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  #1  
Old June 21st, 2011, 12:16 PM
doodleottawa doodleottawa is offline
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Crate Help needed - Doodle in Training!

My husband and I brought our 8 week old Goldendoodle home with us about a week ago. There are have some accidents in the house but nothing out of the ordinary. He is very friendly and great with people!

While he has adjusted to the crate relatively well during the night (he sleeps from approx. 11 pm to 5:30am), the issue of crate during the day is another story. We need help! We both work during the day but have made arrangements to be home for his first 2 weeks with us. We make sure to take him out and go for a long walk before he goes in the crate. When he goes into the crate during the day, he cries and barks none stop until we take him out. We are currently trying 2 hours at a time, twice a day. But he (and Us.. and our neigbours) are miserable!

Any help.. tips... advice.. suggestions.. are much much appreciated!
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Old June 21st, 2011, 01:21 PM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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I take it you mean a golden retriever mix? if so, they need plenty of exercise, takes a lot to tire them, have you tried a Kong in the cage? pack it with possibly part of their daily kibble with a few added treats, use it only as a treat when he's to go into the cage. turn a radio on low or possibly leave the tv on low volume so he can see/hear people. is there a neighbour that could come in a couple times to take the pup out? 9 weeks is much too long to have him hold it, at most he will only be comfortable for 3 hours before he would need to be taken out. we use to own a poodle mix and she was always very very vocal. good luck.
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Old June 21st, 2011, 03:34 PM
Floppy Dog Floppy Dog is offline
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You might try putting some of your well-worn clothing in the crate. Your familiar scent can be very calming. A watch that ticks can also help as it mimics the sound of a heart beat. Placing the crate by a window for "doggy TV" is also helpful.

As an alternative to the crate, is there a way that you can pen him/her in the kitchen? We did this with our puppy and it worked very well. She had access to water, shade, sun and a big window to watch the world go by.
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Old June 21st, 2011, 11:06 PM
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millitntanimist millitntanimist is offline
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I like this thread from another forum. It's fairly comprehensive
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training...ning-faq-3974/
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  #5  
Old June 22nd, 2011, 08:47 AM
2Greatbulldogs 2Greatbulldogs is offline
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I think the crate is a valuable tool for house breaking your pet and totally agree that you should make it a comfortable safe enjoyable place to be; And I understand that you are taking the first 2 weeks off to 'train' your dog. But what happens after that ? I think people abuse crates ! I know people who have their dog sleep in the crate over night, get up, feed & let out to do business or even a short walk. Then back in the crate for 8 hours. Come home, feed, IF they are energetic after a long days work, take their dog out in the evening (but not every day), watch some tv, dog back in the create; Repeat. Sounds horrible. I wouldn't want to be in a cage "just big enough so you can stand up and turn around" all night and all day. I have a crate, used for house breaking. It sits with the door open. If they want to go in they can, if they dont, that fine. A house IS A BIG CRATE. So just want to add my 2 cents for after the house breaking is satisfied. I have a camera in my living room that I can log into from my Iphone and check on my dogs periodically throughout the day; they choose the lazy boys.
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Old June 22nd, 2011, 08:54 AM
2Greatbulldogs 2Greatbulldogs is offline
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Oh Sorry, besides my rant on the abuse of crates, more specific to your current issue... along with all the tips on making the crate a great place to be that were in the link above. I would not Invite my puppy out of the crate when barking. He will learn that at the moment the door opened, I was barking. So only ever open the door and invite out when calm. So you may need to sit outside the crate, nice and relaxed waiting for the barking to subside and the instant it does say 'good boy' and open the door.
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Old June 22nd, 2011, 09:26 PM
doodleottawa doodleottawa is offline
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Thanks for the suggestions.. and the link to the site (there were a new suggestions on there)! We've moved the crate into the family area and are playing in and around the crate. He has entered the crate several times today to play so lets hope this helps!

