got a puppy question....


coles

Recommended Posts

as some of you may know i just got a lab pup a couple days ago. Now here is my problem. when i put him in the kennel or put him where he cant get to me he just goes ballistic. I know this is normal but i dont want him to sleep with me everynight. That wont help the problem and he will just keep barking everytime i leave him for along time to come. So what are ya'lls tricks for getting him to calm down when i put him in the kennel for the night or when i have to leave him at all?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cratetraining.htm

Check out the 5th paragraph;)

I used small treats to train our dog to go into the crate under it's own will. We always make sure our dogs have had a plush toy for company while inside. Whenever we leave, lay down for a nap, or plan to be outside for awhile the dog goes into the crate. To get our dogs over the separation anxiety I would do this for the first few days for a couple hours:

Grab my keys and put the dog into the crate with a very small treat. Then walk outside and shut the front door and spend a short time outside. When I came back into the house I would walk right past the crate without saying hello or anything at all to the dog. Put the keys down and sit out of sight from the dog. When the barking would stop then I would go let him or her out. Waiting only a few minutes before doing it over again. After just a few days the treats are no longer given when they went in and it's just praise for doing what we wanted. Within a few weeks of this process our dogs have become so used to the schedule they go into the crate when we grab our car keys.

We also prop open the door to the crate when we are home. Most of the time when the dogs have been lying down they could be found in their crate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our lab was 8 weeks old when she came home with us, the breeder we purchased her from gave us a piece of the blanket that she used for the mother and the pups to sleep on. We put that piece of blanket in her crate with her toys and her new blanket, when we put her in the crate we would give her a small piece of her favorite treat, close the crate door and leave for awhile. At night when it was bed time we would put her in the crate and give her a treat, turn the radio on and go to bed. She would wine for a little bit then go to sleep, I would get her out after a few hours and take her outside for a bathroom break then back in the crate and a small treat. She would wine some more then go back to sleep, this last about 2 weeks, it was hard to ignore her but we did. We never used the crate as punishment, and still don't. The crate door is always open and most of the time when she is sleeping she is in the crate, she is almost 3 years old and now we don't even close the crate door when we leave, I guess we are lucky because I've heard some stories about what labs have chewed on while the owners were away. My wife and I have work schedules that allow one of us to be around the house most of the day and our dog is never left alone for more than 3-4 hours and we spend alot of time with our dog doing various activities. I think that is the main reason why our dog doesn't destroy the house when we leave. Good luck with the puppy!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's one of those things that just takes time. Some dogs will learn it faster than others. Like most have said put a toy in with them. We also got some puppy nylabones and would put that in with them this way they had something to keep occupied while they were in the first few times. Stick with it and good luck with the puppy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.