Whines while confined to crate... HELP!

[Mark&Erin'spup]

We brought home are pup yesterday and he is doing pretty good. We had the crate set up in the living room and he roamed right in there and got comfortable, ate in there and rested throughout the evening. When we went to put him in there to sleep he whined and whined.. then again this morning as we left him he did the same thing. He liked to be in there to relax but he doesn't like to be in there confined.
Will he get used to it and will he calm down in time?? Is there anything that we can do to make this any easier? I feel bad and want to let him out when he starts to whine but I know that's not the right answer. Is there anything else we can do for sleeping arrangements?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[girlbuffalo1]

Most folks will recommend that you not close the puppy in the crate for a while ( at least a couple of days) and get them used to getting in and out of it while open. We did this only for a day--and for the frist night or two our pup whined a bit--but after that nothing no peep! I really think it depends on the dog. Make sure it has comfortable bedding--entice it to get in the crate with treats--and put some toys in there for it to occupy itself with if it wakes up.

 

[SummerRiot]

Its normal.. EXTREMELY normal for a pup to whine while hes in the crate.

This is the time where you should NOT be catering to their needs(there is a time and place for that, but not when its bedtime )
When Riot was a pup, he had to sleep in his crate and he hated it. I ended up movig the crate to right beside my bed and dangling my arm between the bars until he fell asleep lmao
When he learned that the create was not "punishing" him for the night he settled in quite comfortably.
How old is your puppy and what breed is it?

 

[Mark&Erin'spup]

He is a full breed Yellow Lab, he was 9 weeks old on Friday. I know he is still a little one but we are working at training him and want to get things moving in a positive direction. He was confined in his crate all morning and we went home at lunch and let him outside and-no accidents and he didn't cry when we put him back in it before we left. Yesterday when we got home with him we did let him wonder in and out of his crate and never shut him in it until last night and bedtime. We do have a comfy bed for him and toys in his crate.... in time I guess he will get used to it.

Any other suggestions would be great.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Zoom]

This is perfectly normal. You just brought the puppy home, and it's used to having a big cuddle puddle of other puppies to curl up with at night. Now it's got to get used to a new house, new people and sleeping alone. It takes about two weeks for a dog to begin to really settle in and six weeks for bonding.

The puppy will whine at first--like Summerriot mentioned, this is not the time to cater to the dogs needs. It must learn what bedtime means. Just be very consistant and make the crate enticing. The pup should settle in to a routine fairly quickly. The longer you try and console the puppy while it's whining, the longer it will whine the next time. If you feel that you have to do something, wait until he's quiet, then softly praise him for the silence.

Good luck!

 

[pup-man]

I and many others have had great success in keeping the crate next to your bed or ever better, at eye level with you while you sleep. We keep our pup on stand next to our bed with in reach of the crate.... some times, all they want to do is see you... make your self visible... this calms them and they feel reassured that you are there with them... plus it gives you easy access to put a finger in or your hand to sooth them at the times they whine.

Hope this helps. I has always for me ......

P.S. I always like having a good play session right before bed time... it encourages them to go to the bathroom right before bed plus they get tired and usualy sleep well..... A tired dog is a good dog

 

[SummerRiot]

I always like having a good play session right before bed time... it encourages them to go to the bathroom right before bed plus they get tired and usualy sleep well..... A tired dog is a good dog

Another fabulous suggestion!!

 

[GSDlover_4ever]

My puppy's cage is in the computer room and when I first put him in there he screeched like a banshee. I just left him, no attention, no "its ok" and I let him whine his head off. After about 2 nights he realized that no one cared that he was whining. And it stopped. Sounds cruel but it works.

 

[mjpeter]

A light blanket draped over the top of his crate stopped Luke from whining the first week. I think it made him feel more safe and cozy.

 

[tessa_s212]

Besides just ignoring the whining, you can try to make your puppy like its crate as well.

Feed your puppy in the crate, keep its toys in the crate, and whenever he is in the crate toss him a good little treat or a favorite toy.

You can also teach your puppy to go in the crate on command. Do so by feeding your puppy in the crate. When you put the bowl in, hopefuly the puppy will go in the crate. Command "crate" or whatever word you chose. This will be your word to make the puppy go in on command.

Aside from just commanding that when the puppy goes in the crate for food, you can also sit down with your puppy. Toss treats in its crate. If she goes it, give her some more cookies while she is still in. Being in the crate shoudl be a positive experience.