I would like to clarify that there is no expectation that the pup be alone and able to hold it for an 8 hour period. Upon our return to work, we will be home daily for 1.5 hours. As we both work outside the home and the pup is not housebroken, the crate is necessary at this time (in our opinion). Lots of exercise and playtime is our daily schedule of course.
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Old June 28th, 2011, 10:34 PM
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mona_b mona_b is offline
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There is a rule of thumb that many people do not know. If you crate in the night, you don't crate in the day and vise versa. Crating in the day and night is far to much. In my 32 years of dog ownership, I have never crated. And I still managed to housebreak my dogs. Call me old school. But back in the day there was no such thing as crate training.

I agree with blocking the kitchen off. I have done this with all my dogs. And yes I put papers down. You start with quite a lot in the corner. after about 2 weeks put down less. You keep doing this till there is only a few down. My daughter and son in law have an soon to be a year old pup. They got him at 8 weeks. After 2 1/2 weeks no papers needed to be put down. Don't get me wrong, you still need to take the pup out once he wakes, after he eats, and after play.

There is nothing written in stone stating that crating is a must. How do you think people houstrained dogs back in the day?

This is a huge mistake people make when they get a new pup. They take time off. You shouldn't do that. The pup will get used to seeing you all day. Then when you go back to work it's like, what the heck is going on here? Where did they go? But as you can see, this is already happening. Hence the barking.

Are you having someone come check on the pup when you are gone? 8 hours is far to long for pup to be in there. What will happen is pup is going to use the bathroom in the crate. This is something you don't want.
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Old June 29th, 2011, 12:12 AM
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Shaykeija Shaykeija is offline
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I have 4 dogs and have never crated. Then again, I give my dogs lots of love and exercise. All night and all day in a crate is just wrong in my opinion. If I wanted a pet in a cage, I probably would not have gotten a dog. But, since you have a mixed breed dog, and it is a life time commitment, you should perhaps talk to a trainer. Remember this pup is only what, 8 weeks old? It should have stayed with it's mom until it was 12 weeks old.
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  #10  
Old July 14th, 2011, 02:40 PM
golden0517 golden0517 is offline
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Exclamation Pup at 8 weeks

Hi,

This is not much of a reply but please help me.

I just got my Samoyed yesterday and she is 8 weeks. A sweetie in the car but when we put her down at her playpen she barks and whines like crazy. I'm wearing earplugs as we speak. Is it appropriate to let her bark it out inside the pen? I started to feed her inside the crate. I close the door when she eats and when she is done I let her out. Also, she is VERY mouthy, is that normal as well? She will want to bite towels, carpet, my slippers, and tissue boxes if she gets her paws on them. PLEASE HELP!!!
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  #11  
Old July 14th, 2011, 03:39 PM
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Melinda Melinda is offline
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its very normal at 8 weeks, she should still be with her mother for another few weeks, its the mom that teaches them its not proper to bite or not proper to have rough play. you should start a thread of your own on the subject. is there any way you can put your pup back with the litter for another few weeks??
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Old July 14th, 2011, 03:41 PM
golden0517 golden0517 is offline
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pup at 8 weeks

Melinda,

Unfortunately we are unable to send her back to her mother because we drove roughly 5 hours to get her. And I was just thinking I should've started my own thread on this topic, thanks
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  #13  
Old July 14th, 2011, 03:59 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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I would just like to add some support to the non-crate option. While we have and do use a crate it is within a large pen or our gated kitchen. The crate door is open. As said above crates are not for long term use, though it is good to get your pup used to one for car travel or visits to the Vet.

A crate only big enough to allow an animal to stand up, turn around and lie down again would not be sufficient for most zoo regulations. My previous Vet has a theory that too long crating may be responsible for some physical and mental ailments we see in dogs these days like joint problems from inadequate movement, neuroses from boredom and being understimulated and UTI from too long between bathroom breaks.

The rule of thumb I heard most often for crating was one hour plus one hour per month of age. My personal limit is 3 hours a day, not at a time, a day.


I'm sorry, for the crying in the crate I cannot help, mine didn't do that. Perhaps because they weren't stuck in one in the first place? Some pups do need a bit of time to settle in.
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