My Dog Hates His Crate

RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Misty (Guest Post) (11/29/2008) Its now winter and its seems like my 14 week old puppy HATES outside. So he goes inside and it drives me nuts I'm trying to crate train him but he isn't doing good at all. My crate is the perfect size for him and everything but ever since I got him he never liked the crate. I watch him closely and take him out sides tons. I run him around and play with him but he wont go outside. Now I have carpet stains everywhere and my house smells of urine which doesn't help at all because he just thinks he can go there. When I catch him doing his act a strictly yell no and try bringing him out side but he doesn't stop peeing or doing his other business so then i have a trail of waste all the way to the door. I cant reward him for going out side if he doesn't go out there period! He also eliminates in his crate He has done both deeds in there and i come home to him covered in both. I feed him at about the same time every day and I am getting so frustrated I honestly, sometimes regret buying him. Someone save me I am going crazy! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Shelter Worker (Guest Post) (08/28/2008) Crates are an INTERIM training tool only. If you are using them for a dog that's past housebreaking and chewing; you're misusing the tool instead of properly training your dog. If your dog is over the age or a 1 yr or 1 1/2 yrs and you still feel the need to cage them; your dog is probably not getting enough exercise and taking out nervous energy or acting out on separation anxiety issues. Dogs need a good 1 hr + a day of exercise....not being let into a yard by themselves but actually good and tiring exercise like running with you or alongside your bicycle. You can NOT train a dog to accept less exercise than they need. If you dog has separation anxiety issues, you need to look into that specifically because it will take a progressive desensitization to address the problem correctly. Exercize is imperative here as well so get the running shoes on. The number of answers where people are talking about how their adult dogs hate their crates is scary bad. There shouldn't be a need to cage an adult dog. If the dog was properly trained and exercized, the owners wouldn't feel a need to lock their dogs up. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by histears (1) | (07/28/2008) Contact Well I crate trained both my puppies, the little one loves it and has no problem with it. Unfortunately the big Pit/Lab I have who is almost 2 years old now hates it. We had to use it when she was a baby because she destroyed many of my belongings including a part of my couch. She freaked out for the first week then seemed fine. She would never eat a treat in it though no matter how good it was. We even had her to the point that if we left the house she would automatically go in. About a month and a half ago she banged her paw on the ledge of her wire kennel and jammed it in the crate door as well. Now no matter how much I coax her, give her favorite things, even put her favorite blanky in there that she drags all over the house. No way can I get her to stay in there. If I lock the door even with her kong stuffed with goodies in there she just sits there and shakes and pants like crazy. I even tried sitting with her and patting her with the door open and she was still terrified. She use to sleep in it on her own accord at night now she would sooner sleep on the bare floor. I don't want to keep it if I can never get her in it but, when we travel she is very anxious and chews other peoples stuff. She is frightened very easily, we are not sure why, we got her when she was 4 months old. I was even thinking of trading it for plastic if I thought that would help but, again not to sure what to do. any ideas. I feel bad for her and thankfully I don't need it at home anymore as she is comfortable here now. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Jin (Guest Post) (05/09/2008) My little guy HATES his crate. We work days and we have to crate him but he just hates it. He is better when he can see us, but we haven't been able to crate him over night. He would cry and cry (not just an hour.. the ENTIRE DAY if he has to) and we'd get kicked out of our townhouse if we let it continue. He's only 12 1/2 weeks and my heart breaks when he cries. He's usually good about going out if we keep him on a strick schedule but he has accidents over night. I just don't know what to do... Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Lisa (Guest Post) (02/13/2008) I have a new puppy also. We got her at 6 weeks and she would cry when she was put in her crate also. We had tried everything, then we ended up putting her in the same room as us (in our walk in closet..which was a pain) and every time we went to bed we would tell her it was bedtime. Once she started crying we wouldn't say anything to her but "Montanna No" and yes we would have to repeat ourselves quite often... but eventually she understood. Hang in there. The worst thing to do is take them out when they are crying, it shows them, all they have to do to get out of the crate, is whine. Good Luck. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Yanni (Guest Post) (10/23/2007) I have a SENIOR Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix- so they're fiesty from the beginning. I need to have this little attached guy crated when we clean. We dont want him to slip on the floor (he has terrible arthritis) and we dont want him to inhale any harmful fumes....plus hes so small he MUST be crated in the car...But if I allow it, he'll go on for at least an hour or so until he completely tires himself out. As soon as I open the crate, he hops out nice and happy as if nothing ever happened. lol its crazy and this being our first dog - adopting him as a senior - it will probably be impossible to break him from this habit because he's so old. This weekend, I am thinking of getting a doggy gate so that he can be contained bu he can still move around in a small space on his own accord. I hope that helps Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By MG (Guest Post) (09/28/2007) I have a 11 week old Havanese/Poodle