thehairdresser Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 Hi, sorry if this has already been covered elsewhere. We are struggling with crate training at the moment. What do people think is the quickest and easiest way to do it? At the moment, her food and water bowl is in there, and we are giving her a Kong toy in there as a reward for doing a little bit of training (5 mins of walking round the garden on the lead without attacking me!! haha) and only shutting the door on her when she has her kong toy, which she is only allowed in her crate. Then we are going upstairs for 10 mins, she just goes mental and cries like someone is strangling her! I know its a little too big for her but she never makes a mess in there. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskywolfdog Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 I had this problem with my dog it took a very long time for her to understand that we were coming back i still crate her and just sometimes she lets put it nicely "sings" i did the whole kong thing with her to make her try get food out of the kong instead of screaming i also found that giving her something like a filled bone or a pigs ear /nose helped carm her down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 Does she go crazy right away? Maybe 10 minutes is too much starting out...maybe try a few minutes and then come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I agree with Elyse. As a start to crate training 10 minutes is way too much. Start by leaving her for sixty seconds, and keep increasing the time from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chula Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 For night-time, the first two nights we had her we just put her in the crate with the door open. She was a little scared so she stayed in there on her own. We put her crate by the bed, which was helpful. Then after the first few nights we put her in her crate with the door closed and let her cry. Since she was still a baby we'd take her out every couple of hours to potty, but mostly we just let her cry it out until she stopped. She only cried the first 2 or 3 nights, and then she just got used to it and stopped, with the exception of a couple times she had the runs and would go nuts trying to get out of her crate so that she didn't poop herself. For the first week of day-time crate training, I just left the crate door open and would give her the occasional special snack or special toy that she only got in her crate. Then I'd close the door while she was eating and would sit and read a magazine or a book or watch TV for a few minutes. Never ever let her out while she is crying, even if you just get a 5 second break in the cries. Wait until she is quiet. Amazingly, crate training is one of the things we didn't struggle with. We just kind of went whole hog and decided to put up with a couple days of crying. She got over it, and now is awesome in her crate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 I kind of jumped into crate training as well. Nikko and Yukon put up a big fight going in the crate for awhile when I would leave. At night they got pretty used to it quickly, but their crates were in my room at night so they felt near me. When I would leave they would not want to go in the crate and would be howling before I left the house. This went on for several weeks with Nikko, a little less with Yukon. Now, they both put themselves in their crates when it is time to leave. I always give them a treat when I put them in the crate, and they have special bones that they only get while crated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samsonite1020 Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Hello, We had the same issue with Kira, I know the loud whine/howl that drives you insane... honestly consistency and letting them howl it out is the best way to do it. What we tried and seems to work with us is we hid treats/kibble in the crate when she wasnt looking then she would walk in there and there would be a positive surprise for her. We would also sit infront of her crate and lock her in there for a few minutes then let her out and reward her both while she was in the crate and once she was coming out. Give those options a try they seemed to have worked for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehairdresser Posted July 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 Just wanted to say thanks for the advice, we've cracked the crate now, it's her little safe haven n she loves it. Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted July 13, 2013 Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 Congrats! It took a few months to get mine to like their crates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Congratulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val (Zebedee) Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 that is great news, well done. Huskies do learn quickly but they will also test your patience so consistency is key. Congrats on your hard work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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