My Puppy is crying when i crate her!?

Question

I have a new 9 week old puppy Yorkie x Bichon and i am trying to crate train her. At night when we go to bed i place her in the crate and leave her with a chew toy and a bone to keep her occupied. I have also put a piece of clothing that smells like my daughter ( that is her owner ) and she still cries. Its breaking our hearts because she seems so sad in there, but i have read up on crate training and it says to put them in there at night. Will she eventually be ok in the crate? Is it normal for them to cry the first time they come home and are put in the crates?

Any advice or tips is very appreciated!!

Answer 1

You have to remember, that she has just been taken away from her mom and her siblings! She's scared, confused, doesn't know you or her new environment yet. Everything is so new and strange to her! She's not used to being in a crate by herself! It's going to take some time for her to adjust to everything. What will probably help, is when you go to sleep at night, move the crate into either your daughters room or your room, next to your bed, where she can see you, and know that she's not all alone. If she sees that someone is there with her, she will settle down and go to sleep! Just give her a little time! She'll be ok!

Answer 2

I also had the same problem. You do just have to stick with it. It took about a week for my puppy to get use to it. I put a clock right next to the crate and some clothing for him to lay on and it seemed to help a little bit

Answer 3

i know its hard but keep crating her, and doing the day have the crate open and leave her toys in it she will get use to it , i never crated a dog until this pit bull baby girl that we have now and she has to be crated wen we leave are home and no ones there to watch her she will chew everything she can get her mouth on , and we cant take her in the car and get out of it she chewed mine and my husbands interior in both of them chewed are out side siding are back screen door and plenty more things so the grate is a great thing for us but its the only time shes in it since shes potty broke and we dont put her in it but it takes time for them to adjust to there crate but it works watch me are the dog on animal planet good-luck

Answer 4

Yea, i had the same problem with my pup at first cry half the night. I stuck with it, now i can open the crate door and say bella bedtime and she will walk in the crate and go to sleep. It is amazing, i never thought she would do that.

Answer 5

shes just doesnt understand yet about the crate she will grow out of it with in 2 weeks give or take a day but you must leave her in the crate

Answer 6

Here is our routine with our puppy. We take him out for a walk. Bring him back in and let him eat and drink. Then we play with him for about 10 to 15 minutes in the house, or when he starts sniffing, whichever happens first. We let him run and play with us until he decides to go potty (usually about 10 minutes). Then we bring him back inside to his crate. He will wake up every two hours or so, and we do it all over again each time. Potty, food/water, play, potty, crate. The good news is at that age, they sleep a lot. If we try to put Roscoe in the crate without this routine, he will cry. I know you said you put your daughters clothing in the crate, but I have heard you can put a clock (not a digital, but the kind that ticks) in a blanket and leave it in the crate, so it will remind him/her of the mom and siblings. There is also something that Petsmart sells. I think it is about $30, but it may be worth it if means you get some sleep. =) It is basically the same thing as the clock. It is a cuddly animal that makes a heartbeat noise.

As others have said, she will cry in the beginning, which really breaks my heart because I know the puppy is terribly lonely and sad. One other thing you could try, if the crate is not in you or your daughters room, put it in there and when she cries, you can talk to her and let her know it is okay.

Others on here have said to leave her in no matter what. I don't know for sure, because I am by no means an expert. I just know first hand there is no way I can do that. I handle it like I would a baby. I will wait for a while to see if he is going to settle back down. If he cries for several minutes, I would get him out. With my puppy, we are in the middle of potty training. Puppies have tiny bladders. It is impossible to expect a puppy to hold his pee all night or really even for a few hours.

Having a new puppy is like having a newborn. Sometimes it feels like more work. =) Good luck with your new baby and I am sure everything will work out for you!

Answer 7

They will cry like h**l all night the first 2-3 days...longer if you go check on them though. Don't give in even though it is hard. Also make sure the crate is just big enough, as too big is bad. She is just a bit scared, but I covered my dogs crate with a blanket(like he was a parrot or somethin') He got the picture & now 6 years later "go to bed" is a great thing, even though I don't have to crate him anymore. Be strong!

Answer 8

It is very normal for young pups to cry when alone in the crate.  For the first time in their little lives, they are sleeping alone! Dogs are pack animals, and are used to being together with others throughout the day.  Now, no longer with her litter, you are "it".  In order for your pup to learn that the crate is a great spot to relax, make sure you are having her enjoy the crate through the daytime when you are home.  Have her go in the crate for short periods of time when you are in the house with her, and out of the house.  Otherwise, she will quickly learn that the crate is not a fun spot because every time she is in there you are not near her for a long period of time.

