# First night home and crate training? Contradictory?



## Susansometimes (Dec 16, 2015)

Hello everyone, I will make this short.
We will be bringing home our 9 week old Golden on Saturday. He (Hudson) has all the equipment-toys-gates-yard-LOVE etc for a good start  I think I'm ready!....I'm sure I will run into something but lets just start here.
My question (that I've searched the internet for DAYS) is this:
If crate training is supposed to be slow and steady to create a calm happy place (never force the dog in etc...)
What do you do the first night?...Doesn't putting him in the crate (by my bed) the first night automatically negate the training? What I mean is how can it be done nice and slowly if you are shoving him in there the first night (not a slow introduction)? Unless you have a miracle puppy that wanders in there on its own the first night? I hope this doesn't sound ridiculous but it has literally kept me up at night...And I have enough of those coming up as of Saturday! please advise so I can sleep!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Hi, welcome to the forum. 
Congratulations on little Hudson, pictures are a must.......

When you bring Hudson home, you can introduce him slowly to his crate by putting treats in the crate to let him go in and out on his own for them, leaving the door open. Also feed him inside his crate, he will learn that the crate is a safe place for him without forcing him into it.

If he falls asleep, pick him up and put him in the crate, leave the door open, then he can come out on his own when he wakes. You'll have to keep a close eye on him and take him out to go potty shortly after he wakes.

At night time, keeping the crate next to your bed so you can touch him if he starts fussing will help. Also several members have used the Snuggle Puppy, it's helped a lot. 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pet-Love-Snuggle-Behavioral/dp/B000C9YHFS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450277645&sr=8-2&keywords=snuggle+puppy[/ame]


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## Susansometimes (Dec 16, 2015)

Specifically what about the first night? Lets say I get back for the breeders at 3 pm (it's a long drive) We bring Hudson in to show him around the first floor and yard (for now Basement is off limits as the stairs are steep and slippery) That gives me only 8 hrs to crate train a puppy on the first night? Shouldn't I crate train over several weeks and THEN put him in crate at night because he will by then love his crate? It seems weird to force him to be in crate the first night if he hasn't had a few days/weeks to learn to love the crate.


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## BeehiveGolden (Oct 4, 2015)

I've got to take my daughter to schoo but after that I'll help you out a bit. And share my successes and blunders with crate training our 19 week old puppy. Specifically the first few nights.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Crate first night. Absolute. He will howl and cry. Let him. It's hard to listen to. Keep the crate next to your bed. But one thing you can do is crate in the living room for a few minutes while watching tv. Then let him out once he gets quiet. As soon as he comes out of the crate, take him outside to pee/poop. Then back in the house for a moment, then back in the crate for another few minutes until he quiets again. It will take a few days. You will not get a lot of sleep anyway since they need to go out at night a few times to pee anyway.


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## Themmen (Mar 5, 2015)

Agree with the above. make it positive for him, and introduce him to it once you are home, throw some treats in there and feed him in there. let him walk in and out of it with the door open. keep it close to your bed and cover it with a sheet on a few sides and yes he may Howl and cry for a while but you can ignore it. you will quickly learn the difference between a howl because they dont want to be in the crate and a cry that they need to go outside and potty. i didnt sleep the first night cause every cry i heard i assumed she had to go out and i was worried if i didnt let her out she would pee in her crate. but you may get lucky and he may only cry for a few minutes and go to sleep. My girl cried for 5 minutes only and ever since then she has never made a peep. we still have to coax her into her crate during the day if we are gone but once she is in she is fine and will lay down and go right to sleep. dont worry so much it will all work out.


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## Moonbridge (Aug 26, 2014)

Congratulations on your new puppy!

We got our puppy in September so I do remember those early days well. Most of the time, puppies really enjoy the crate and the quiet that it provides. Puppy will be so overstimulated the first few days, that he'll fall asleep easily.

The first day, I put toys in the crate and let him wander in and out multiple times. If he fell asleep, I picked him up and put him in the crate with NO toys, but just the blanket with his mommy's scent. I left the door open and usually we had to coax him to come out!!

The first night I slept on the floor beside/infront of him. I took him out every hour, or every time he wimpered. The second night I moved a few feet away onto the couch where he could still see me and continued taking him out really really often. The third night I was back in my own bedroom, just up ever hour to potty him or whenever I heard him fuss.

Other than a little crying night 1 and 2, it was an easy thing to do. The crate is his refuge from a very busy new environment.

Potty training couldn't have been easier. He started scratching at the back door by day 3!!!
Now were are trying to break him of the scratching because that will ruin the screen door come summer. 

All the best!! It really is the best way to train a puppy. Month by month Watson gets more freedom in the house but he is still crated overnight and whenever I need to go out of the house. He doesn't mind one bit.


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

I think you'll be surprused that it's really not that hard to crate train. I brought my puppy home late afternoon the first day and put the crate next to the couch and slept with lights off and just stuck my hand in crate and talked to him to comfort him and I had no crying ever in crate. Every couple days I would move the crate a little further away from couch until it ended up in spot where it would permanently stay for awhile. I did during the days pick him up and move him to crate if he fell asleep on floor which was quite often.


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

I think you're right in the sense that it takes some time to form a positive connection with the crate. But it is important to use it as a management and training tool from the first night onward. Your puppy will fall asleep often as a result of being over stimulated. I let Maya fall asleep in my lap and would then slowly move her to the crate. That way I bought myself and my wife and hour or two of down time. Then when she woke up crying, I'd wait for her to settle down (it is hard to ignore the whimpering) and then let her out, take her outside, and then let her have supervised play time until she passed out again. 

