Needs tips for crate training older (new) dog (1 Viewer)

[Ron-P]

We adopted her about 2 weeks ago, a Yorkshire Terrier. We were told she's 1.5 years old but we think she's younger. The first week or so she slept in bed with our daughter and other dog (he's the same age) but she would get up at night a do her bizz so we were told to crate her at night to help with house breaking.

She's slept in a crate for a few nights but then we had to board both dogs for several nights as we went out of town. We're back and ready to do this. We go to bed about 10'ish on average. We feed both dogs about 7am and then again at 3pm. We walk them about 8'ish. So here are some questions...


- What's a good afternoon feeding time? It seems she needs to poop about 11pm or soon after, which is too late for us. She rarely goes about 8 when on the walks.

- Should we keep the same feeding time and put her in at 10 no matter if she's gone or not and just let her hold it until about 6 when we get up?

- She does whine a lot when she goes in the crate, and then after a couple of hours when she wakes. Should we just let her be and not get her out to go do her bizz?

- On average how long does it take until they get used to the crate and stops the whining? We have to put her in my HT room in the garage otherwise we would not get sleep. I hate to do this and want her in the house with us but not until the whining stops.

 

[Matt^Brown]

My experience is for a younger dog but I got these same basic tips from a bunch of people.

I feed my dog three times a day - little in the morning 7:30am -a bunch in the afternoon 3pm-a little at night-7:30pm

I put my dog in the cage no matter what. I try to get her to go but if not I stick with the same schedule. If I hear the dog crying in the middle of the night I let her out for about 5 minutes to use the restroom. I do not play with her at all. I just go outside with her so she can go and then back inside to the crate. I do normally give a little treat for doing the deed.

Mine use to whine as well but now she only cries if she really can't hold it. I know to let her out and then all is well. This only happens about once every two weeks not and she is 7-1/2 months old.

Best of luck and I hope you get everything worked out.

 

[BryanZ]

My wife and I have crate trained both our dogs. The younger one is two and we got him from the shelter when he was 6 months old.

With him, we feed him one cup of food 3 times a day. 7 am, 6ish pm, and just before bed, which is anywhere from 10 - 11 pm. Why so late? When we first got him he would get sick from an empty stomach. Nothing like dry heaving to wake you up at 5 am. After a few days of that we started feeding him just before bed and all has been well ever since.

I would either try feeding a little later or even going on a little longer walks. With Bailey, he eats then immediately does his business. If we go on a walk on top of that ... you can expect a "gift" while on the walk.

Our other dog, Allie, 3, will sometimes do her business right away and sometimes not. However, she will let us know when she needs to go. She is an ADD dog who can be easily distracted. We also only feed her one cup of food twice a day, once at 7 and once between 5 and 6.

We let both out one last time for the night around 9. We will only let them out again before the morning if we know something is wrong. Also, they do not get water after 8.

One thing to note is Bailey is a 90 lb dog and Allie checks in just under 60 lbs, so they may have a bit better "storage capacity" (except when we take them to the dog park, of course).

With the crate, is it in the same room as you? One thing to keep in mind is dogs love to be with their masters. We have both crates in our bedroom though Bailey does not sleep in his at night. He prefers either the dog bed or moving blankets as of late. Allie sleeps in her crate by choice though it is left open. Having her sleep in your bedroom with you may put an end to the whining.

One thing to help with the crate training is a Kong filled with a treat, topped with peanut butter, and then frozen overnight. When we leave in the morning we give both of them their Kong. They do not get it until they are in their crate. They see those come out in the morning and it is off to the races.

Our dogs crates are their sanctuary and bed. I am very thankful both our dogs have been crate trained.

Experiment, be patient, reward her when she does well, and good luck!