I have a 8 month old puppy! I have been trying to train him to sleep in a kennel at NIGHT ONLY!!!. I tried to give him a kong with peanut butter as a treat when he's in the kennel! I even tried a warm water bottel! He keeps whinning for hours until I finally give in and let him out! I WANT MY BED BACK!! Please help!!
Anonymous
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make sure the kennel is big enough so he has room to move around. put a dog bed and his favorite toy inside. also try walking him before going to bed so that he is tired. then have him walk in the kennel and when he does give him his treat. you may also want to put something of yours in the kennel like an old shirt or something that has your scent on it. also agree that you should put it next to your bed so he doesn't feel abandoned. hope that helps.
Chris R
Unfortunately there probably isn't a simple solution. I'm assuming the dog has been sleeping in your bed since you got him, correct?
Without knowing the breed of dog and your relationship, it's difficult to give an opinion, but basically...
If the dog sees himself as an equal or, more probably, a superior, he's going to protest when you put him somewhere that he can't leave. And if this is the case your first step is to reestablish dominance. That would be another question altogether, and the sleeping situation itself reads about the same way.
Basically, if you've already established that the kennel is negative the dog will never be comfortable there. By negative I mean you tell him when to go there, and you tell him when he leaves. To restart this situation you'd probably want to make the crate comfortable, but not allow toys or other distractions. The crate is where he goes to "shut down." For the first few weeks the door never locks. You just ask him to go inside, wait a few mins, and then reward with a treat. The amount of time you wait should extend from day to day. Eventually you can lock the door, and then unlock it soon after, etc.
But this is long and may not solve the problem. A better bet is to start over. Get a dog bed and put it in your room. When you sleep the dog stays on the floor. If he jumps up on the bed you reprimand and place him on the bed. The bed should have a small cotton sheet, or something similar, for him to nest in. He'll soon learn that is bed is the dog bed, and yours is the human bed.
Consistency is very important. If you're strong willed (NOT aggressive, just assertive), you should be able to set when and under what circumstances the dog can be on the bed. But if you can't than he shouldn't be allowed on the bed at all until he sleeps on his bed every night without protest.
Hope that helps!
zpie
The kong and water bottles are good ideas. You may want to step back in your training a little and try short spans only for a while. Try starting with 10-15 minutes while he plays with the kong (the goal is to have him in the kennel and being content and quiet). Let him out before he gets restless. Try doing it where he can see you (maybe while you do dishes or fold laundry). Again, let him out with praise when he is able to accomplish the goal for a short time. Then begin extending the amount of time you expect him to be in the kennel, but again, let him see you and know that you are around. You don't have to talk to him, just let him know you are present. Give him a stern no or some other key word if he does begin to become restless or whiny. Catch it almost before it happens if possible (can you sense when he is gearing up for noise?). This will take some time but the benefits will be worth the effort.
Superfro
Here is what worked for us...we put the kennel in the bedroom with us, near the foot of the bed so puppy could see our feet, but not us. We would give her a little treat when we put her in and then shut the door. Also, we started this by putting him in for short amounts of time during the day, 5...10...15...30 minutes, working up each time. If he starts whining right way, give him a sharp "No! Bad boy!" and then ignore him. When you get him out, praise like crazy!
It might be worse if you are only kenneling at night..and not at night plus when you are gone in the daytime. Puppy thinks he has the reign of the house all the time and doesn't understand that it's beddy bye time.
We also fed our puppy in the kennel and now she loves it, it's her special place where she feels save. She goes in there willingly when she is tired.
Good luck!
Dalmatian
What ever you do, DO NOT LET HIM OUT WHEN WHINING!!! If you let him out while he is whining he will continue because he learns that if he whines you will let him out. Kennel training can be tiresome. Be patient. You need to start will not just putting him in at night. Start in little increments during the day. start with 30 seconds then give him a treat, then a min, then 3 min. But never leave the room. Put him in shut the door then let him out and praise!!! but dont let him out if he starts tissin a fit or whining. Let him out only when he is quiet. Then once you have gotten to long periods of time put the kennel by the bed so he knows you are there. It takes time and patients esp since he is already 8 months old. The key is to wait him out. Dont give in or he will keep whining