Help with my new puppy!!?

Question

My family has gotten a new 5-week-old puppy. He is part feist and (we think) blue heeler. He looks mostly feist and is very tiny. He is going to live inside. Our problem is that he is always barking when we put him in his cage. We only put him in there when we eat and when we sleep. He is very tiny but unbelievably loud. For the first few days he was in a blue box that was sort of tall and wide, and very good considering his size, but we got him a new wire one were he could see us. He still barks all night! Please don't suggest the clock method because we have already tried that. I know he is only 5-weeks-old but we aren't getting any sleep, PLEASE HELP!!! Please answer quickly and please don't be harsh!

I forgot to mention that he isn't house trained.

Answer 1

Maybe your puppy doesn't like his cage:in that case i would suggest putting him in bed with you or if he liked his box put him in there.

Maybe he isn't tired:Try playing with him take for walks to make him tired that way he will want to go to sleep.

Maybe he has to go: before putting him in his cage try taking him outside to go.

Maybe he gets lonely:Try putting him in bed with you so he can know he is safe and unalone.

Maybe he isn't comfortable:make sure theres a pillow and a blanket so he will feel comfortable


That is exactly what we did with my puppy
we put a pillow and a blanket in his cake so he would sleep better....it helped.

We also said "no" when he barked that way he learned it Wasn't OK to bark when he is supposed to go to sleep.

Hope I helped and good luck with the puppy.

Answer 2

He isn't suppose to be housetrained yet, he is too young. In fact, he is too young to even be away from his mother...it is illegal to take dogs from their mother at only 5weeks. Anyway, I just hope you only took him because he was orphaned or something else along those lines.

For the crate barking....you first need to teach him to like his crate. It should become his den...his place of safety. Start by putting his food in his crate when you feed him. Put his water in there also. Additionally, provide him with a treat everytime he goes into the crate (this is called positive reinforcement). Remember to keep the crate in a room that other people are in frequently, like the living room, and leave the door of the crate open so he can just freely go in there whenever he wans to get him used to liking the crate. After a few days (or weeks), he should see the crate as his "home" and start going in there without a problem, and he should not bark while he is in there.
Remember, don't eve use the crate as a place of punishment. The crate should only be associated with good things! Additionally, do not give him attention for barking, or that will make him bark more. However, if you follow the above guidelines, he shouldn't bark in his crate anymore. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I agree with the other poster that is definitely not something that anyone can provide you with an instant cure for. It will take patience and consistency. A puppy 5 weeks old is very young and at that age they especially crave contact and do not like being alone. He is barking when put into his cage for it seems two reasons - lack of contact and not liking/being used to the cage. If you attempt to force him into the cage, you will only make the situation worse and he will come to hate it even more. You will need to several times a day acclimate him to the crate. Keep the door open during the day and throw toys in there and treats - let him get into the crate on his own...but do NOT close the door on him yet...let him enter and leave at will. It's too hard to estimate how long it will take him to get used to it....but you can gradually start closing the door with him in there for short periods of time when it's obvious he's starting to get used to it.

That being said, there are still dogs that do not and will not like to be crated no matter what. I have a 4 month old puppy who I got when she was 8 weeks old and I had a crate in my room with the intention of her sleeping in there. She would howl and bark constantly so I was one of the ones who caved and put her in bed with me and she's slept in my bed every night since then...luckily, she didn't jump down or go to the bathroom on the bed which is a real possibility when you go that route. There are certain times when she is crated, for example if she's alone for an hour or so with no one to supervise her or make sure she can't get into anything and she's finally starting to get over the howling and barking, but again it took time and patience. Good luck.

Answer 4

Some people will say let him bark, ignore him and praise when he's quite. Some people will say knock on the kennel to shut him up. You need BOTH methods (positive and negative enforcements). When he barks, ignore or scare him to submission. When he is quiet, give him kibbles. Do NOT force him into the kennel. ALWAYS feed inside the kennel.

The kennel is his room and in the natural world, that is how they live-- it gives them a sense of security.

Keep up the negative/positive enforcement. Use the negative sparingly though. In 2 weeks, you'll see a result, I guarantee it. Sorry this is not something that can be cured in a matter of days.

Frankly, 5 weeks is WAAAY to young. He is missing out the most important part of his stage-- socialization. If he's taken out before 8 weeks (and better, 10 weeks), I will guarantee you that he WILL have problems in the future, such as biting too hard, fear/aggression, etc. The first 8-10 weeks is when he learns 1) it is nice to be close to mommy or substitute mommy (humans), 2) it should not bite too hard (they learn about biting vs. playing during the first 8-10 weeks), 3) it's fun to play with other dogs 4) it should not fear other dogs. I can go on and on and weird psychological problems come up with dogs at later stages because they're taken out of the litter too early. If possible, I highly recommend putting him back with another well socialized, well behaved pack/play-mates. They learn from each other, and without this early socialization, I guarantee that some type of problems will show up in the future.

Answer 5

TIME
I hate to say it but yes he is only 5 weeks old and unless the mother is dead in most states you aren't to sell or give a puppy away before 7 weeks.
The pup is lonwly and wants to be part of a pack and srating him seperates him he will need to get use to the fact and it will take time.

Answer 6

You should let him sleep in your bed with you.

Answer 7

try covering the front and both side of the cage with a sheet or a blanket and leave the back open to air. get him/her into a routine and stick with it dogs are creatures of habit try a few toys or a treat

Answer 8

Have him sleep in your bed. ^_^ We did that to our puppy for her to feel more comfortable in your house.
When he gets more comfortable in your house, you can try bringing him back to its cage, but put a bed in the cage so he can lie down with comfort. =]

Answer 9

My puppy did the exact same thing. Eventually, they get used to their crate because it is like their den.

This might help too

http://www.target.com/Comfort-Pals-Real-Feel-Heart/dp/B000FJ7F18/sr=1-1/qid=1198815498/ref=sr_1_1/602-2409899-2740622?ie=UTF8&index=target&field-browse=1038602&rh=k%3Adog%2Cn%3A14287971&page=4

Answer 10

Try a dog whisper