Snow is about 5 months old and we are trying to crate train her, but I'm getting mixed advise. I read that you should feed all meals in the crate then others say nothing in the crate but water?! Please help!! Let me know what you do and how its worked for you. I will take ALL comments  Thanks

Yeah I feed my puppy in the crate, he's almost 3 months old and can sit in there for hours without crying if he needs to. Basically you want to associate all good things with the crate; if you feed them in there then it will help them get used to walking in and out of the crate and will reward them for doing so with dinner. I don't put his water bowl in the crate though, mainly because I'm just too lazy to move it in and out so many times. But water in her crate is also a fine idea if you are up for it. However I wouldn't leave either her food or water in the crate while she's being crated, because if she has a tantrum then it will most likely get knocked over and make a mess. Also if you have some really high value treats, give them to her when she's in her crate. So things like Peanut butter kongs and bully sticks can encourage her to go in her crate.

In the end they should get used to their crate pretty fast. However feeding them in their crate definitely helps out, at least it did for me. Good luck!

It took us a couple months until Layla would go in her crate and not make a sound. It took a month for her to get used to going in when we tell her and not putting up a stink. Consistency is key. We noticed that when we told her to go in her crate at night it took much less time for her to settle down and not make noise through the night than when we put her in during the day. Because we put her in her crate during the day so infrequently, she wasn't entirely sure whether we'd come back or not, but now she is pretty good about not making noise any time she is in there.

In the crate-training sticky there's a great tip about randomly hiding high-value treats in the crate during the day. The pup will go in and search it out. It's another way to associate all things positive with the crate. We don't do it anymore but it's a great way to get them used to going in and feeling good about it. Be patient. It DOES take time. Some dogs take to the crate right away, but with Sibes it's often more difficult because they often have a NEED to be with other beings and get sad/nervous when they're alone. But with consistency and time it usually works out. Good luck!

I feed both dogs in the crate now because otherwise Evee (the lab) would eat Karli's (the husky) food. Although I can put Karli's food in the kong wobbler and its safe in there. But yes, feeding in the crate really helped both pups become accustomed to their crates. And the hiding treats helps too!

Thank you so much for the information. Today was a good day and Snow doesn't hate her crate during the day but doesn't love it either. At night is a different story, she will go straight in and lay down. I'm going to try and feed her in the crate tomorrow, she only had one accident today while she was out with supervised free time (I don't think my husband was supervising that well). I really appreciate the responses!

I know this topic is supposed to be about feeding in the crate but I was wondering if anybody has two crates for their dog? We were thinking about maybe having two, one for night time that would be in the bedroom and the other that would be in the living room for when we're at work or at home and she just wants to lay in it when we're walking around. Do you think this would be too confusing for a new puppy? Should we just stick with one and do you think the bedroom is the best place for it if so?
Thanks!

I'd stick to one...especially for a young puppy. You can get a dog bed for when you're downstairs. We keep both dogs in the kitchen next to the back door for potty access. Trust me, that first night alone in the crate is gonna be a dousey. I ended up sleeping with our lab puppy the first night. If you don't need to get up the next morning, trying them out in the bedroom would be fine.

We feed in the crate. Our huskies are very food orientated so it seemed like a great way to associate "good things" with the crate.

It also makes it easier to crate them when they're being mischievous and you're late for work.

We also use those rabbit-water bottles that you can get in the pet store for dog crates. That way they always have water, but you don't have to worry about them knocking over the dish while you're away and being without (or sitting in a puddle for hours). You might need to teach them how to use it, but that shouldn't be too difficult if you smear something tasty on it. Once they start licking they figure it out pretty fast!

cinnamonbits wrote:

I'd stick to one...especially for a young puppy. You can get a dog bed for when you're downstairs. We keep both dogs in the kitchen next to the back door for potty access. Trust me, that first night alone in the crate is gonna be a dousey. I ended up sleeping with our lab puppy the first night. If you don't need to get up the next morning, trying them out in the bedroom would be fine.

I second the "sticking to one" for a young puppy for now. Just to keep things simple.

If you're still doing midnight potty breaks, I might have it in the bedroom (so you can hear the puppy better). Once the midnight potty breaks end, you can move it to where ever you'd like it to be in a more permanent fashion.

She might not like it at first, if you're moving it out of the bedroom, but she'll get used to it.

Personally, as much as I love my dogs, being married and all that, I really prefer them *not* sleeping in the bedroom.