Also, make sure you never use the crate for punishment purposes, always make is a comfortable place.  The crate for the pup is like a crib for a baby- it is their safe place where they learn to relax and sooth themselves.

So remember:

-Short intervals throughout the day in the crate

-Reward her with praise when she goes in the crate on her own

-Leave the crate open and accessible all day long

-If she goes in the crate on her own, don't drag her out for playtime or snuggle time.

-Don't make a big deal of saying goodbye or goodnight before going in the crate- she will figure out the pattern which will cause more anxiety

-Regardless if your daughter is the "owner"- who spends time with her in the day? That's the persons' old shirt or pillowcase the pup would love.

Good luck!

Answer 9

It is normal for a dog to cry in the crate. Don't let her out, no matter how much she cries. She will eventually calm down and see her crate as a safe place. If you leave her loose at night, she will get into trouble and possibly make a mess. Crate training is very safe and effective. Be firm and leave her in the crate. Place the crate in a quite room and maybe leave a radio on very low for here. You may want to leave out any clothing or bedding. Most pups will tear it up and that can cause digestive problems. Good luck!

Answer 10

I feel your pain! Crate training a new puppy is by far the hardest thing we've had to do. We have an 11 week old puppy. I've read all that I could read ( or so I thought) about crate training. They always talk about the first night being the worst but it's taken our puppy a week to catch on.

First off make sure the crate is large enough for the dog. You can make the crate a fun place to be. We usually give our dog a bone in her crate when we have dinner and we keep all her toys in there. I've taken 5 minutes a day telling our puppy to go to bed and helping or placing ( at first) her in her crate and then giving her a treat in the crate.

She now will place herself in bed when she's tired and some times just chill out there. She will still whines some times at night when she's alone. At first we left the door to our bedroom open, but after 4 nights without much sleep we just closed the door. I take away the water after 8pm at night. ( she still does get some, just after walks and occasionally, just a enough to wet her whistle.)

We went out to K mart and just bought her a plain old wall clock with a second hand ( mimics the mothers heart beat) , I think it cost $20 and it's going to look good alright in the kitchen once she's done with it. :) I bought her a 'soothie' from pet smart ($8). It's a small buckwheat heating bag stuffed into an animal that I heat up at night before she goes into the kennel (which mimics litter mates body heat) and her blanket which we all snuggle with her.

Her smaller kennel I used to cover with a kitchen tea towel and it seemed to help a little bit, but if your dog is a shredder, I would err on the side of caution.

We make sure that she's done her business before bed and try to tire her out before placing her in the crate. My boyfriend stays up later then I do. So he puts the puppy officially down at 12-1am (although she's usually passed out with me) and I wake up around 3am-4am to take her out. Then I reheat her soothie and place her back in the crate until 6:45-7pm. If I know she didn't go poo when my BF put her to bed, and she doesn't go at her 3-4am trip I make sure I get up every hour until she does go. Usually by 5am she's ready to go.

The best thing to do is try to stay to a schedule and just stick with it. The whining and crying is the worse, they make the most heart wrenching noises and some funny ones. If you're losing sleep do yourself and your sanity a favor theres no reason you HAVE to listen to it (unless theres no where else to put her), close your bedroom door and place her in another room.

Don't take her out of her crate if she's whining. The first few nights I had to make some odd noises to get her to stop whining and listen, then I'd walk over to the crate and take her out when she's quiet. If it was real late I'd whisper, good girl, but if she's quiet and you're up for the day, why not make a big to do about a good puppy. Treats work well too, but our Peanut is doing fine with the good girl.

Make sure you take them out in a timely fashion, letting your puppy soil its bedding will set her training back. I hope this helps you at least get a few more hours of sleep then I got my first week. /e winks. Happy puppy kisses.

Answer 11

Yes it is normal, I have an 8 month old black lab, she cried for about four days. You may want to offer her a treat when you put her in there. It reminds her that she is not in trouble, and never put her in there when she has done something wrong. she will think of it as a bad place. And remember she is learning just like you.  

Answer 12

This is normal.

Remember she was recently taken from her mom and littermates.. she's not used to being in a crate by herself!

Do potty and exercize her before bed.. this will help.  You can also put something like a ticking clock to help sooth her.. it reminds the pup of mom's heartbeat.

When my dog was a pup, I kept his crate in my room, at bed-level so he could see that I was still there.

She will eventually stop crying at nite.  If you remove her from her crate tho, that only teaches her that crying gets her out!

Only take her out if you think she needs to potty.