HELP - Puppy won't stop barking at night in his crate

[cantonsm]

Our puppy won't stop barking in his crate at night. We've tried everything we've been able to find or hear from others or the internet. We've tried TV at night, music, a Homedics heartbeat sound machine, toys with him in his crate. Nothing seems to work. After a full day out and about in our home he will usually go to sleep at bedtime (he gets plenty of play time with our other dog). Because he's only 9.5 weeks (rescued from the humane society) old he has to go the bathroom frequently so when he cries we immediately take him outside at night to his bathroom spot and he goes and is rewarded. However when we try to put him back in his crate he sits there and cries and barks non stop. It usually takes about an hour or more sitting right in front of his crate to get him to lay down and stop barking. If we don't get up extra quiet he will get back up and continue barking. We are at our wits end and are out of options, PLEASE HELP!

[brandynva]

When our puppies were that young we would put the crate right next to the bed and leave a little night light on so they could see us. Where is the crate in relation to you? They are so young and are used to having mom and littermates around, so they need that feeling of security. I know others will be along shortly to offer some good advice. Good luck!

Oh, and btw, you need to post pictures of your little one! What kind of pup is he?

[cantonsm]

Thank you for the reply. The crate is in our sitting room which is down the hall past the kitchen from our bedroom. He is a lab mix puppy. Picture on the way. So I'm gathering that we may need to put his crate in our bedroom, but what about during the day when my wife is working from home? We have set up her office in the sitting room so our two dogs can play. When he gets tired we put him in his crate to sleep and he does fine then b/c he is tired. Do we need to move the crate every day from the bedroom to the sitting room?

[jessi76]

that is precisely the reason I have 2 crates. One is a bedroom crate (night), the other is a kitchen crate for day use. you don't have to have a 2nd crate, you could use a dog bed or mat in the sitting room and train the dog to stay on it for some quiet time. granted, this is easier said than done w/ a 9.5 wk old lab pup! perhaps you can find another crate second-hand.... yard sale, want ad, online, etc...

I fully agree w/ moving the crate to your bedroom at night. I put ours right next to my side of the bed, and gently tapped the crate and said "quiet" firmly. my pup always settled right down.

[cantonsm]

Sounds like we are going to need to try the crate by the bed. Then during the day take his pillow out and put it in the sitting room so he has the same bed to sleep on during the day. I have tried to sleep about 8 feet away on the couch in the sitting room at night but that didn't work. Maybe b/c he couldn't see me easily or I was too far away??

[Winston]

I agree with the previous post's...When I got my choc lab he was the same way for the first few nights....We had his crate in the basement which was too far away! He cried all night long! The second night we moved the crate upstairs the the bedroom and it made the difference...I think because they can hear you breathing too it must comfort them! A couple of thngs that I have heard help out the puppy would be a hot water bottle....or a little clock under a blanket in the crate...some people say this reminds them of the mothers heart beat!!

I feel for you! It is really hard to listen to them cry and bark! Good Luck! The rewards are worth it in the long run!

Cindy

[Lukka'sma]

Originally Posted by cantonsm

he has to go the bathroom frequently so when he cries we immediately take him outside

I would say that you are rewarding him for crying in his crate by coming and letting him out. Why not try and anticipate when his next pee session will be ( for Lukka we got up every two hours at 10 weeks old and continued this for about 4 or 5 more weeks ) and beat him to the punch. The idea is to get him out before he starts to complain and see if it helps. Although getting up every two hours may seem a bit of an inconvenience most puppy owners realise that it takes a few weeks of solid consistent patterns to establish a working routine.
Also you could try and put him in his crate in the day time when you are home. If he doesn't cry let him out, do this several times a day for longer periods and as soon as he is quiet let him out again. It's all about rewarding the positive.

[cantonsm]

Thanks winston. We actually tried the heartbeat under a blanket using the homemedics machine that makes that noise. Tried that at different levels of volume and even tried other modes (rain forest sounds, waves, etc). We will definitely be trying the crate in the bedroom tonight. I hope it works! We got our rottie as a 10wk old pup and she did great with the same exact setup, but apparently our new "little monster" doesn't like it! And my wifes friend was so right when she said we put up with all the hard work because they are so cute (just like babies).

[cantonsm]

Lukka, good point on the rewarding. We will go with the crate to the bedroom and get on a schedule of every 2 or 2.5 hours to take him out before he starts crying. We do put him in his crate during the day when he starts to get tired and lay down. He actually walked in to his crate on Monday and slept for about an hour and a half with the door open. He's quiet when we put him in his crate during the day, but that's b/c he's tired. We pick him and put him in there and goes right to sleep. But very good point on rewarding him by letting him out when he cries.

[happycats]

You may not like my response, but it's very effective, and works almost everytime!
let him sleep with you as he gets older and more confident he will eventually have no problem moving to the floor beside your bed.

[cantonsm]

Happycats, you are 100% correct, I don't like the response of letting him sleep with us. We have 2 cats that 10yrs old and they sleep with us on occasion in the bed so a puppy would not mix well. Plus, we would rather not have our dogs sleeping in our bed. We love them to death, but our 3yr old rottie is not allowed on our bed or the furniture and it would be unfair to her if we let our newest family member on the bed and not her. We moved the crate in to the bedroom last night next to my side of the bed and I woke him up before he cried and took him out. When I put him back in his crate he was still barking and crying, but by putting my finger in the crate (as I did in the past, but walked away after) he quieted down sooner and I was able to pull my arm away and go back to sleep. He still demanded about 10 minutes or so of me putting my hand down on the crate. Hopefully this will get better over time and he'll start to realize I'm only 2 feet away.

[Lukka'sma]

So maybe you saw just a hint of improvement last night over the previous nights.......yes.....
Try and keep associating the crate with all the good things in life by tossing treats into it during the day. Feeding complete meal if you wish.
One thing to keep in mind is to never punish by crating. If your pup needs a time out pick a different means to enforce the discipline, never ever the crate!
Also if you are leaving during the day don't call puppy to come to you and then stick him in the crate. That might make him associate the crate with negetive experiences. Just go and retrieve him without the recall and crate him.