# Stopping Barking in Crate



## kurty513 (Mar 23, 2006)

Dakota is now 5 months old. how do I stop the constant barking in the crate? She will bark for hours. Its almost impossible to have people over. Its like her lungs dont stop. Have tried the sheet everything to make it like her place. Should i get a barking device to stop it?

HELP


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

How much exercise is she getting? Is she barking because she's bored? Wants to play? 

How much time is she spending in the kennel every day?


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Maggie was like that(at night) and our trainer told us to hook the leash to the crate door and when they bark nonstop... snap the leash....needless to say it didnt work for Maggie (she is very head strong) I gave in and she didnt go back in there at night or for that matter she hasnt been back in a crate since she was 3 months old..she now is 8 months.


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## kurty513 (Mar 23, 2006)

We go to the dog park everyday for over an hour. She is out of the crate probably all the time we are not at work. However it is constant. She will not allow us five minutes of free time....... How do you stop it>


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

what about putting a gate up in the kitchen and letting her be free in there, When we stop putting Maggie in her crate, she could only go in the family room and Kitchen, plus out back( we have a dog door with a fenced in backyard).As she got alittle older we let her have the run of the upstairs... but no bedrooms, while we are gone.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

So she's in the crate only during bedtime? If you're putting her in the crate while you're doing something else, where is the crate? It may be that she just wants to be near you. 

The technique that Maggies Mom suggested worked for our shih tzu, but you have to stay out of sight when you tug. I used a really long lead. 

You might want to try a Gentle Leader on Dakota. I put one on Brandy when she starts barking too much and it calms her right down. But you do have to keep an eye on her to make sure she hasn't maneuvered the halter off of her muzzle. They'll chew right through it.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Five months? That's about the time we stopped using the crate... I know that's probably not an option when there's nobody home, though. I'm lucky to be working from home....


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

No advice here. Never used a crate excet to keep our adopted golden mix inactive after heartworm treatment. And it was a large wire one set up in the livingroom so she could see everything during the day. At that time apparently she had never slept in bedroom, so didn't bark at night.


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

How many hours out of 24 is she spending in the crate?...honestly..
Try somthing heavier than a sheet... somthing that makes it dark in the crate.. 
my dogs know what the word "quiet" means.. but I think it goes along with all the rest of your training.. they first need to know they must mind you..

what do you do when she barks???.. I would guess the following.. you yell at her a few times.. and she has no idea what you are talking about.. to her it is just barking.. lol... and then eventually you let her out to shut her up.. 
you now have to break an acquired behavior.. which is tougher than getting it right in the first place.. 
Here is what I did with one of my dogs that would bark in the crate in the bback of the truck when we were training and she was waiting her turn..first of all, she knew what quiet meant.. and I could shut her up, but it required me going to the truck and getting on her... I had a set of walkie talkies... and I planted one of those near her crate... when she barked I said "quiet" over the walkie talkie.. it must have been spooky.. it worked.. and she soon just quit barking altogether.. 
I have never had a bark collar, but have seen them work very very well.. just know what you are doing... what you don't want is for them to get wise to when the collar is on and off... so they need to wear it with it turned off quite a bit so they dont associate the trouble with the collar... 
if you go that route, get a high quality one.. one that is activated by their throat..not a noise.... noise activated ones will go off when another dog barks.. not good... 
I would take the time to train her to be quiet.. you are going to have to be patient and she is going to have to not like getting in trouble... it may be that even though you are going in and telling her to shut up, she views it as getting attention.. 
i have wandered.. dunno if any of this is any help..


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Greg, can you share how you taught the word "quiet" (versus just ignoring the behavior)?


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

I set em up.. actually pick my time when I want to do this.. in this case I would put her in the crate and hide close... soon as I hear the first bark.. I am in her face.. let her know that dad is really unhappy.. and the command..quiet... back in the crate.. repeat until she is quiet.. after a period of silence she gets to come out.. ... once you start, you have to have zero tolerance.. dont put her in the crate unless you are prepared to enforce the issue.. 
which may mean a couple nights out of the crate.. but the secret, in my opinion, in any type of training is consistancy.. dont let her bark one time and then the next time let it go for a while.. one bark and you are in her face..nose to nose.. "quiet"... 
this is not a screaming.. a serious businesslike tone.. look her in the eye.. You WILL do as I say young lady.. 
you gotta be more stubborn than she is... you wear her down rather than visa versa.. 
don't be mad at her..just let her know that she is going to live by your rules.. she doesnt know that her barking is annoying.... 
but I would try the heavier and darker cover first.. I have always had really good luck with that..
but.. i also go back to my initial question.. how many hours per day is she spending in the crate?.. it may just be way too many.. you may be the unreasonalbe one..
I also believe it connects to all training.. they learn to mind...once you have that, then it is just a matter of teaching "stuff".


