# Scarlett hates her crate...



## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Poor Scarlett!! Or poor you and Ranger for not getting any sleep.

To answer your question about when our dogs starting liking the crate? Austin - never!!!! He hated it. The first night we got him he slept in it because I think he was just tired and overwhelmed. The second night, he cried and cried until Reno (yes I'm convinced) let him out. He's never gone into a crate since. He won't even go into an X-pen. He hates being confined (not sure why though).

Lincoln loved his crate and we never had to force or encourage him to use it. Sometimes we would look for him and he would be in there sound asleep. We finally took it away when he was around 8 months old. However, he will still go into one if necessary.

Reno was not crate trained but will go willingly into a crate or pen.

Sorry I'm no help but I think you're doing all the right stuff with Scarlett. Time and patience may be the key with her.

She's awfully cute!!!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ranger*

Ranger

I googled, "how to get your puppy to like the crate," and it brought up all of this. 

Hope you find something:
How to get your puppy to like the crate - Google Search

I'm sure others will chime in here with suggestions.

You said Scarlett is not motivated by food-what does she seem to love?


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

Aawh, I know the feeling of not getting any sleep and the dog hating the crate! Riley absolutely despised it at first. But once he learned that he was safe in there and that we would let him out and everything would be perfectly fine, he settled down and now he goes in with no fuss and sleeps through the night!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks Laurie! It's hard to be annoyed during the day when she's so adorable and cute (and doing so well on her housebreaking) but last night...I was a wee bit grumpy. I don't do well on no sleep! Especially since I kept thinking, 'oh good she's quiet, now we can all sleep" and then she'd start up again RIGHT when I was drifting off to sleep!

I think it's harder with puppies, too. You can't take them for a big walk or run so they're tired and happy to rest. I'm trying to play her out but it's impossible! I can't wait til she starts playing with Ranger. She ran up to him barking and nipping at his chin today, then she got scared and ran off. At least she's not yelping when he moves too quickly anymore! (And at least he hasn't accidentally whacked her with his wubba yet today too...that was so sad and tragic...it took hours before she stopped yelping every time she passed him. Especially since she was soooo close to playing with him when it happened.)

That's funny about Reno letting Austin out! What a smart devil! I might be willing to see if she doesn't need to be crate-trained, but I think she'd get adopted out sooner if she were. Oh well. Hopefully by monday (when I have to work) she'll be a little happier about it!

Edit: Thanks everyone else!! Karen, I'll definitely be looking into that and hopefully will find some more ideas. She's motivated by...attention and praise more than anything else that I can think of. Definitely not food!

vcm5 - that was Ranger too, but I only crated him when I was leaving the house so I never had to deal with the sleepless nights! Thankfully I didn't have to work today!


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Flora HATED her crate. It took me probably a month to get to the point where I could leave her inside it without worrying about her having a sh** fit (literally.)

Unfortunately, the methods I used to desensitize Flora to her crate were all food-related, and you say Scarlet isn't food motivated... so I'm not sure I can help! 

Good luck!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, last night was a little better. I kept her awake after 6pm which was HARD. Eventually she got so tired of me waking her up that she crawled under the couch where I couldn't reach her!! We were outside from 6-10pm, so when she went into her crate, she fell asleep pretty quickly and all was quiet...for exactly one hour.

She cried on and off the rest of the night but I think there was more times when she was quiet than the other night. I took her out at 3am for a potty break and gave her a kong with a little peanut butter on it when I put her back in and that kept her quiet til 5:30ish. Funny little doggie. On the plus side, she ate her breakfast in the crate today without crying or whining so maybe she's getting used to it!


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## Mirinde (Jun 8, 2011)

I feel like this is probably simple enough that you've already tried it, but just in case-- 

Have you tried putting her in her crate when you're just hanging out in the same room? I'm not sure where your crate is, but ours is in the living room and I think that made a really big difference. She may be associating the crate with you leaving her, rather than as a happy spot to relax and watch you while you go about your business.

Also, if you have the time to watch her like a hawk and if she ever does venture into the crate on her own accord, it may be easier to reward that rather than tossing treats into her crate if she's not food motivated. That's something else that we did...every time Iorek walked into his crate on his own, we'd catch him in the act right away and load him up with love and treats.


