My Puppy Keeps Screaming In His Crate….?
September 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
My puppy is about 9 weeks old and I’ve been crate training him and his is so smart! On the 2nd day he slept through the whole night and his has never had an accident in his crate. He sleeps in a seperate room next to my other dog and she is in her crate. Right before putting him inside I take him out to pee and put him inside with a tiny little treat. I have always done this with my other dog too. But today (its 4:44am right now….) he started barking really loud it really scared me so I took him out of his cage and took him out to pee and put him right back in. He has never ever screamed like that ever. This happened 3 more times, anyone know why he is acting like this? Its a boy Cockapoo, 9 weeks, just about perfectly house trained.
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Crate training is an invaluable tool. For people who think it is cruel, just wait until your dog needs to stay at the vet if it becomes ill and see that not only is your dog not feeling well, it is also terrified being inside a kennel. What you are doing with your cockapoo is excellent. They are a breed that needs to be groomed, and when I was grooming, we used kennel like holding pens until it was their turn, we could always tell which dogs were crate trained, because they were calm while waiting their turn. The ones that weren’t I swear were on the verge of heart failure. Just wanted to note that crate training is NOT cruel, but very humane and responsible! Depending on the kind you are using…an all wire one that lets the dog see everything is good but should have a blanket over one end to offer some privacy. The plastic ones with the wire door are good for travelling, but a small dog can stick their little bottom jaw through while trying to escape if it is all new to them, and this can bring the yelps out of them. If you take your puppy out each little peep he makes, he will train you. Dogs are so good about going on a schedule, they can hold it for a bit, unless they are ill. If it is the middle of the night, and your puppy is screaming because he wants your attention…DO NOT give him/her a treat. Check to make sure he/she is safe, say hello, and leave the room if all is well. Be patient. Soon the little one will realize that you will not react to their hystrionics, and will calmly sleep through the night. Considering that the little one is still very young, a good rule of thumb is they need to go out once for every month of age as a puppy until fully housebroken. Example, your pup is 9 weeks, so just over 2 months…should be let out every 2 hours. Try for 4 through the night. Puppies grow so quickly, you will actually miss their extra dependence on you when they are grown. Sounds like you are well on your way though, with your older dog happily asleep at night in her own little cave. When I crate train a new puppy, I make sure they do their doody before any loose in the house time. If I take them out, and they don’t pee or anything, I put them right back in the crate and wait until a bit later then try again. Once they do their business, then they are free to play for a while outside of the kennel/crate. Take care, I bet your puppy will be the very best.
Your puppy is looking for you. Try this. Take a piece of your clothing – like a sweatshirt that you don’t care about any more. Wear it for about a week and then put it in his crate when he goes to bed. The shirt will have your scent and make him feel like you are close to him. You can keep it in with your dirty laundry and when the pup goes into the crate the sweatshirt goes with him. Don’t plan on taking the shirt back – it is now his. The technical name for this behavior of his is separation anxiety. He’s just looking for his mom —— that’s you – good luck to both of you.
you would be upset too if someone locked you up in a cage. he is missing his mother,pups are like babies they need to be comforted. they will wake you up during the night, they will have accidents on the carpet, they are beautiful animals and they do not belong in a cage..
You’ve only just got him and everything is new, the first day he was probably so tired out from the excitement of his new home that he just slept. Take your time with him and never use your crate as punishment, make it a wonderful place to be. It could be that he had been distrubed by something outside which caused him to wake and he just couldn’t settle. Never go back to your puppy immediately if he starts whining as he will elarn that all he has to do is whine when he wants you to come. Leave it first for 5 minutes then see what he wants (wee or something) next time leave it a minute longer and so on. He’ll soon settle back. Good Luck with the little one.