# Crate Training: Close the door?



## graficoartista31 (Feb 16, 2007)

Hey guys!

Ok so here is an awsome update to my crate training delema. So far we have had our 11 week old male pup for 1 week now. We attempet several methods to get him to be quiet in his cage (bedroom, office, bathroom)and the one things that worked was to place him in his crate in the bathroom, with lots of toys and treats inside, a night light, and a radio. We did this at night and it worked miricles. 

A delema occured when I didnt know what to do with him during the day. I work from home so i had to figure out a way to crate him while i couldnt watch him. I tried placing him in the office with me in his crate, since dogs are pack animals and I didnt want him to feel alone. This only worked until I had to get up to go to the bathroom or get something from the other room. When i did this, he would scream which posed a problem since entering the room during his scream would train the pup that crying would make me come back. I needed to work!

I posted a question to see how I may be able to have him near me without teaching him bad habbits. Alot of people said that I could just walk into the room and as long as i ignored him, and didn't take him out of his cage, he would learn. UM NO. That didnt work. I tried this advice and immediatly started to notice a pattern...I leave, He cries, I return and ignore him, he stoped crying, i'd get up and did it all over again. I realized my return was calming him down. Great right? No. He learned his crying worked and even though i ignored him, my return was enough for him. 

So.. what to do now? I realized that his ability to see me but not having the ability to be laying under me was doing more damage then good so i posted another question and I got the advise that he shouldnt be able to see or hear me. (Just like trying to put a human baby to sleep/nap) So i put him in the bathroom, just like i do at night. I would turn the radio on, turnt he light off and put on the nightlight, and close the door. The bathroom is right off the office so i can hear him if he wakes. It only took 1 day and after that, he calmed down and doesnt make a sound when he is in there. I can blast the radio in my office, Talk on the phone and he won't cry. So my routine is this..

Wake up 9am
Play for 30 mins
Feeding
Potty 15 mins later
Play
Calm down time
Potty and then into the crate by 11am

By 5pm he gets to come out
We eat, we play we potty and play and potty and play and then we go to bed by 11pm

He seems to do SOOO well with the crate during the day now. No crying. He still won't go in it, but he won't cry when he is in there. I feel terrible putting him in there while im home, but if i ever plan to go back to work, i don't want him to be used to me being here and the only crate time he is used to is night time. I want him to be used to being in it. 

Question:

Will shutting the bathroom door during the day keep my dog from wanting to going into his crate by himself down the road? I tried to keep the door open one day to see what happened, thinking he should be acustomed to the door open, seeing us walk by the door and such so when he is tired he will go in there by himself, but when I did, he cried and cried and cried but when I close it, he calmed down. Is it ok that im closing the door? I want him to be comfortable with his crate and going in it without fear he will be locked in it. (You'd think i would think its ok since he is quiet,) I know when you put a human baby down for a nap, you don't leave the bedroom door wide open, so maybe it is ok. I have a 4 year old male dog too and I didnt know if he should be able to go in and see the pup or if closing the door gives the pup some alone time. Like I said, closing the door seems to keep him calm and quiet, even with the loudest noises from my office computer. But I wonder if he Right now i know he won't go in his crate on his own since he is still a baby, who wants to be with me, and has a older dog to play with (who would go in their crate with all this to do outside of it?) But eventually, i want him to feel comfortable going in it. 

Let me know!

Ashley


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