# UNcrate training a dog



## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

Pepper always goes in her crate at night and during the day when we're at work. But she's a little older now and we'd like to start giving her a little more freedom so we cleaned up the room her crate is in and have tried a couple of times to leave her loose in the room at night.

One time she was fine and went to sleep. The other times she was quiet for a minute and then started barking at noises she was hearing outside. After waiting a few minutes for her to stop, we finally had to get up and put her in her crate. As soon as she was in her crate, she wasn't bothered by the noises and went to sleep right away.

Do you think she's just nervous because it's different? It's the same room, just she's not locked in her crate. I don't get it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Try showing her to her crate at bedtime the same way you do now, just don't shut the door. Or leave it halfway open. She may just want the security of her usual bedtime routine .

But that said, My dogs sleep in the bedroom with me, with the door closed, because if they're loose in the house they pace and bark at every little noise all night. So I guess some dogs just can't have run of the house at night.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Just like some dogs keep the same bed for most of their lives, there's nothing wrong with keeping the dog in the crate for most of her life, if she likes it. Obviously, you don't want to do this when everyone is awake and moving about, but if everything is quiet, or people are at work, or sleeping, then the dog would typically go to sleep. Sleeping in the crate, with the door opened or closed, shouldn't be a problem. I imagine that she would 'complain' if she wants to come out...


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## MaddiesMom (Nov 8, 2007)

Both of my dogs were crate trained. 

When it was Maddie only and she was finally old enough, I wanted her to be free in the house. So, I tried by letting her in the kitchen only. She HATED it! She wanted to be in her crate, so I let her stay in the crate. 

Then we get Jack. He had to be crate trained too because he was a puppy. He of course HATES his crate. Once he was old enough and could be trusted we let them be out of the crate for little periods of time. We would be working in the yard and they had free-reign of the house. They did really good. Then we let them free when we went to the grocery store, etc. and kept stretching out the time they were home alone and free. 

It has now been a year and they have free-reign of the house all day. I come home at lunch for an hour and they get lunch and go outside and play. They have been pretty good, that is not to say there has not been some incidents. I have vertical blinds that came with our house and they are getting brittle from the sun and my two monkeys have snapped some of them off. I have extra panels, but now it is incentive for me to get rid of them! They love to sit on the back of the sofa and look out the window and when the mail man goes by they get excited and the vertical blinds are becoming collateral damage. 

But we have not had any potty accidents or anything chewed up. Maddie is 6 and Jack is 3. Maddie's crate is now in storage in the basement, but she will go down there and still lay in it while I am doing laundry! It is her safe spot. 

Your girl my just like her crate - it is her safe haven. When you let her "free" is her crate nearby so she can go into it if she's scared? Are her toys around to keep her company? Another great thing that may take her mind of the scariness would be a Kong filled with a yummy treat or an antler to chew on. Jack is a chewer, so his antlers and nylabones are always spread thru the house. Also, a radio left on helps too. Loud enough for her to hear and block out the outside noises. I always tuned it to NPR - people talking kept my two calmer than music. 

I suspect my two spend their day laying on the sofa looking out the window, sleeping and watching Food Network (I leave the TV on so the outside noises do not bother them).


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## squiggles (Feb 22, 2013)

I'm at the same point with my dog. What I've been doing is giving Arrow a really fabulous workout, a little bit more that we would usually do, and shutting him in our bedroom which is small. you could also try a frozen PB billed kong at night, in your dogs crate with the door open. She will get a chance to settle in for the night, in her crate, and leave a bit later if she chooses. Once her kong is done, you guys should be mostly asleep and she will hopefully be relaxed.

Arrow usually just grabs a bone and hops up on the bed. I make a big effort not to pay attention to him, because it's bed-time, not-party in-the-bed-time.

Like other posters said, there is also nothing wrong with keeping your dog crated. Some dogs really love their crate, and that's okay too.


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## JeJo (Jul 29, 2013)

Mind you, I have only had my rescued gal for 4-months as of today, but we were happy to discover that she was already crate trained. While we closed her in at first when we left the house, we always left the crate door open overnight after her first few nights; we now do the same (crate door open) when we leave the house as well. She finds comfort in her crate and will even retreat to it during the day for a nap or to just get away from the busy-ness of my grandtoddler whom I watch a few times a week. 

