Puppy Crate Training At Night?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I just got a 9 month old westie puppy. I am trying to crate train him and he is doing very well with the toilet thing, but he still has bad separation anxiety. His crate is in my bed room and when I get up at night to use the bathroom and he starts barking less than 30 seconds after I leave the room. He also sleeps as close to the edge of the crate as possible just to be close to me. I am really tempted to let him sleep in bed with me because ultimatlly, once he is fully house broken, that is what I would like to do. What should I do?
Any additional advice about crate training and taking care of puppies would be much appreciated.
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I dont believe in crate training.. I have a 5 month old puppy and I got him at 6 weeks…. I started him off sleeping in his bed right next to mine and when he was big enough he started jumping up on my bed to sleep with me… I potty trained him on puppy pads( vet told me not to take him outside as it was the middle of winter and till he had all his shots) and he would always go on those… but I also had him confined to just my bedroom at night ( baby gate) I gradually started taking him outside and hes fully potty trained and he sleeps with me… I should say us *L* my hubby doesnt like it but he( the dog) *L* eventually gets down and goes to his bed which is next to us on the floor)
you will have to ingnore him as must as you can but we just got a 6 month toy fox terrier and we had her sleep with us and when she was asleep for awhile we put her in the crate. she did bark and whine but we ingnored her and she got over it. we also put a toy and a little bone to keep her mind off until she went to sleep to
try covering the crate with a dark color sheet that will still allow air flow, but won’t allow him to see movement outside the crate. I had to cover my puppies crate so she couldn’t see the cat roaming about the house at night..worked wonders…..
I cover my puppies crate at night so she can’t see me get up and use the bathroom. She knows the different between bedtime and us leaving during the day by the towel covering the crate. During the day, I do not cover it when I put her in there when I leave. But every night, I crate her and cover it with a towel (an old towel, because the first few nights I did this she clawed at it and tore it up haha). But now she knows if she’s getting covered, it’s time for bed and she doesn’t cry anymore.
Cover any open areas of the kennel with a blanket to keep light out and block his view. Of course, you don’t want to cover it totally so he has air, but enough to make it dark for him and so he can’t see you.
When he starts barking, tell him “no” or simply ignore it. Acknowldging the barking and letting him out will be him training you…not you training him. DO NOT let him sleep in bed with you until you are sure that he is house-broken and trained (chewing, etc.).