairs made up a little bed next to him and he still was freaking out. Opened up the crate he crawled out laid down on my makeshift bed curled up fell right to sleep. I brought him upstairs put him on his pillow and I laid on the couch and he slept through the night. I talked to the Vet and he suggested that we put the crate in our room. (I should mention I was alone with him the second night because my husband is a firefighter). My husband at first wasn't to sure of the idea plus we didn't want to bring the big crate up stairs and when we crate him when we leave we didn't want him upstairs in our room because it tends to get hot up there. Our goal is to only use the crate for when we are not home. So we did the same thing that I did the night before. This night he cried for three hours off and on (about every twenty minutes). I was exhausted from the night before so my husband goes down feeling horrible makes a make shift bed and Chief crawls out and curls up next to him and sleeps through the night. So we bought a crate for up stairs. Chief loved it. He took a nap in and played in it but when it came time to close the door he cried again, I turned off the light for bed and he peed. So we fixed that problem by tethering him to the crate at night and he sleeps on his pillow and he does great. Only waking up once to go out. The problem is solved. By husband still rather have him sleep on the bed. My goal is to eventually remove the tether but I have to know that he won't chew on anything. Any suggestions on how to explain to my husband that once our 9 lb dog becomes 50 lb dog it won't be so fun having him sleep on the bed and once he is use to sleeping on the bed he will not want to sleep on the floor?

Next thing and final thing, is now that we use the crate to keep him safe while I leave. He cried and pees in it every time. Then he continues to whine for about 20 minutes after I get home and let him out. He follows me everywhere and I can't even leave him for a few minutes outside by himself. Is this him just being a puppy and he will grow out of it and get used to us leaving or is this a concern? I feel like I have two options: to fully follow through and crate train Chief (Husband does not like this because he doesn't want to put him in his crate forever just until he is house trained) or instead of putting him in a crate, leave his crate where it is downstairs but just put a gate up and keep him in a small downstairs mudroom. My husband does not like this idea either because he thinks that Chief will chew on the wood paneling or wood doors. Because I am the one leaving Chief most of the time because my husband is usually gone first and I usually return first. It breaks my heart especially since Chief cries even after I am home.

I don't think my husband fully understands training. He thinks that Chief will just get use to it and I don't think he will. I am the one that read all the information about how to train. I am the one doing a majority of the training and I am with Chief a majority of the time.

Any suggestions? 

Sorry for the long first post. I have a great puppy that is trainable....I have a great husband that could use a little training


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

For problem one, eating things, it is a puppy thing, they test things with their mouths and all I have found to combat this is a super strong leave it (where you can lay high value treats on his head, paws, etc and he wont touch them or even attempt to. (My dog turns his head away or physically backs up from the treats if I say leave it, which I like because we do have poisonous snakes out here and I want him to back up if I tell him to leave one of those alone) I would say Leave it is the most used and possibly the most valuable command in my arsenal for Kodi.

As for the second problem...

1. Anytime he cries and gets to come out of his crate (like for potties) it is a no party time, no treats even if he potties, no voice, no attention, no emotion at all, you are dead inside. This way he learns "when I cry in my crate, its not fun because I don't get a party" this doesn't stop him from crying if he has to potty, but will normally stop the "I wanna party NOW" crying. And once he gets the chance to do his business its right back in the crate for awhile and then ignore the crying. Kodi learned if he cried after I put him back in the crate that I left the room and when he was silent I went back in.

OR

2. You may have gotten yourself a velcro puppy and it pains him to be away from you. If he howls and sounds like he is dying then its not a "I wanna party" cry its a "I really miss you, please come back, I'm sad" cry. Kodi did this when I tried to move his crate into a spare room because it was too big for the bedroom anymore. He howled and I wish I had a sound bite of it, it was aweful, I honest to god thought he stuck his paw through the crate and was in pain, it was that bad, it was louder than loud howls, not yips or woofs, crying howls. We combated this (after two days we just couldn't take it anymore, he woke us up at 1 am with his crying) by giving him free run of the house, he still isn't allowed into my room because I have to keep the two dogs seperated or they will play all night (and a 20 pound dog on the bed is better than a 60 pound dog). I usually leave a special blanket that smells like me next to my door and he sleeps on that and sometimes sticks his paws under the door and falls asleep and we haven't had a pitiful cry since. 

I understand about the not wanting to give him full reign until he isn't going to chew everything, and I would just keep him tethered to his crate if I were you until he gets past that stage, we were lucky with Kodi and he never really wanted to chew furniture. (tell that to our poor couch, the one piece of furniture he did chew once.)

I think that you should follow through and crate train, but maybe put the crate in your room. Just because a dog is crate trained doesn't mean that he will have to be in the crate forever. Kodi slept in a crate for the first 5-6 months of his life. Roonie slept in one for the first year before he graduated to sleeping in my room when I could trust him. Once Kodi ages some more (11 months now) I am sure I will let him sleep in my room, but right now, he is a puppy and there are too many things in my room that could be eaten while I sleep (books, socks <thats a big one , shoes, etc.)
For your puppy, I am sure eventually he will grow up and gain enough impulse control to stop him from eating every tasty looking thing in sight, but for right now, the tether is a great idea I wish I had though of it when I was crate training Kodi.

Although I do think your Chief will get used to whatever arrangement you choose for him. I am sure Kodi would have too but I just couldn't handle the pathetic howling he was doing when he was alone. lol


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## ktyk (Aug 11, 2011)

Thank so much for the suggestions. Chief sounds just like your dog. His little cries are just heart breaking.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

Just want to point out you should never tether the pup when he is alone. That is very dangerous for any dog actually.


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## ktyk (Aug 11, 2011)

I know. We only tether him when he sleeps in our bedroom. This is only temporary until he learns not to chew on anything.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

You are describing Lab puppy behaviors, above and beyond typical pups:
1. Labs are chewers. They always need something to chew. My 11 yo has a hard rubber bone that he chews for 30 min., after he has finished the two large raw carrots that I give him with his meals. Puppy proof your house, and try to clean the yard. Don't obsess, because he'll always find something to chew on, such as the wood panel or even the bricks on the corner of the house. My dog unscrewed the plastic washout ! You might get a Kong for your pup to chew.
2. Make sure that you clean the crate with vinegar or enzyme cleaner to eliminate the smell. He may continue to use the crate, as long as he smells urine.
3. Yes! Crate train him. 
4. These two free books may help: http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads
5. Labs love attention. This is a powerful training tool. If he escapes and runs, call his name and run ... the other way...because if he sees you, he wants to join in the fun. If he does something that you dislike, such as running away with a ball, if you simply stop and turn your back, he'll come back for attention.
6. But he doesn't need your attention all the time. He can learn to be alone... and he will get bored, then fall asleep.
7. You are correct. Don't let him expect to sleep with you all the time. Train him to sleep in the crate, then you can selectively let him sleep with you when he is bigger. Happiness is a warm puppy ... unless it's summer. Or unless he snores or runs in his sleep!


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