Puppy crying

[KLW2000]

My puppy is 13 weeks old and I have had her for 3 weeks. She happily sleeps all night in her crate and occasionally goes in there out of choice through the day, to look for treats or a couple of times for a rest. I have tried putting her in there for naps when we are in the house but all hell breaks loose with screaming, barking etc... so I now use it at night times and when we go out (as we are out at least once per day).

When we leave her in the crate in the daytime, she goes in happily and then barks for ten minutes or so when she has finished her kong. She then settles for about an hour and then barks intermittently until she is let out (she is not left in there for more than 2.5 hours yet). I know this because I have sat upstairs while she is in there, so she thinks I am out, to see how she is.

I am a total worryhead with my little girl and have been really anxious since having her. I have worked really hard on the crate training and making it a positive place etc... Do you think that this barking is normal? Friends say their dogs just lie happily in their crates until someone opens the door. I don't want to start a problem with separation anxiety so would rather nip it in the bud if possible.

All advice welcome as I am totally stressing about this puppyhood lark!!!

 

[gypsysmum2]

Dogs bark to call their owners back. If it works, or has worked in the past, then she will keep trying. If you are sure she is just barking in a "calling out" sort of way then leave her.

Try to organise it so that she is never barking when let out. Always wait for her to go quiet even if only for a few seconds at first. You are trying to train her that a quiet dog is the one that gets let out. This might entail standing with your back to the crate for a while waiting for her to be quiet. You are aiming at a period of quiet where she has forgotten that she barked. This is at least ten seconds and more likely to be 30 seconds. Build it up until she is quiet.

The last thing you want is for her to become distressed in her crate. If you think this is happening then you may have to think about alternatives. Barking for attention is not classed as distress you will notice a hint of desperation if she is distressed.

General training to be confident at being left might help. Do not allow her to follow you everywhere. Don't allow her to sleep touching you all the time. Pop out of doors, wearing your "going out" clothes and shoes and then pop straight back in with no fuss at all. Keep repeating and stay a little longer outside each time. This will lead her to think that "she will be back in a minute - she is always popping in and out". There should be no emotional good byes or emotional hellos associated with her being left.

 

[KLW2000]

Thank you. I think it is in a 'calling out' sort of way. The initial barking is a crying but then once she settles it is more of a yip every minute or so (except when she's asleep in the crate). Although she does follow me around, she's not allowed upstairs and I am often doing jobs upstairs while she is downstairs etc...

As long as it is normal and not likely to be the beginning of separation anxiety then I will just carry on as I have been. I am new to this puppy malarkey. I wanted an older dog but felt a puppy would be better with having young children, yet I'm finding the puppy days very stressful! I'm used to older dogs who just want to eat, sleep and walk!

 

[Kate75]

You will know if its a distressed call! We have Holly (GSD six months) who was crate trained from 8 weeks but I got the feeling from the start she was never overly keen on her crate. She was fine in it at night and when we went out until she got to about 4.5 months then she rebelled at night. We persevered for about a week but it was taking her an hour to settle only for her to wake up and cry again a couple of hours later. To start with it was the yip and whine but after the week of crying it out we noticed it sounded more desperate and she was really going for the bars, there was no let up in her cries and she was shaking and foaming when we eventually went to her. So we made the decision to try her out at night and now she sleeps between the landing and the kitchen. We kept her crate for when we went out for a while but it became obvious after a couple of weeks she hated it and would refuse to come in from outside if she thought she had to go in it. So crate went completely about a month ago. We puppy proofed the kitchen and so far she's been ok. I worry about Holly all the time too even though she is our second GSD and was a bit gutted we had to do away with the crate so early on. But it did its job with house training as we've only had the odd accident and she seems much happier no signs of separation anxiety when we go out, we leave her engrossed in a kong and she's often sound asleep when we come back.

 

[hollysh]

We have never used a crate for my family dog. He has always had a basket. He is 3 years old now, always has slept outside my mums room at night and is able to wander between the hall, kitchen and her bedroom. I expect my mum was a bit more cautious about where he could go as a puppy. shutting doors to rooms that weren't puppy proof etc. I think I've been a bit over sensitive to dogs being kept in a cage. It's only recently when I've started dog walking and sitting at owners homes (not my own) that I have known people that have kept dogs in crates and it seems very normal to them. And they are extremely good owners. One in particular I can think of that I take for walks regularly is very well behaved. I guess I've never been hugely strict when it comes to my dog. Need to learn how to be as a dog sitter I suppose. My mum is also disabled and doesn't work, so we have always had somebody in the house to look after it. They are never left alone. I guess we are lucky in some ways. I can see people who work have little choice but to persevere with crate training.

I would suggest if you have a room that you could make puppy proof it might be worth considering leaving it in there instead of a crate if the puppy really doesn't like it. I pop in and see a 9 week old puppy twice a day 4 days a week. The owner is lucky enough to have a utility room which she has made puppy proof. She shuts the door. She has a basket and she leaves the radio on for her with a little light She works full time. So I pop in at 10ish and 1ish in the afternoon to take it out. It's still difficult for me to leave her (over sensitive ) But I just pull the door to and leave her to her own devices when I leave and I'm told puppies sleep a lot. She's always yawning when I come to get her in the afternoon, clearly having had a nice nap