I just brought home my new pup, Siva, last night, and have a couple of basic questions. Firstly I have been doing a bit of reading and lots of people use crate training. I would like Siva to be able to sleep on the bed (which she did last night with no major issues) and wonder how many people do that and if you have done it from day one? How it went?

I have uni for a couple of hours during the day and work on one day. Until she is big enough to not fit through the fence in the outdoor kennel I will be trying to crate train her, but am worried that she will freak out when I leave, as she is quite the howler. Would it be silly to therefore not be using the crate during the night to get her used to it? Or should it be okay to sleep on the bed and then be in the crate when I am away?

Hopefully that makes sense, I'm just worried as I will have to leave tomorrow for about 4 hours, and so have very little time to gradually get her used to the crate.

I think it'll be easier for her to spend time in the crate during the day if she sleeps there at night too. That isn't saying you can't switch to having her on the bed at night later, but if you need to get her used to the crate quick, I'd say crate and night.

I cannot give tips on the crate training as I have not ever really crate trained a puppy, only older dogs and they just did it without issue. But you did ask if anyone lets theirs sleep out of crate at night. Yes, Loki sleeps in my room every night with the door shut. He can sleep on the bed but he usually picks a spot on the floor. I have never had a single issue with it, except the rude awakenings in the morning when he wants out.

Thanks! I have her in the crate now, she's been crying for about half an hour, but am trying to not go see her until she stops.

Mariah, what are the arrangements if you are not around during the day? Are there/were there any issues then?

We have a 7 foot high, 40 foot by 60 foot outdoor kennel that he stays in during the day when he is not with me. He has never tried to escape it, But he does have a buddy dog in there. His old owners kept him in a 6 foot by 4 foot with no buddy and he chewed his way threw the chain link to get out. So, Using a kennel I would suggest if the pup would have a companion, but not if left alone. And, It depends on how your dog reacts to it on if it would be good for you to use or not. Though there are also some very sturdy outdoor kennels you can get. They just get on the expensive side.

Wow, chewed through..?

The kennel is just a little bigger than your dogs old one, we are currently working to get the backyard dog proof, one of the fences needs extended, as well as gate. I feel she would howl no matter the size though. She will have a buddy, a 4 month german shepherd, but I would not trust them alone together yet, the older girl is a lot bigger and rougher and oober excited by my pup.

Thanks for the info though, really helpful!

Yeah, He chewed through enough of it to make a hole big enough to get out of, slipped his collar, and went running down the interstate, ended up at the dog pound. This was the 3rd time he got out. (First 2 times he ended up at our house.) Owners called us and told us to get get him he is ours. Have not had him escape once. He did get out twice, first time i just called him and he came running out of the horse pasture, Second time I had to chase him around the yard to get a chicken out of his mouth (Which was ok and we still have).

As long as the 2 like each other, they should keep each other from trying to get out. (Though in some cases they work together to get out.)

I hope that you get everything worked out perfectly!

Sky is 15 weeks tomorrow and she sleeps in our room with the door closed. We puppy proofed our bedroom, moved all the wires and chewables. She has been great. We've had very few night time accidents, she will wake me up if she needs to go but that doesn't happen often now. She gets on the bed for a cuddle when we first go up but then she usually gets on her own bed at the bottom of ours

LokiTheHusky wrote:

I have never had a single issue with it, except the rude awakenings in the morning when he wants out.

I get a morning wake up from Sky too when she decides it's time for toilet and breakfast she will come "dig" my head lol

If you have the time, try only leaving her in the crate for a few minutes at a time, then extend it out longer and longer. Leaving her in there til she quiets down really wont work, as she thinks that you are leaving her. You have to let her see that the crate doesn't always mean you are leaving. That's why I would start her off in it at least til she gets used to it, then move her to your bed. You can put the crate in your room at night, that way she's right there with you (may help with the crying too.) Also, exercise her before leaving so that she's tired.

Right, back to this crate training.. I have not attempted night time crating. Siva has no issues sleeping on the bed, she wakes me up to go toilet, and otherwise is pretty well behaved. She receives all her meals in the crate, which goes fine, but kicks up a fuss as soon as she has done. As soon as the door is shut on her she gets upset, and howls and bites at the wire, even if I am in the room. I give her a bone when I leave during the day and it's never touched when I get back, even though when I let her out she will devour it. The crate is also in my room.

Am I kidding myself trying to crate train only during the day or should I just persevere? She just hates the crate so much.

When we first got Kairi the crate seemed like a lost cause for a while. We crated her during the day while we were gone and she would put up a fuss as soon as she realized we were about to leave and as soon as we opened the door when we got home (I have no idea what she did while we were gone). We crated her at night the first few months until we were sure she was potty trained and then we started letting her roam the house at night with no problems. She didn't cry in her crate at night unless she had to go potty. Initially we had her crate in our bedroom during the day and we would leave the tv on while we were at work and still she would throw fits right when we would go to leave and when we would get home. After a few weeks we decided to move her crate into our living room where she wouldn't feel so confined and we would leave the tv on while we were gone. We also made sure to give her high value treats everytime she went into the crate voluntarily when we left so she would associate the crate with happy things instead of us leaving. The vet also suggested that we put her in her crate about ten minutes before we were going to leave for the day and to not let her out when we got home until she was quiet (no matter how long this took). This made it so her whole day didn't revolve around us coming and going, it decreased her anxiety, and taught her that throwing a fit wouldn't get her out. A short walk in the morning before I left for work helped too as a tired husky is a happy husky. We would also crate her for different periods of time throughout the week (from 10 minutes to a few hours) so that she realized that we always come back. This all seemed to help us and after a few months we stopped having any problems. She is now happily crated during the day (which she sleeps pretty much the whole time) and she roams free at night with no problems. It was a rough road in the beginning but stick with it, it will get better just be consistent!

Thank you, that helps I have been taking her for walks before I leave but she still cries. I'm not sure what she does when I'm away, it is quite when I get back, but not touching the bone is an indication that she is not happy..

Looks like I will have to go a few nights without sleep and hopefully get her used to it.