Anyway, just a thought here, and perhaps a crazy one, but I wonder if there were a way that you could just open the crate door in increments, if she might eventually find that an open crate door isn't as *open* as it presently seems. So, perhaps close it but don't latch for a while, and then block it open slightly at the hinge side for a few... and then for a bit more for another few... and so on?


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## starrysim (Dec 2, 2012)

We went through a similar process with Luna. When we first brought her home, we had her sleep in her crate in our bedroom. She cried for the first 3 nights, and then she was fine from then on. Once we had confidence in her potty skills and house skills, we did the same as you, we let her out. We kept her crate just the same, but left the door open. She did the same as yours, she would come out and bark at every single noise, but she would quiet down if we locked her back in (door completely locked). But we didn't want her sleeping in a locked crate all her life, so we kept letting her out even though she was keeping us up all night. When she was really agitated and couldn't calm down, I would bring her into bed with me for a few minutes, and that seemed to help. Talking to her gently helped too. But there was no magic trick that I ever figured out. It took a few weeks of very sleepless nights, but eventually she stopped barking at everything. Coyotes and other dogs still wake her up, but otherwise she sleeps really well now. We can even sleep with the windows open, and she's fine.


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## Foresthund (Jul 17, 2013)

I don't keep mine in a crate because he hates them,and don't find it necessary for him,yet whenever I get a puppy I would get a crate.
I think its fine to keep them in a crate at night if that's what they want to do,I know with large dogs it does take up a lot of space though. I think the dog may just have to go cold turkey,while trying to give the dog food,treats,toys,and comfort zones away from it.

It may sound weird but when I sleep I use a a little tie out attached to the bed. I made sure their is nothing he can get tangled on and the collar I used is very loose for safety. It is so my cats can come in and out of my room but my dog can't.


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## ludosmum (Jan 4, 2012)

Ludo used to be crated during the day and at night. This was for his safety and my sanity. Left alone he would chew on couch cushions and eat the stuffing. One day a few years ago he started whining at night so I tried letting him sleep with me. He was perfect. He laid down and slept at the foot of my bed or on the floor next to me. Now he often sleeps in the living room but he still behaves.

During the day though? Heck, no. He cannot be left uncrated. He will create pure havoc. So he stays crated during the day. He doesn't seem to mind.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks for all of the advice. We decided to try it the other way around and leave her in her room uncrated for short periods during the day. Originally we thought start at night and build up to day. I think she did ok this weekend. We left her alone in her room for about an hour on Saturday. When we got home I tried to sneak around the house and peek in to see what she was doing, but she must have heard me pull up because she was just standing there looking at the door ;-)

We want her to eventually have free reign of the house, but I know that's going to be in the distant future. This is a start. Right now she can't be trusted alone in the house for more than 3 minutes!

Maybe you guys are right. She might just like to sleep in her crate at night and maybe she always will! But during the day we want her to be free. Not only to watch over the house, but if there were ever a fire or some other emergency I wouldn't want her to be trapped in her crate.



> I wonder if there were a way that you could just open the crate door in increments, if she might eventually find that an open crate door isn't as open as it presently seems. So, perhaps close it but don't latch for a while, and then block it open slightly at the hinge side for a few... and then for a bit more for another few... and so on?


I'm not sure I want to try this. I don't want her to be trying to get the door open when I specifically want it closed. If she knows it might open, she could keep trying to get it open.


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## JeJo (Jul 29, 2013)

Jen2010 said:


> I'm not sure I want to try this. I don't want her to be trying to get the door open when I specifically want it closed. If she knows it might open, she could keep trying to get it open.


Of course, I hadn't thought of that possibility. In rereading your OP, I see that I mistakenly had it in my mind that she was uncomfortable being in her crate with its door left open. Sorry 'bout that.  Best wishes for continued progress, Jen.