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## GOODTIMN (May 30, 2005)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Could it be anxiety seperation problem???????
Giving way to much attention at an early age and then expecting them to be independant when dog/pup is not at your side/space and you not at their side/space...

You must try to find out why/what, before you can solve the problem......

Start at the beginning and think and think about when and how and why this problem may have come about before using ways that may not be acceptable to solving it...

I beleive there is more to this problem than just what you may have been able to type, so think about the process from the beginning and maybe then someone may have the help for your problem....

I realize a barking dog whether it be in a crate or just in its area of the yard/house is a pain, but something causes this behaivior and it can be solved.....


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

yeah..she wants out of the crate...


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## goldencity (May 26, 2005)

Why does she have to be in the crate? Are you talking about her barking at night, or is she in the crate during the day as well?

It must get very boring for a sociable dog like a GRto be in a crate when there are people in the house but out of reach! You say she has about an hour at the dog park every day- how much of the rest of the time is she in the crate???

It sounds to me like she is bored and lonley, shes only young so will have lots of energy, mental and physical. Try giving her more to do, dont keep her shut up for so long. Why does she have to be in hr crate when you have guests? Meeting people is one of my dogs fav. things!


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

yep..I dont think we can address this until we have that question answered... we really need to know how much time that pup is in the crate.. 
now..if you are in a situation where you have to be gone all day and she is in the crate and then she is also crated all night then I would suggest some alternative during the day... such as..building her a really nice kennel.. 
keeping her in a crate all day then again all night is not a good deal.. i would bark too.. some fence off an area within the house and puppy proof it.. like the laundry room or such.. or a closed in back porch... 
but first we need to know the whole situation.. and most of us will not judge.. we will just brainstorm ideas.. some will criticize what others of us say, but with enough ideas you can pick and choose what would work best for you... 
and I for one can understand not letting a high energy pup out amongst your guests until she has learned to behave properly.. but that is another issue...


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## spidey46x2 (Apr 4, 2006)

We found the PERFECT solution for this - 

Simba would be in his crate barking a few times. We had a large cardboard box from a new appliance we just bought. I cut it in half and put it in front of the crate. He stopped barking immediately! He lied down and started chewing one of his toys. We figured out that he only barked when he could SEE us. 

I often do this when I'm on the phone or if my husband is napping (he works shifts) it still works great after all this time. I often peek over the cardboard to see him and he's sound asleep. At this point, I can put the cardboard away and he doesn't bother even getting up.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

spidey46x2 said:


> We figured out that he only barked when he could SEE us.


Samson was the same way. If he thought he was missing out on something, he wanted out....but as long as everything was quiet and he didn't see what looked like someone enjoying themselves, he was okay.


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## Lexie's Mom (Dec 14, 2005)

Gregs way of teaching quiet is wonderful. NEVER let a dog out of the crate when the behavior is NOT what you want at that time. If you're letting the dog out when he/she is barking, then you are rewarding BAD behavior. I think it's great that you crate your dog. It isn't a cruel thing as some think. It gives your dog a safe place to unwind. Dogs can get into many harmful things if left unattended at night or while you are away. Lexie was crated until 1 year but my other dog, who is 11 months now, will continue to be crated at night and when we aren't home. He loves his crate. It's his calm down time and sleep time. He'll go in there when he's tired and sleep even with the door open. Good Luck with your crate training. I promise it will get better. Also, where is the crate located? My sisters has her crates in her family room. I hate that. Mine is located in my laundry area. It has a door to shut and it's his time to unwind and never barks. Maybe the location is the key. Think about a nice quiet area for your dog. Where would, he/she be the most comfortable and out of a hectic area.


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