should my new puppy sleep in its kennel downstairs or upstairs with me?

Question

my puppy is about 9 months old, i adopted her. i put her in the kennel when i'm not home so she doesn't chew up stuff and pee all over the place. but she barks every time i put her in it, including at night. so should i keep her in the kennel at night or let her sleep with me to keep her from barking? i'm sure my neighbors hate me by now.

Answer 1

I'd put her kennel in your room, near the bed, and let her sleep in it. Dogs are pack animals, they need to be with their "family" but you have to maintain your position as the alpha or lead dog, so you don't want her sleeping in your bed. Is she getting enough exercise? It's always a concern that they are barking from boredom. The best dog training book ever is "How to be your dog's best friend" by the Monks of New Skeete. It gives lots of non-violent tips for controlling barking and other unwanted behaviors. Good luck with your new baby!!

Answer 2

This puppy is spending too much time in a kennel and it sounds like she was not kennel tried too well in the first place. When you're kennel training a young puppy, they're never just put in the crate and left. You have the crate in the busiest room in the house, put a few treats in the doorway, once they get those, put them in the crate, then progress to feeding the puppy in the crate. When the puppy is comfortable, you can close the door for a few minutes only at first - that's how the puppy comes to think of the crate as her safe place.

By 9 months she should be over both the chewing stage and peeing in the house, but if not, she needs to be in it during the day when you're not home. Is she trained enough that you can put a bed for her in your room and confine her to your room at night? That way, at least she'll have some companionship and not feel so lonely.

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/zLXs2

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

There are lots of different opinions on the crate training thing. When I got my American Eskimo Dog 12 yrs ago, I used crate training. I didn't want her sneaking off to have an accident at nite, nor did I want her chewing up my things. By the time she was 3, I no longer used a crate for her. She was fully potty trained and no longer chewed my belongings. She also crashed in the bed, too.

I think it's fine to let your pup sleep with you as long as you know she isn't going to sneak off to chew or relieve in your house. I believe in crate training, but only to avoid the stages that can cause the most damage to the home (potty accidents and chewing).

We have a 5 month old Border Collie who is crated at nite time, but we keep her in our bedroom. We have found she is much calmer at least being in the same room with us. So if you choose to crate at nite time, I think this might be a good option.

Answer 5

IN THE KENNEL!

Ignore her when she's barking, too. Tough love, baby. It's all that works.

If it were a five year old, would you allow them to sleep in your room with you because she whined whenever she had to sleep in her room? No, of course not. You'd put her in her room. Yes, she'd whine, cry, and have a freaking fit for a while, but, eventually, she'd get over it. She'd accept that that's what she's supposed to do. So will your dog.

Answer 6

Melon is right on with her comments. Crate training is great way to get your puppy/dog through the "difficult" stages of their life. Some tips: Don't use the crate as means of disciplining your dog, do your best to make the crate a positive experience, and if possible don't go to her/him or talk to them when they are barking/whining in the crate (unless of course it seems like something is wrong with them). Also, check with your vet and get their input on the max time (based on age, breed, disposition, and health) you should leave your dog in the crate.

Fyi: Allowing your dog to sleep with you is okay as long as your dog does NOT display dominance issues and/or your significant other doesn't mind. : )

Answer 7

Hi,

You could either put her in bed with you or but her kennel in your bedroom.

Maybe you could also try putting a blanket over the kennel like they do for bird cages.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

keep her in the kennel at night for the first month or so, then let her sleep with you. Trust me on this one, when I was a kid we had over 60 dogs. (we fostered orphan dogs)

Answer 9

Never let a dog sleep in your bed with you. But she could definitely sleep on the floor beside your bed, or in her crate in your room.
If you teach her that her crate is her safe haven she will happily go in it and not bark. It takes a bit of training but very well worth it.

Answer 10

I think you should leave her in her kennel and just ignore her. Dont tell her to be quiet or anything. Once in a while you can have her sleep with you but dont make it so often.

Best of Luck!