# help! Rocco does not sleep alone at night!



## barrett (Feb 1, 2008)

I assume this is a puppy? I'd highly recommend using a plastic kennel and keep him in the room near you. he'll get comfort knowing you are nearby. As he ages you can gradually move him out of your room in stages if you still insist. Please remember he can still get into trouble & cause damage in a laundry room. (ingesting household products, eating through the gyproc)


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## ziggy (Aug 12, 2010)

barrett said:


> I assume this is a puppy? I'd highly recommend using a plastic kennel and keep him in the room near you. he'll get comfort knowing you are nearby. As he ages you can gradually move him out of your room in stages if you still insist. Please remember he can still get into trouble & cause damage in a laundry room. (ingesting household products, eating through the gyproc)


Yes he is 4 months old! Everything in the laundry room is out of reach and locked up. I took extra precaution in making sure he does not hurt himself! The kennels in the pet stores are really expensive though; would you by any chance know a place I can get one for cheap? What if I put a doggy door instead of closing the laundry room door so he can see out? Or is that not going to help? 

Thanks!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

You can try a baby gate, but they usually are happier in a crate in the room with you until they are older. You can look on Craigslist for crates for sale. Walmart has them for less than the petstores.


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## 58loosy (Apr 18, 2010)

Yes, the crate is ideal mine was right next to me at night and then at 6 mos. she grew out of it so from then on she slept on the bed. I love it both my dogs are on the bed.


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## barrett (Feb 1, 2008)

if money is tight, i'd shop kijiji for the large crate so you'll only have to buy one for the dog's life. BUT you'll have to modify the crate so he can't have the whole thing. I used one of those blue tupperware storage bins weighed down with old magazines (with lid taped down) to take up 1/2 of the Xl crate & modify again as he grows. The reason for not allowing the *entire* large crate is because he'll create one end for using the washroom and the other for sleeping & make potty training extremely unlikely. 
Please see the many threads on crate training for other good tips & tricks. 


...about the laundry room...I've personally seen the damage done by a young lab where he ATE through the two layers of gyproc, past live electrical wires, to escape a room. He then got into the garbage! in this case he was unharmed, but wow, what a close call!


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

My border collie...chewed the door casing off!! And she usually does not chew!! And ingesting wood like that can not be good! Have you tried to ignore the pup? If you are letting the puppy out while he/she is barking, you are just fueling him/her to keep doing it. THe pups thought is: "Wow...if I keep barking she will just let me out of here." Wait until the puppy is completely quiet for a few minutes then let the pup out. Do you feed you pup in the bathroom? Like a crate...you want the pup to get used to the area that we they know it is not a bad place. When you crate train, you can put the food and water in the back so they have to go in the crate to eat...treats....toys and it is open so the pup can see everybody. The bathroom is closed off. Hope this helps


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## ziggy (Aug 12, 2010)

Thanks every for the great advice! I actually just picked up a crate from my friend that no longer uses it (its a bit to big tho). And I'm more than delighted to announce that rocco is sound asleep in his crate as we speak! He did not bark/yelp at all. 

One more question: should I leave his toys in the crate? I was told not to but I would like to hear from others.

Thanks!


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

That is great! Nothing like a peaceful night  I would not leave the toys in there. He could chew on them and swallow something while you are not there...who knows what they would do with them...especially when he starts going through teething stages!!! Just bribe him in the crate like: "Rosco, Kennel" and throw a treat in the back and that way he know everytime he goes in the crate he gets a treat. I will tell mine to go kennel up and they run in with the door still open sitting in there looking at me stupid, like ...where is my treat lady??


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## ziggy (Aug 12, 2010)

kfayard said:


> That is great! Nothing like a peaceful night  I would not leave the toys in there. He could chew on them and swallow something while you are not there...who knows what they would do with them...especially when he starts going through teething stages!!! Just bribe him in the crate like: "Rosco, Kennel" and throw a treat in the back and that way he know everytime he goes in the crate he gets a treat. I will tell mine to go kennel up and they run in with the door still open sitting in there looking at me stupid, like ...where is my treat lady??


Alright that's fair enough. Bribing him with a treat was actually what I did! And that's adorable how they just wait for the treat. Rocco waits right by the cabinet where I keep his treats right after he goes to the washroom outside!


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

However you want to do it, the way to crate train is to make the crate a wonderful place. Sounds like he has already learned this because he slept in it! You can reinforce this by giving food, treats, toys while in the crate. If you can help it, never lure him in and then quickly close the door while he's not looking and don't force him inside. When you let him out make it no big deal (just open the door and walk away) and don't let him out as soon as you get home or get up. When he goes in the crate by himself do, however, make it a huge celebration.

A lot of people leave safe toys (kongs for example) in the crate, especially if it is not nightime. We don't put any toys in the crate because he's generally only in there for sleeping at night. We always give him a carrot/piece of celery when he goes into his crate.


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