mix and he HATES his crate as well. However, it has helped with potty training. We got him two weeks ago, and he is VERY attached and I think that is why he hates his crate. He thinks every time he is put in it we are going to leave. So I have tried putting him in there for short periods at a time when we are home, and he still hates it. I don't really know if he will ever get used it... seems hopeless. I even bought him a nice comfy bed and he would rather sleep on the hardwood floor. The only thing is, he would get into everything and chew up everything and it would be dangerous if I did not put him in his crate at night. I just don't really think he will ever like it. I guess puppies are supposed to be weaned off their litter (by being crated with one sibling and then none) and crate trained that way by who ever bred them so it is a SLOW and gradual wean to be alone in a crate... so that by the time they are ready to go home with their new owner they are already used to the crate being a safe place. That did not happen with my puppy -- so he thinks his crate is total isolation. No idea how to help him think of it as a safe place. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by Sheraone (75) | (07/06/2007) Contact Think about being locked away from the people you love. You cant touch them, you cant interact with them, the best you can do is cry "please please let me out so I can come and give you lovins" "It's lonely in here and I want to know that you love me" Of course they get sad when you crate them. Of course they hate it, it feels like punishment. Mother dogs dont crate their kids. Why treat them like criminals when they havent even done anything wrong? Whomever thinks that crating is a good idea should suffer the same punishment. If you live with a dog the best that you can hope for is that you actually deserve her love. I dont mean to be heavy. I just happen to think that training is about positive affirmations. If your dog could talk, what would she tell you? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Ty (Guest Post) (07/05/2007) My dog would cry for hours when I first started crating her. I finally had the idea to cover the entire thing with a blanket so it was really dark and she couldn't see out. This stopped her crying. I did this for a week or so and slowly started to cover less and less of the cage until she would stay in quietly. She still whines from time to time when I am in her sight but no longer is she crying and screaming the entire time. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Lora (Guest Post) (04/11/2007) I have the same problem. I have a 9 month old min pin who I have been putting in his crate at night and when I am away for short times since he was 10 weeks old. He still hates his crate however. He will bark, cry, whine, and bite the bars of his crate the entire time he is in there. He will also use his crate to potty if I leave it open. My vet says this is highly unusual. He has recommended that I give up on the crate. Has anyone else had this experience? What did you do? Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Andrea (Guest Post) (02/01/2007) I have an 8 week old dobermab puppy and he hates his crate! I've tried giving him treats and he gets so worked up that he doesnt even notice that I have a treat in my hand. At night, we tried crating him, but the crying and whining just does not stop.... so usually after an hour of crying we let him out. he sleeps fine at our beside on his favorite blanket but he's not toilet trained yet (but doing very well) and because we work during the day, he needs to be crated for his saftey. I usually tried not to leave him longer then 4 hrs. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by lambs4rwe (1) | (01/08/2007) Contact We have used crates for 2 dogs, one we adopted when she was 8 years old, and she had been neglected (chained up in a backyard for 6 years). She quickly developed a severe case of separation anxiety when we left home and became very destructive because she was so anxious we might never come home. We were advised by a vet and by the Second Chance adoption people to crate her. We first used an old wire-bar crate my husband had, and she actually pulled the bars off and cut herself up really badly trying to get out. We bought a sturdy plastic crate, and though she hated going into it, in very short order she was cured of the anxiety. She had a safe, quiet and contained place to be while we were gone, and she found we always came home. You CANNOT make a big deal though when you take any dog out of the crate, fussing over them and petting and crooning to them, even a small puppy, or they will so crave that feedback that they will cry and whine to get out. You have to act very nonchalant and ignore them for a good 1/2 hour after taking them out of the crate. Soon they will adjust. Dogs are in the wild cave-type dwellers, and they do feel safe in a small contained space. It is NOT a cruel thing to do. We tend to place human characteristics on our pets, but they are not people or children, right? :) The other dog we used a crate on was a puppy who is now 2-1/2. We used it an night with her until she was probably 1-1/2 years old. We did NOT keep it in a bedroom, as that only exaggerates the problem. They crave the attention from you and it just postpones their becoming adjusted and quiet in the crate, and finding that they actually like it. It works great. We recently made an 1800-mile move by truck to a new home, and the dog made the trip quietly and happily in the back of the pickup in her crate (she is rather a large dog). Worked out great. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By MeMe (Guest Post) (01/08/2007) My dog isn't too particular about her crate. She used to soil it even if I left her in it for 10 minutes. This is what I did that I believe has worked. I put the crate in an area that we hang out in all of the time (family room/rec room), and I put a dog bed in there with her food and water dishes. Everytime I left I put two treats under her pillow. She stopped soiling her crate after that (she had a couple of more accidents) but all in all she vastly improved. Okay on the crying at night. I just seriously started crating her at night. She is 10 months now. I used to crate her and have her in the room with me when I first got her and it was horrible. She would cry and bark and bang on her crate all night...not for just one hour. I feel that once I got her used to being in it during the day with the treat and all. She was better at night. Yes, she would still cry but not as long. What really helped was an electronic training collar. On the e-collar is a button for shocking and a tone button. Everytime she whined at night I used the button on the collar that has a tone and that works. I once had to used the shock and after the schock I didn't hear a peep until morning. The tone portion of the collar is a method used to warn the pup that a shock may be delivered if she doesn't stop the unwanted behavior. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by spinwool (28) | (09/19/2006) Profile | Contact We put the crate in the bedroom with us, this way the puppy may not feel so isolated and alone. If puppy wakes up crying I am right there to re-assure and usually ours have gone back to sleep. The crate is right next to me by bed, so I can actually touch puppy through grate to reassure. Hope these things everyone wrote help. He sounds sad. Good luck Report Spam or Abuse Crates Post By bettyboop (Guest Post) (09/19/2006) Sorry, I know I'm in the minority but I don't believe in crating a dog. I have three dachshunds, one of which is 10 years old and adopted this past June. The other two are 8 and 11. I have had the first two since they were babies. The only time we have ever used a crate was when one of my guys had disc surgery and for his own good was not allowed to be loose for a few months. He didn't mind the cage but he had to be carried in/out for a few months to go do his business and had a fulltime babysitter (my dad) when I wasn't home. Yes he recovered fully. My guys have a doggie door with a ramp and a fenced yard for when they want to go out. I think as long as they are trained right from the start and have things to play with you don't need a crate. Even my new guy is well behaved. To me a crate is punishment and my furry children will never be crated. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by Cathy.Hossen (4) | (07/07/2006) Contact The obvious solution! Don't make him sleep in it! If he hates it so much you are actually torturing the poor little thing by forcing him to stay in it. Find him something else ASAP! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Petunia (Guest Post) (06/01/2006) When my labs were pups they finally learned to enjoy their cages as an "escape" from the world (like our bedroom is for us) by giving them a very soft nightlight (like the energy saving ones that give off the green glow) & playing the radio really soft until they got used to the fact that nighttime is a naturally quiet time. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Claudia- MD (Guest Post) (06/01/2006) I agree that it may take a little time to adjust, but it will be worth it. My two LH Dachshunds love their crates and often go in them in the early evening to 'get away from it all.' I think your little guy will eventually adjust and the crate will become his den. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By (Guest Post) (05/31/2006) I suggest you put the crate in your bedroom if possible. My cocker sleeps in his crate in our bedroom. It is a small bedroom, but being crowded is worth it if I have a happy dog. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by ColoradoDutch (3) | (05/31/2006) Contact In addition to the above you might try always feeding your puppy in the crate until they are crate trained. You are right not to rescue your puppy by getting it out the minute it cries. Only get your puppy out when he is quiet..unless he/she is crying to go potty. You can tell if you listen each time which it is. Good luck..so much easier if the breeder starts crate training when the puppy is very young. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By sandy (Guest Post) (05/30/2006) my dogs didnt like the crate either at first. it may take some time getting used to. one thing that i still have trouble doing but i should not do is......when you put the dog in the crate dont apoligize and act all sad that the dog is going into the crate. remind yourself it is for her protection etc. i see moms do this when they leave a baby for the babysitter. oh sweetie mommy will be right back oh i love you gush gush. then the babysitter is left with a hysterical baby becasue mom feels guilty. anyway also make sure the crate is in a room that you live in frequently-not the garage. but the living room, den or kitchen. it needs to be where your smell is. Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by camo_angels (658) | (05/27/2006) Profile | Contact To help them sleep at night, wrap a hot water bottle inside a shirt with your smell on it. That helps them feel secure and warm....puppies need that! Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post by Ariela (219) | (05/26/2006) Profile | Contact We crate trained our poodle. Took him out to go potty, played a while and put him back in. Was out for about 45 min at time.. gradualy we increased the time. By the time he was 6 months old he was completely house trained. Yes he went in there when he was naughty. He also knew that was his naughty place and went in on his own when he was naughty. Then looked as us all sad to make us feel guilty. After he was 6 mo old we only put him in if we had company with small kids. He lived to be 13 and alot of times he would go in there to sleep.. we always left the door open. Dont give up.. it will work. :) Report Spam or Abuse RE: My Dog Hates His Crate Post By Chella (Guest Post) (05/26/2006) I crate trained my dog when she was a puppy too! Don't give up! You are doing the right thing by not using it for punishment. I would put a blanket over the top at night...(kinda what you would do with a bird) She knew that it was night time and would go to sleep. Worth a try! If she can't see you walking around etc. maybe she won't cry. Also, try to say the same thing to her each night...Like "its time for bed...good night fluffy! Report Spam or Abuse