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## DaisyGolden (Jan 4, 2008)

Daisy was like that too. The first night I got her she was so good in the crate but the next night she never stopped crying and what was even worse Jenny would stay beside her crate and cry for me to let her out. She never slept in the crate again after that. Sailor is really good in her crate. She whined at first but after I put a sheet over it so she couldn't see me she started sleeping through the night in it. I hope little Scarlett gets used to it soon.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Mirinde said:


> I feel like this is probably simple enough that you've already tried it, but just in case--
> 
> Have you tried putting her in her crate when you're just hanging out in the same room? I'm not sure where your crate is, but ours is in the living room and I think that made a really big difference. She may be associating the crate with you leaving her, rather than as a happy spot to relax and watch you while you go about your business.
> 
> Also, if you have the time to watch her like a hawk and if she ever does venture into the crate on her own accord, it may be easier to reward that rather than tossing treats into her crate if she's not food motivated. That's something else that we did...every time Iorek walked into his crate on his own, we'd catch him in the act right away and load him up with love and treats.


I'm glad you mentioned this - It occurred to me last night that we only go downstairs when she's going to be put in her crate (either for the night or for feeding) so I tried having her down there while just hanging out this morning. She didn't go near her crate, but she did pee in my bathroom. :doh: The problem with being downstairs is we're far away from the back door when accidents happen, plus Ranger's bed is down there. She crawls into Ranger's bed and sleeps there. I try to put her into her crate so she can nap there (with door open) but she crawls out. I do think it's a good idea, though. I'll try that more this afternoon - after she's peed/pooped outside!

DaisyGolden - Luckily Ranger's been pretty good about her crying. When we were crate training Blue, Blue would whine and Ranger would go running over to sniff him through the crate. It eventually taught Blue that whining would bring Ranger to him. Thank heavens Ranger doesn't do that anymore! He ignores Scarlett when she whines. I think he gets annoyed that she's disturbing his sleep, too!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ranger*

Ranger

Praying it gets easier, day by day. Puppies are so darn cute and they sure can be a handful!!


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

Good luck - We were never very good enforcers of the crate, but luckily neither of them put up much of a fuss. They were out of the crate at night as soon as they could be trusted. Sawyer will still sleep in his from time to time (with the door open). If I was looking at adopting, it wouldn't make a difference to me if they were crate-trained or not, but I may be the minority there.....


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Probably the best thing I ever did was watch a video called "Crate Games" by Susan Garrett. Now this video is designed for those dogs that compete in performance events but the result of the technique is your dog learns to LOVE their crates. I used it with my more recent dog, Baxter, who was 10 months old when I brought him home and not a real fan of a crate. After a short time of following the initial instructions from this video my pup learned to want to be in the crate as one of his favorite places.
Just a thought...
Here is a link: Welcome to Dogwise.com


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks Baybeams! That looks great - I will definitely be ordering that!

A little update on Miss Scarlett: She was eating all her meals in her crate yesterday without whining, went in there to play for a little bit, and then when I put her in there last night, she fussed for only 10 minutes before falling asleep!! She did have a BIG afternoon which I'm sure helped. I think we're getting the hang of it!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ranger*

Ranger

It sure sound like Ms. Scarlett is making progress, thanks to her wonderful Foster Mom!!


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## Mirinde (Jun 8, 2011)

Yay! So glad to hear she's making progress. Try to stay motivated, I'm sure once she finds her furever home, they will really appreciate the effort you put in to make sure she is a happy camper in her crate.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I've used every piece of advice in this thread since I got Scarlett wednesday night and tonight, we had huge success. How many minutes did it take before Scarlett calmed down? FOUR. FOUR minutes after I put her in her crate!!

We spent a lot of time downstairs today and every time she napped, I lifted her into her crate so she could nap there instead of on Ranger's dog bed or Ranger himself. All her meals have been fed in it. I've put her in there while doing random chores (with earplugs in my ears and a little treat for her to keep her occupied). I've thrown random toys in and fussed when she went in. Stopped letting her sleep after 8pm and from 9-9:30 I roll her little yellow football around outside so she can chase it. Zoomies happen after that, she has a potty break, and then she's overtired and starts being a little piranha. We go downstairs and she goes into her crate (willingly tonight!) and then she cries and settles down. Sometimes the crying lasts for an hour, sometimes 20 minutes. Last night it was ten minutes and tonight it was 4 minutes! I'm hoping she STAYS asleep! Two nights ago she slept for an hour then cried the rest of the night. We'll see! At least I don't feel bad about having to leave her in the crate tomorrow morning when I go to work. Thank goodness I had all weekend to work on it!


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

Great job! You are doing such wonderful things for her!


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

Bella adjusted the first day...after a few in-n-out sessions. This is the crate--which I love too!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Oooh, your crate is much fancier than Scarlett's! No wonder your pup loves going in there!