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## mad'dog'lady (Jul 16, 2013)

I have 3 dogs and all of mine are crate trained, i remember i once asked someone how to un-crate train them once they have been crate trained, the reply i got was 'if your dogs love the crate, whats the point?' which is a good point. i tried crate training when i just had my eldest 2, a 3 y/o bitch and 2 y/o male, they would literally trash the house when we was out inc. carpets walls doors etc, so we would put them in a cage. no problem after that. now we have 3 dogs and only 2 crates atm, my bitch is left out when we go out, so long as she is in the living room and cant get the run of the house she will just chill out and not do anything, the other day though she got up stairs, she had all my teddys, books, magazines, anything she could chew, she did! the other problem with my bitch is on a night she ALWAYS does a poo in the house, regardless of wether she has done one 2 mins befre in the garden, when i wake up there will be a poo there, unless she is in the crate.
Anyway guess the moral of my story is, i dont see a point  i wouldnt bother un crate training mine, they love it, they use it as a den, they go in there on there own accord and just chill out!


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

I uncrate trained Ranger this summer as he seemed to have anxiety related to being locked away during the day. He was never crated at night, but was gated in the bedroom. 

Basically, I just gated him in a room and did short absences. Ranger now spends all his days free and I'm pretty sure spends most of his time asleep on our bed. He would touch anything on the counters, but I've found him standing on the kitchen table once haha.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Some dogs just can't be left loose. All my past dogs as kids were able to be but one of mine now (give you a guess) can't. She's 4.5 and I just have realized it's probably not in the cards for her. She is too much trouble.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

The first crate-trained dog I ever met (I was a young teenager at the time) loved his crate. The family that owned him had two young kids, and the kids had been taught that the crate was the dog's special place and that they could not bother him while he was in there. When he was tired or annoyed, he'd go in there and nap, safe and sound. I'm in the camp that thinks that if a dog likes the crate, why bother trying to transition out of it?


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

Well I want to UNcrate her during the day so she has more room and freedom. Right now she spends 8 hours a day plus all night (4 days a week) in her crate. I think it's too much. Plus we want to eventually have her loose in the house when she's older so this is a way of transitioning to that.

She doesn't mind being in her crate, but in the mornings when I leave for work she still has a lot of energy and she howls and barks sometimes when I leave. She never goes in her crate on her own to sleep, she'd rather be with us and she has a bed in the livingroom.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

If you are looking to have her spend less time in the crate, why not gate her in your room at night? Really, whether she's loose during the day or at night she is going to do the same thing....sleep or chew on a toy. By starting with this, you're there to hear if she gets in any trouble.


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## starrysim (Dec 2, 2012)

How is your crate un-training going?


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

> How is your crate un-training going?


 Thanks for asking! Well I've been leaving her in her room (the crate is there with the door open) while I shower in the mornings. I started feeding her in there too so I will feed her then close the door and leave. Usually once she's finished eating she will start barking. One time I even left a couple of new toys (which she usually can't resist) on the floor but she hadn't touched them. Occasionally she stays quiet and a couple of times when I've gone to let her out she's just lying in front of the door. So that's progress I guess 

We have been leaving her alone in her room when we go out to the store. The longest was about 2 hours. She hasn't destroyed anything, but I'm not sure what she does while we're gone. I'll have to set up my camera one day and check up on her.



> If you are looking to have her spend less time in the crate, why not gate her in your room at night? Really, whether she's loose during the day or at night she is going to do the same thing....sleep or chew on a toy. By starting with this, you're there to hear if she gets in any trouble.


 We tried this a couple of times a while ago already, but she doesn't settle down well and kept waking us up all night each time we tried. She would get up and wander around, sniff our hands/faces, shake, and loudly flop back down onto the floor at random times throughout the night! Lol! We both have to get up early for work so we gave up on that idea.


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## starrysim (Dec 2, 2012)

Sounds like it's going well. Just to warn you, Luna was great being out the first few times for short periods, and the first few full workdays. Once she got used to being out alone, then she started looking for mischief. Just doggy proof as much as you can. We actually gave her free run of the whole house, just kept bathroom and bedroom doors closed. We're used to doggy proofing every morning now - or at least I am, the hubby still leaves random doors open and charger cables dangling.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

> The other times she was quiet for a minute and then started barking at noises she was hearing outside


If it's not broke, don't fix it. Is the crate taking up needed room for other program. If not leave it because changing just may cause other not needed problems. 

The above advice and a dollar may just get you a cheap cup of coffee or down the road possibly save you some grief. (I said possibly)


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