Op here. Not a peep since three nights ago! She never cried it out. For her the space and quiet seemed to work. Cozy basement, nice crate , chew toy and blanket and white noise machine . I got up once at 3 am on my own to take her out for two nights and nothing last night- she was fine. 10 weeks, 15 lbs. she's a sweet loving puppy who also gets a ton of love!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we just got a dog a month ago, he is 4 month old now. I never even considered a crate (i read a lot about it and know all the benefits). What worked for us, is a dog gate in the kitchen area where we set up his corner for sleaping, food, toys, etc. I slept first week on the couch in the leaving room, so he can hear me and I can hear him and quickly take him out in the middle of the night. After that, he got used to that we are around at night and quietly goes to his blanket on the kitchen floor after i bring him from teh last walk and hug hiim and tell him to go to sleap. Now, 4 weeks later, he gets up once per night (at 4 or 5) and then when we all up and running around the kitchen, getting ready for school and work. Now when he is housebroken, we let him run in the living room and hallway (bedrooms are still closed for him). He seems very happy with this arrangements. He stays at the kitchen when I need to go out (for up to 3 hours now), or when I need to do some house work (laundry, shower, vacuuming, etc.). Sometimes he just lays down and falls to sleap right near the gate where he can see me. Sometimes when I tell him that I have to leave adn will be right back, he just wiggle to his blanket and falls to sleap.

I just posted. That puppy was 3 mos not 2 months. At 4 months you should be getting 8 hours.

Do you mean 8 hours of sleep? How to do it? We are the first time dog owner and would love to know what are we doing wrong. He eats at 7-7:30pm last time and I take him out at 8pm and 10-10:30pm. He still up at night to go out.

Putting the crate right by my bed so I could hang my hand next to the puppy's face if/when he woke up and whined made all the difference. The puppy just wanted to know he wasn't alone and he couldn't see me when I was on the bed and he was in the crate. A little pet on the nose and a quiet "hey buddy" was generally enough for him to go back to sleep unless he had to go out for a potty break.

Don't be surprised if you can still hear the puppy whining and crying all the way from the basement if you decide to go that route. Some puppies will just get progressively louder and louder rather than settling down and "giving up" after a while.

Anonymous wrote:OP, we just got a dog a month ago, he is 4 month old now. I never even considered a crate (i read a lot about it and know all the benefits). What worked for us, is a dog gate in the kitchen area where we set up his corner for sleaping, food, toys, etc. I slept first week on the couch in the leaving room, so he can hear me and I can hear him and quickly take him out in the middle of the night. After that, he got used to that we are around at night and quietly goes to his blanket on the kitchen floor after i bring him from teh last walk and hug hiim and tell him to go to sleap. Now, 4 weeks later, he gets up once per night (at 4 or 5) and then when we all up and running around the kitchen, getting ready for school and work. Now when he is housebroken, we let him run in the living room and hallway (bedrooms are still closed for him). He seems very happy with this arrangements. He stays at the kitchen when I need to go out (for up to 3 hours now), or when I need to do some house work (laundry, shower, vacuuming, etc.). Sometimes he just lays down and falls to sleap right near the gate where he can see me. Sometimes when I tell him that I have to leave adn will be right back, he just wiggle to his blanket and falls to sleap.

I just posted. That puppy was 3 mos not 2 months. At 4 months you should be getting 8 hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised at previous posts. I believe in sticking to crate training as a positive. What breed and how old is your puppy? I have labs and a kong with peanut butter and kibble helped. You can use a calming spray specifically for dogs. Have you draped a blanket/towel over the crate and even put 'spa' music on?

We never put the crate in our room, but within earshot. If you need sleep, try the basement and just get puppy out in time to pee. The crate is the best way for training (if done responsibly) Please ignore the first response you received. If you let her sleep in your room, she will expect it the rest of her life. I'm not ok with that, but my dog is very loved and spoiled in other ways!

Oh, gosh you people are cold. Poor dogs! They're pack animals and very snuggly. They've been sleeping in a puppy pile and now in your home they're alone in the basement in a cage?
Humans are the worst animals. Just the worst.
Poor dog.

We always put baby puppies [get at 8 weeks] in our bed. One kids slept on the floor in sleeping bags/air mattresses- puppy went to crner of room-peed-then came back.
In the bed they won't pee and they wake you up. Just like children they transition to their own bed. Our current dog goes to his bed and gets tucked in just like a kid.

OP, we just got a dog a month ago, he is 4 month old now. I never even considered a crate (i read a lot about it and know all the benefits). What worked for us, is a dog gate in the kitchen area where we set up his corner for sleaping, food, toys, etc. I slept first week on the couch in the leaving room, so he can hear me and I can hear him and quickly take him out in the middle of the night. After that, he got used to that we are around at night and quietly goes to his blanket on the kitchen floor after i bring him from teh last walk and hug hiim and tell him to go to sleap. Now, 4 weeks later, he gets up once per night (at 4 or 5) and then when we all up and running around the kitchen, getting ready for school and work. Now when he is housebroken, we let him run in the living room and hallway (bedrooms are still closed for him). He seems very happy with this arrangements. He stays at the kitchen when I need to go out (for up to 3 hours now), or when I need to do some house work (laundry, shower, vacuuming, etc.). Sometimes he just lays down and falls to sleap right near the gate where he can see me. Sometimes when I tell him that I have to leave adn will be right back, he just wiggle to his blanket and falls to sleap.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are very cruel and obviously unready to care for a puppy. Let her sleep on the floor of your room. She won't cry. You can sleep. And you won't be a cruel, evil, and heartless bitch.

