Crate training my puppy, but water won’t work?
I’m crate training my puppy and he’s super super snuggly. I know that when you first get it home, you’re supposed to bring the crate in the room with you at night and then slowly move it elsewhere. The puppy freaks out everytime the crate door is closed, even if he is right next to my bed and I’m talking to him. I tried squirting a little water at him, but it literally doesn’t affect him at all. He just ends up soaked and barking and whining. Please help! My other puppy is crate trained and it’s wonderful, but she doesn’t seem to be influencing this new puppy at all. We’ve had him almost 2 weeks. Thanks for your suggestions.
Try putting the crate on a chair next to your bed (make sure it’s secure…can’t fall…). Then, you can put your fingers through the wire grill, and let your puppy fall asleep with his head on your hand. Gradually remove your fingers. After a few nights, he will be able to fall asleep without touching you. After a few more nights you should be able to move the crate off the chair and onto the floor.
A couple of other thoughts: the San Francisco SPCA website has some nice behavior articles, including a great one on crate training.
Also, I have been successful by starting off having the two dogs share a crate, so long as the older dog won’t be aggressive. After a few days the puppy can usually be crated on its own.
If the puppy is small enough, I have also used a soft sided shoulder carrier, like the Sherpa, to confine the puppy on the bed with me. They usuallyu accept that very well. After a few nights, I move the carrier to a chair by the bed, then transition to a real crate, then move the crate to the floor.
Since the puppy is distressed, I would suggest not punishing (even with a gentle punisher like water) —it may make him more anxious and cause it to take longer to get used to the crate.
Go To Your Bed Training with Goldendoodle Puppy ocdoglady.com