# 8 month old started crying in crate



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Perhaps she experienced a traumatic experience in the crate? I would go back to the beginning with crate games to try to desensitize her. 


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Look for the video "Crate Games" and start making it a positive thing to be in the crate again. Probably just a phase.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

That was about the age Hank started fighting the crate so we decided to try letting him sleep outisde it in out bedroom. We put a gate across the doorway. That was the end of the crate. (we only used a crate at night, he was gated in the kitchen/laundry room when we were out)


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## Ernie D (Mar 18, 2013)

Ernie is 5 1/2 months and sleeps on his own bed in our room with us....no more crate at night and he sleeps from about 9:30 to 5:00am... No problems....maybe your golden is ready for crate graduation at least for bed time....the experts might disagree with me, but for us our dog's behavior greatly improved with less time in the crate. He is much less frantic. We gate the bedroom just in case, but he loves his bed!


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## tfbf3250 (Feb 16, 2013)

Very helpful advice everyone. We let her sleep in our room one night and she slept all night. The next night she woke up at midnight and wanted to play with her toys and kept us awake barking in the dark. We managed through that night but decided to go back and start from the beginning with crate training and now she is back in her crate at night with no complaining. 


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## Ernie D (Mar 18, 2013)

My friend at work had the same problem. The first night everything went great, and then it became challenging.... He kept at it three more nights, told puppy go to bed, and eventually after the dog figured it out, he stopped the antics. It is hard work sometimes, but you have to be willing to try to it more than once. goldens are known for attention seeking ....they like to work the room...That being said, some people prefer the crate and swear by it. I'm all for it when I'm not home, but I feel that my dog is confined enough. It's just a preference. I've had 8 dogs through the course of my life and all of them successfully slept without confinement. I think for those of us that have full time careers, there is some guilt about " the crate" .....Ultimately it is up to you  


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## tfbf3250 (Feb 16, 2013)

So maybe I wasn't totally clear on the issue. I've had my 8 month old for 5 months, I work from home so she is out of her crate all day and goes in the crate at night to sleep or if I leave the house for a few hours. She also goes to puppy play care 2 days a week where she runs free and plays with her friends. Everything was fine until one night, she began crying in her crate. I also noticed she was crying when I tried to put her in the crate to go grocery shopping. Before this, she went happily into her crate. 


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

My girl started crying in her crate when I put her in for the night after being fine with it for about 7 months.
Someone suggested I cover the crate with a sheet/blanket (think like you cover a bird). It worked like a charm. Never had another peep unless she actually needed out.
I used just a sheet to cover it for a few weeks, then purchased an actual crate cover.


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## tfbf3250 (Feb 16, 2013)

That's funny because I have a sheet over her crate already. Maybe I should try taking it off, LOL. 


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