+1

Dear God, who lets a puppy cry?

I guess the thousands of parents who also let their babies cry as part of sleep training?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised at previous posts. I believe in sticking to crate training as a positive. What breed and how old is your puppy? I have labs and a kong with peanut butter and kibble helped. You can use a calming spray specifically for dogs. Have you draped a blanket/towel over the crate and even put 'spa' music on?

We never put the crate in our room, but within earshot. If you need sleep, try the basement and just get puppy out in time to pee. The crate is the best way for training (if done responsibly) Please ignore the first response you received. If you let her sleep in your room, she will expect it the rest of her life. I'm not ok with that, but my dog is very loved and spoiled in other ways!

Oh, gosh you people are cold. Poor dogs! They're pack animals and very snuggly. They've been sleeping in a puppy pile and now in your home they're alone in the basement in a cage?
Humans are the worst animals. Just the worst.
Poor dog.

Hmm...how is this any different that teaching a baby to sleep on it's own? Just like you can sleep train a baby, you can sleep train a puppy.

Nightlight(s). And dont put your dog in the basement.

Anonymous wrote:You are very cruel and obviously unready to care for a puppy. Let her sleep on the floor of your room. She won't cry. You can sleep. And you won't be a cruel, evil, and heartless bitch.

+1

Dear God, who lets a puppy cry?

Find a good trainer to work on counter-conditioning the "crate hate". We had to do this after not introducing the crate properly. Basically it involves gradually increasing the time in the crate (starting at about 2 minutes) and treating/giving praise and attention only when the dog is quiet. After doing these exercises, our dog was fine with the crate and we felt better knowing she would stay out of trouble. We also made the crate an awesome place to be as in the only place she got a frozen peanut butter/yogurt kong. Eventually we transitioned her to sleeping in a bed next to our bed but continued to use the crate until we could trust her to roam freely in the house. Now I have a well-adjusted and friendly dog who is just fine when we leave the house. Letting the dog cry it out in the crate without any kind of training probably won't make it magically get used to the crate.

OP- if crate training is done responsibly, it can be a wonderful tool. Here are tips from our vet (who strongly advises crate training):

1. Don't ever go to your dog while she's crying. If there is a small break in crying, use that time to get her out of her crate for potty or play. If you are taking your dog out when crying, she will learn that it gets her what she wants.

2. If you're at home, be sure that you are using the crate some during the day too. Move around as you always do and ignore crying.

3. We put a soft sleeping mat on our sofa the first few days puppy was home then transferred the mat to the crate. This helped immensely as she has a positive association with dozing on the mat (with a lot of petting and tummy rubs).

4. Our crate is in our mudroom where she can hear us but is not allowed out of the crate until we open it. We place a thick blanket over the crate and place toys inside.

5. Put treats inside the crate for awhile and make sure that food bowls are located directly outside. Your puppy will associate the crate with her favorite activities (eating and sleeping).

6. Give the puppy a lot exercise and stimulation and put her in her crate when she is tired and comfortable. She will likely go to sleep quickly. Give her a bedtime- our puppy goes to sleep at nine and wakes up at 6:30. Just like our son. Now, she's tired at that time- yawning, naughty, etc. just like a little child who needs to go to sleep.

7. We have a loud ticking clock next to our crate- I think it soothes puppy.

8. Of course don't use the crate as punishment or leave her in too long. We occasionally use the crate for containment if I our puppy is overstimulated and on a nipping spree- but we don't use angry voices or imply that we're putting her in jail. We just set her in with a few toys and she either goes to sleep or calms down so we can get her back out shortly.

9. Take your puppy on walks (so slow at first as they sniff and stop for everything). Put her in obedience class. If she's reliable, allow others to approach her in a controlled manner. All of this will help socialize your puppy.

Really work with the crate OP- it's a godsend for keeping life manageable and will significantly reduce destructive behaviors while you're house training. Additionally, puppies learn that it's a safe place and that you are coming back- which reduces potential separation anxiety (which will cause all kinds if behavior problems later if you don't nip it in the bud at a young age).

For other critical posters- what is cruel is not properly training and socializing your dog thus allowing it to develop unmanageable behavior issues.

Anonymous wrote:Not cruel at all. I would do it with a baby as well.

Put the baby in a crate in the basement and get up once to change?

To be clear our basement is a very nice space she was warm and cozy and I put a white noise fan on for her. She was fine and with sleeping i am a far better puppy, big dog, and human mom!

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised at previous posts. I believe in sticking to crate training as a positive. What breed and how old is your puppy? I have labs and a kong with peanut butter and kibble helped. You can use a calming spray specifically for dogs. Have you draped a blanket/towel over the crate and even put 'spa' music on?

We never put the crate in our room, but within earshot. If you need sleep, try the basement and just get puppy out in time to pee. The crate is the best way for training (if done responsibly) Please ignore the first response you received. If you let her sleep in your room, she will expect it the rest of her life. I'm not ok with that, but my dog is very loved and spoiled in other ways!

Thank you ! My vet is all for this and he's as kind as can be. She went in at 10 I got her up at 2 and then back in until 7. She was great! And I got sleep desperately needed for my family. She's happy and playful and loving this am. I stay at home so I have a lot of time with her and I have a 4 year old dog too. Both golden retrievers.