My puppy cries all night long in his crate! We haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 2 months!

[thanhchuong1]

We have been using a crate at night for our pup since about three days after we got him, two months ago at five months of age. He can whine and bark for seven hours straight, no problem. I have tried everything, changing the crate from the wire to a soft one, feeding him in it, putting treats in it, putting articles of my clothing in it, a shoe, a snuggle pup with a heart beat, etc, all the tips I can find. He has severe separation anxiety, and we thought the crate would help with that. We also thought we would be able to put him in his crate for a nap, and be able to start leaving him alone, here and there. NOPE! We have not been able to leave him alone at the house at all. I have taken him to day care a few times, thinking that might help with the crate training and separation anxiety. They use crates at day care for their nap time, and I have been told he barks the entire time in the crate there, are well. Every time I go to pick him up, I hear him barking. The only dog barking. We have a dinner party to go to this weekend, and since we can’t leave him alone at home yet, I am taking him to the day care facility and having him boarded for the night. He will be crated there and I can just imagine the racket he will be making all night long. I am afraid he is going to be kicked out of day care, soon.

Has anyone had the same problem? What did you do? We are desperate!

 

[eront]

@thanhchuong1 It's time to stop crying it out. You're creating negative association with the crate and risking never being able to crate humanely.

Have you tried tending to him before he cries and not crating longer than he can endure without vocalizing?

 

[thanhchuong1]

@eront He cries pretty much the entire time, so tending to him before he cries is impossible. I have been told over and over by trainers to just let him cry as he will eventually stop…but I agree with you, he should have stopped by now if he was going to. He is sometimes ok being in his crate if we are right next to him while he is in it, but as soon as we are not, he starts up again. I believe it is more of a separation anxiety thing now, more than the actual crate itself.

 

[eront]

@thanhchuong1 Try peekaboo.

Unfortunately, letting a dog cry it out causes separation anxiety in many dogs, and training isn't regulated well enough to guarantee trainers know what they're doing. Due to that, it's recommended to only listen to trainers that are certified with humane organizations that require continuing education (IAABC, KPA, CCPDT, CSAT).

 

[thanhchuong1]

@eront Thanks!

 

[eront]

@thanhchuong1 I'd actually recommend hiring a trainer with CSAT credentials at this point.

Your dog is at the age where you are going to need professional help or you risk making it worse.

 

[thanhchuong1]

@eront I have been using two trainers. I don’t know what their credentials are, but they both actually seem to know what they are dong as far as hands on with the dog. One of them actually works for Petco, and I would have thought they would require some credentials to work for and represent them.

 

[eront]

@thanhchuong1 Petco trainers are not really credentialed.

But, you really need to work with a CSAT trainer at this point. Unfortunately, the only way to work with separation anxiety is to suspend absences, keep your dog below threshold (where your dog is not showing signs of being upset) and not crate if your dog can't handle it.

The other option is a board certified veterinary behaviorist to prevent this from becoming a life-long problem. If you do not get this intervention through a CSAT trainer or a veterinary behaviorist, you do risk this being a life-long issue and it risks affecting everyone's quality of life.

 

[esmerald]

@thanhchuong1 What has worked with all of my dogs will cost you about a week of crappy sleep, provided his crate is in your bedroom.

First, cover the crate so it’s good and dark. Get one of those crate-specific covers with Velcro seams at the corners.

Then, for 3-4 nights in a row, throw some pillows and a blanket on the floor next to the crate—welcome to your new temporary bed. Each night, pup goes in crate, you lie on the floor next to him, and each time he cries you put your hand between the seams and through the crate opening to find his snout so he can smell you. You might even be able to give him a pet or a scritch. Keep things dark, and try not to talk to him. Your goal is to let him know that he’s not alone. This, along with some “shhhs” should help soothe.

After 3-4 nights, position the covered crate next to the bed close to your side so that when he cries you can drape a hand over the edge and let him sniff you again. After a few days he should feel secure enough to sleep through.

BONUS: I eventually moved my crates to the foot of the bed where they are today. When my beagle would start crying at 6AM on the weekend, I’d flip over so my head was at the foot of the bed and let him find my hand the same way I did while crate-training. This usually worked for me like a snooze button, good for an extra hour or two of sleep.

 

[thanhchuong1]

@esmerald We’ve already been sleep deprived for two months, so just another week or so should be a piece of cake!

 

[fomor]

@thanhchuong1 I did this exact protocol when my pup came home three weeks ago. He has slept through with only one potty break since day two. His crate is now next to my bed, but I rarely have to put my hand down. He occasionally grumbles when first in the crate, but he doesn’t cry. If he’s crying at night, there’s a reason. Last night he woke me twice and both times he had diarrhea, which was a first for him. He had to go and he let me know. If I’d let him cry it out, I’d have had a big mess to clean up!

 

[thanhchuong1]

@esmerald Thank you.

 

[enquizzicalpeep]

@esmerald What did you do when you left the house? Did you crate him and just let him cry it out? Our puppy is really distressed when we put her in a crate, but leaving her out while we’re gone or asleep leads to her peeing everywhere.

 

[kimmarqy]

@thanhchuong1 Is the crate in your bedroom? I find it helps with young puppies if they are closer to you.

During the day you can place the crate next to the couch and put on a TV show and have the puppies breakfast in a bowl. Slowly feed the puppies breakfast to him through the crate. This begins to teach him to be inside the crate and wait getting rewarded. Do this for his evening meal as well. You can drag this out so he is in his crate calmly.

Once you have been practicing this for awhile you start leaving the room for a second come right back in and give him a few pieces of his food. Keep doing this over and over using his entire meal to train. Morning, midday if he gets a midday meal and evening.

You are building this tolerance of you being out of sight and being rewarded for being in the crate.

Here are several other resources for you to look through

https://www.jaquenetta.com/Crate Training by Dr Ian Dunbar.htm

Watch his series of crate training videos:

There are several more after these.

I hope it helps!

 

[thanhchuong1]

@kimmarqy Thank you! Love the idea about feeding him through the crate. Unfortunately, I have switched out from his wire crate to a soft one with mesh screening and zippers, so that won’t work. He knows he can push the flap open with his head or nose if the zipper starts to open. I suppose I can do it through the top, opening and closing it as I feed him.

 

[kimmarqy]

@thanhchuong1 For sure, make it happen! This is your puppy he is counting on you to train him and to do whatever it takes to accomplish that.

 

[thanhchuong1]

@kimmarqy Also, we leave the crate in the living room rather than the bedroom, due to his separation anxiety, trying to get him to get used to our not being right next to him every second. The crate is not far from the bedroom door, however so he knows we are close by, but it doesn’t make a difference. Every night, as I lay awake listening to him whimper, whine and bark, I want to drag the crate into the bedroom, but that plays right into his separation anxiety situation, and rewards him for whining and barking.

 

[kimmarqy]

@thanhchuong1 Like the other commenter stated you are doing more harm than good to get your puppy used to the crate. If the puppy is quiet in the crate in your bedroom do that! When they get older you can slowly move the crate further away.

 

[thanhchuong1]

@kimmarqy Thanks.

 

[eront]

@thanhchuong1

Also, we leave the crate in the living room rather than the bedroom, due to his separation anxiety, trying to get him to get used to our not being right next to him every second.

This is an approach that may make matters worse. Please scale it back and make it easy for him to have positive experiences. Your dog can't get used to something if they're forced in it against their will, that's called flooding and it's a harmful way to train anything.