I have a puppy that will not crate train. Any ideas?

Question

She is 8 months old, lab mix and she is a rescue......

Answer 1

Keep working at it don't give up. Labs are notorious for being in that puppy stage for a while or as my vet said "he's going to be a teenager for a couple years; you're going to have to be patient". Which is hard when they are tearing up your life. It took us about 2.5 years before we could leave ours out of the crate when we left the house. Now, at 3+ he's out during the day while we are at work but back in at night when we're asleep. It's all about establishing a routine they feel comfortable in.

Good luck and try to stay patient with the big bugger.

Answer 2

I have found that most puppies are food motivated. Try putting a treat to get the puppy into the crate. When you take the puppy out of the crate, go for a walk and have some fun. While on the walk, let the puppy relieve itself. Keep repetting process until the pup has no problems with the crate. Try not to leave the pup in the crate so long as to let it relieve itself in the crate. After you have crate trained, most dogs will use the crate as a home base if left open.

Answer 3

Take an old T-shirt of yours (one that you don't want back), and tuck it in the crate, so that the puppy has something that smells familiar in there. Also, try using treats to get the pup to go in the crate initially, and staying close by with the door open, so that he/she has a chance to get used to it. You can only leave a puppy unattended for 1 hour more than their age in months at a stretch, so please try to make time to walk the dog and socialize in the middle of the day. Also, make sure the crate is not too big. It needs to be large enough for the puppy to stand up and turn around in, but not so large that the puppy feels exposed. Most adult crates ARE too big for puppies, so they designate separate areas for pooping and sleeping, which you probably don't want. So you can just put a cardboard box cut to fit in the area you don't want the pup using, and then reduce the size of the box as the puppy grows. Other than that, lots of praise, rewards, and love. Good luck! :)

Answer 4

for our dogs we have there favorite blanket(s). a few toys. during the "training" process i would give them a treat if they would go in. lay down etc.

luckily i have had little trouble with crate training. I think my youngest kinda learned from watching the other two. now all i do is say Nala bed and she heads right there. I leave there doors open all day so they can escape from the world if need be. I never use there crate as punishment. it forms the wrong idea about why there in there bedrooms. I'm very happy to have crate trained my dogs. we had to move from Washington State to Kansas a few months ago and live in a motel for 5 weeks.

Answer 5

I'd get a good book and follow the directions without compromise. If that doesn't work you might want to find a trainer. I'd find a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA). Make the crate reinforcing, put treat and reinforcers in the crate, praise the puppy for going near the create, make it something they want to do, not a punishment, if it's considered a negative experience they'll never go in there willingly.

Answer 6

depending how long youve been at this you may have to keep at it for awhile longer. make sure the crate is in the same area you spend your most time. he has to feel a part of while getting used to the crate dont keep him seperated from the family. and try pure lavender oil in the crate and on the puppy, he will smell like his crate and dogs as well as cats wont potty where the smell themselves! you can also sprinkle some of his food in the crate since they wont potty where they eat as well

Answer 7

Try making him more comfortable around his crate. Play with him while he's in the crate. Feed him when he's in his crate. Give him treats when he goes into his crate. Do not however comfort him if he starts crying when you close the crate. This will reinforce his behavior of if he cries and whines enough, you'll open the crate and let him out.

Answer 8

i have a welsh corgi who is difient when it comes to learning new things......when he was a puppy, he had the same prob about not wanting to crate train.....we put an old shirt of whoever he was attracted and played with the most, and put it in his crate. and when we would leave...(even if it was only 30 min ) we locked him in his crate....when we got home, if he was quite, we would give him a baby carrot as a treat.....he did really good. he is now 3yrs old now, and all we have to say is we are going bye-bye, and he will go straight to his crate by himself. you just have to be consistant no matter what.

Answer 9

How long have you been trying? How old is the puppy? And how often do you take the puppy outside? And how often do you clean the crate? What kind of dog, and what size of crate?

Answer 10

here is what worked for me give him an old towel that you used and put a treat in the crate and then turn out the lights and put some toys in the crate and shut the door and leave the room and let him cry he will eventually fall asleep