In the meanwhile, my wife would sprinkle treats in and around the crate so that Maya formed a positive association with the crate. We never used the crate for punishment, though Maya was given timeouts in the crate (1-2 mins at most) from time to time when she was uncontrollable. Within a week she slept overnight in her crate without fuss.

Even though Maya is now a year old and sleeps on our bed with us, we use the crate often. If we are going out, or cleaning the home, the crate comes in handy. We give her the cue ("kennel") followed by a treat and she is content to spend some time in her crate.


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## Susansometimes (Dec 16, 2015)

Thanks for everyone's advice! I will use the crate the first night  Hopefully he will take to it fairly fast. I never considered putting the puppy back in the crate if he falls asleep elsewhere (ie lap)...I used to do that with my kids if they fell asleep in the car!...well not to a crate...to their beds LOL


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## wanders005 (Aug 19, 2015)

*crate training*

We brought our 8 week old puppy home last Friday (12/11/15). We are on night 5 of the crate. When we first brought him home Friday afternoon we fed him dinner in his crate. We put him in his crate around 11:00 p.m.- when he fell asleep. He was NOT a happy puppy when he woke up. He cried all night and we let him out several times. The 2nd night he slept in his crate until 4:00 a.m.- without making a peep! we were shocked.

the 3rd night he slept in his crate 11:00 a.m.-6:15 a.m. and we were the ones that woke him up. Same thing happened the 4th night! Hang in there. I wanted to cry the first night right along with our new puppy, but it gets better! Good luck.


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## Aero540T (Dec 1, 2015)

We just brought home our Thor last Saturday. His first night he whined a lot but looking back we were a little unprepared. He was in his crate but in the next room. I just got a snuggle puppy for him and he seems to really like it so far(this is his first night with it). He whined bad the first night but I slept in the room with him every night since and he barely makes a peep unless he has to potty now which I've figured is every 3-4 hours at night if you plan right with food/water feeding. He still hesitates when I try to tempt him into the crate but that will happen until they're more comfortable


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## tiher (Dec 16, 2015)

Aero540T said:


> We just brought home our Thor last Saturday. His first night he whined a lot but looking back we were a little unprepared. He was in his crate but in the next room. I just got a snuggle puppy for him and he seems to really like it so far(this is his first night with it). He whined bad the first night but I slept in the room with him every night since and he barely makes a peep unless he has to potty now which I've figured is every 3-4 hours at night if you plan right with food/water feeding. He still hesitates when I try to tempt him into the crate but that will happen until they're more comfortable


How many times a day do you feed him?


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## Aero540T (Dec 1, 2015)

tiher said:


> How many times a day do you feed him?


Been feeding three times a day until he's a bit older then we'll switch to twice a day. He's only 8 weeks old currently


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

A lot will depend on whether your pup likes the crate or not. My first pup loved the crate. She went in and was happy, went to sleep. I could put her in any time during the day, and she was fine. Happy happy. 

My second pup hated the crate. She howled and cried. I did move the crate into my bedroom which helped a lot. And I had a second one out in the living room for when I had to go back to work. I could not put her in any time during the day - only when I was going out. It was tougher, but we made it through. I do really believe in kennels - I think they are the safest place to leave a pup at night and while you're not home, so I stuck to it. When I was home with her, I used x-pens and just super puppy-proofed and let her follow me around, which made her happy. 

But I would start night one for sure. Don't let him out if he cries - because then he will never stop crying. It can be really hard, but they get used to it.


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## The life of Piper (Feb 24, 2015)

Try putting treats in his crate to lure him in. He will associate the crate with good things, rather than bad.
Good luck!!!


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## mddolson (Jul 10, 2012)

We started with the crate in our bedroom at the foot of our bed. Bella did whimper a bit the first few nights. But by day 3 she was sleeping through the night. At 6 months we were leaving the crate door open, & Bella would come & go as she liked. At 11 months we removed the crate, & left her bed at the foot of our bed, where she still sleeps. When we travel visit relatives, we bring her bed & put it a the base of our bed & she's happy to sleep with us.

Mike D


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## BeehiveGolden (Oct 4, 2015)

I would never have thought it would take 3 days to get back with a reply. What a busy time of year. Today the your Gotcha Day, correct? How exciting. Can't wait to see pics.

You've already had some good advice but I'll still share my experience. I've done crate training with 3 dogs. One loved it, one hated it (separation anxiety), and our current puppy is somewhere in the middle. 

The first night I lead him in with treats and closed him in for the night. He barked for at least 20-30 minutes. Each night he decreased his barking by 5 minutes until he would only bark for a couple of minutes. That lasted for several weeks. If he barked overnight I'd take him potty and put him right back in. It didn't take very long for him to sleep 6-8 hours. By 9 weeks for sure. 

Looking backing I really regret not sleeping by his kennel the first few nights. Maybe with it slightly cracked and petting him.

Almost immediately he started disliking the kennel. It escalated to the point where I would say kennel or point at it and he would run than other way and hide  He was fed in there, surprise treats were tossed in, food smeared on the back, and time dedicated every day to luring him in and rewarding every effort. 

What finally helped was our Thanksgiving vacation. He spend a lot of time kenneled in the car next to us. Then more time at our destination kennels next to another dog. Basically lots of kennel time but never alone. He still doesn't love his kennel. But he goes in willingly and doesn't bark anymore. 

I'll always wonder is I could have prevented all this but handling the first few nights differently. Building a strong positive association. Or maybe it's just his nature and it would have always been an uphill battle. Either way with time and dedication he did come around.


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## Finch (Sep 2, 2016)

Hi, Our puppy is coming home in a few weeks, and I have also been struggling with this question. I'm so glad I found your post, thank you!


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