Here's a pic of Scarlett's; Ranger's XL crate with 2 boxes, a fleece blanket over them, two fleece blankets on the bottom and some random toys. There are a few more toys now than in these pics!









We are making progress, though. Slowly but surely. Scarlett was asleep in the crate at noon when I got home instead of yelping and whining. Tonight, she went in and fell asleep within 5 minutes! Hardly any yelping at all! Slowly but surely!


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## Tucker'sMom (Jun 26, 2011)

Hey Ranger!

Is Scarlett going in on her own, on command yet? We have to lure Tucker in with a peanut butter Kong and close the door while he isn't looking. Very minor fussing afterward, but definitely not ready to jump right on in there.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

She's going in on her own most of the time, but not enough that I want to cue it yet. Just in case she doesn't go in, I don't want to cue her and then have her run off somewhere or me have to put her in. I'd say she's close to 90% though. Once she's at 100%, I'll start adding the cue.

We had a set-back today, though. I had to move her crate upstairs so we could work on some intense house-training and she hated being in her crate upstairs!! Yelped and cried for 20 minutes. I went back to Step 1 and her in the crate with the door open and was petting her and fussing over her and playing with a toy in there until she got more interested in what was going on in the crate than in trying to leave. if she tried to leave, I gently blocked her with my arm and re-directed her attention to a toy or something else in the crate. I did that for the first 45 min session of being in there.

The next 45 min session, I gave her a bully stick. She wasn't interested in it at all until I started playing with her with it. Then she went wild for it and was dragging it around her crate trying to chew on it. That kept her occupied for the whole 45 min while I sat outside her crate with the door closed (once she was playing with it.) The next session she fell asleep within 5 minutes and I stayed with her with my feet through the door. Next time after that, I closed the door and walked away but left my sandals at the door so she could smell them (lucky her.) After that she was back to loving her crate and she was running in on her own. I added some new toys: a marrow bone with peanut butter, the aforementioned bully stick, a kong for her kibble at meals, and a fleece tug toy I wedged through a hole in the wire door so she could play tug with it when she wanted. That was a big hit!

Tomorrow I'm going to spend some time throwing random pieces of kibble in there for her meals. Hopefully by lunch time she'll be running in with no hesitation and then I'll start cueing her. Fingers crossed! I also think this day of super intense house-training has helped! I think she's getting the idea!

P.S If he's going in, then wanting to run out, I'd take a step back in crate-training since he's not liking the crate, but rather is being bribed in there. Toss a piece of kibble in there (without command), let him eat it, and run out. Toss another one in and repeat until he's not hesitating about going in. (If he's not going in after it, toss it pretty close to the door). Once he's going in and going out with no hesitation, toss one in a little further toward the back of the crate. Then when he's still in there, toss another one, and another one, and another one so he's eating them and staying in there. Make sure you're praising as he's running in there and eating the kibble, and when he's standing in there eating the kibble pieces. Try doing that with his next few meals and see if that makes a difference in him wanting to stay in there instead of rushing out.


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## crazy daisy (Jul 3, 2011)

it took me 2 years to point Daisy to the crate when I need to leave the house.... 

crate training isn't easy, it took many sleepless months to crate train her, instead of her training me.....

Daisy's crate has nothing in it (she is a big chewer)....however, have you considered throwing in one of your smelly t-shirts? Use your scent to your advantage...


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Just curious-have you considered just making your home "puppy proof" and dispensing with the crate altogether?
Brooks spent part of one night in the crate and my son couldn't bear to hear him cry, so that was the end of the crate.
In the main house, we closed doors off to rooms, picked up every single thing that could be chewed except his toys, and at night he slept in a mudroom that was completely bare except for his bed, water and food dishes, and his toys.
We never had a single "chewing damage" situation in all his puppyhood.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, I don't really have a room I can fence off. It's an open floor plan so dining room, kitchen, living room, etc are all connected. Plus, I have to look at it from her next family's point of view; puppies/dogs that are crate-trained can adapt to a family's routine easier than those that aren't. 

Plus, Scarlett's liking her crate a lot more now! I've been using it a lot the past few days for house-training and she's running in there on her own and only fussing for a few minutes now before sleeping. She's on her way!


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I am glad she is adapting.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I'm glad she is seeming to adapt and liking her crate better!! Its always frustrating those first few nights when they are up whining and crying all night - you feel like there is no way they'll ever tolerate it. But they usually relax in the end!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Scarlett*

So very glad that ms. Scarlett is doing better with her crate!!


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