Does your puppy whine in his crate?
04 Sep 2009
Are you trying to crate train your puppy but he keeps whining? He whines because he would like to be snuggled up to you instead. If you let your puppy sleep on your bed or couch when you first got him it may be harder to crate train him. If you are just about to get a puppy and want to crate train here’s what you can do. First when you get him from the breeder find out if he had a certain blanket he slept on and if you can have it. If so you can put it in the crate so that he will have a familiar smell and feel safe. Okay no blanket that’s okay. Just try to make the crate as comfortable as possible so he will feel at home. Get a small treat and allow the puppy to sniff it and then place the treat in the crate so that the puppy will want to follow the treat. Do not close the door, let him come in and out as much as he wants. Repeat this several times. Think of a phrase you want to use for him to know it is time to go into the crate and use it each time. When you think that he is comfortable next it is time to try closing the door for a while. Place a new toy in there so he will have something new to spark his interest. After you close the door sit on the floor in front of the crate and keep visible so that he knows that you are still there. You can also put your fingers though the crate so that he can lick them and feel your touch. After 5-10 minutes he should stop whining and calm down enough to settle down and possibly go to sleep.
