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Our first puppy and crate training

Posted : 7/1/2006 2:34:31 AM

My wife and I got our 1st puppy two weeks ago. She was 8 weeks old when we got her (a pure bred beagle). We are trying to crate train her and it isn't going too badly but we have a few questions.
1) She will not willing get into her crate and whines very loudly for ~5 minutes after putting her in there. Any suggestions? Is there some way to get her to enjoy the crate? When we first got her she had an accident in the crate on the ride home (#2) and it made a huge mess. We also kept the crate in the garage at 1st because her whining was so bad, but moved her to the living room so she would not feel so isolated.
2) We currently have the crate located in the living room next to the couch and let her out at night around 10PM, 2AM and again at ~6 or 7AM. Will this setup work or should we have her crate in our bedroom so we can hear her better?
3) The whining I mentioned in #1, she almost drives me insane with it! It is sssoooo irritating. Is there some way to train her to stop this or will she grow out of it? She seems to whine whenever she isn't getting her way. We never, ever let her out while she is whining or do anything to reinforce it (that I know).
4) Taking her for walks can be a pain because (especially in the beginning of the walk) she will balk, lay down on the ground or dig in her heels. If I'm not paying attention this gets her drug a foot or two before I stop. She seems to always be fighting the leash. I essentially just keep the leash very short and force her to walk along my left side. Is there something I should be doing to help her pick up on this faster?

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give. All in all she isn't doing to badly, I understand she's young. We've only had two or three accidents in the house so far and they were all minor (caught her in the act on all of them).

Xebby

Posted : 7/1/2006 2:58:28 AM

She sounds all puppie to me. You could try keeping toys in the crate to calm her down. Also a meathoud used to stop whining and barking is to shake a can with pebbles in it when it starts. This should distract her enough to stop the whining, as soon as she starts shake the can. Also hand her treats in the crate, keep her food and water in there. most of all make her fell confortable in the crate, it should resemble the den a mother whould keep her pups in while rasing them.

Now for walking, she is still too young to understand what the leash is. As she becomes older it will be easyer for her walk on the leash.

I really strongly suggest puppy classes with a dog trainer. Socilizing is so important and this will help greatly. It's also really fun for the owner and the puppie. There are some really great begal owners on this site who could give you wonderful advice about this breed, I hope a few stop by this topic. Welcome to the forum!!!

Christi

Posted : 7/1/2006 8:15:05 AM

Her whining is normal for her age - she's not used to being alone. I think she's lonely and her being alone in the living room, separated from you, will exacerbate the whining, imo. It might be better for you to put her crate in your room while you sleep. You'll soon learn the difference between a "I have to go potty" whine and a "I'm really lonely" whine (shhh, go back to sleep). You want to show her that the crate is a cool place to be because good things happen in there. Maybe you could try giving her a puppy kong stuffed with something yummy like plain yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese or maybe peanut butter. It's also good for her to have crate time when you're around so she doesn't start to associate the crate with you being gone. I think she's way too young for walks, too. She should not have had all her shots yet so you have to be very careful where you take her because you don't want to expose her to something. The leash is too foreign to her yet. I let my puppies (Ruby and Samwise, 6 months and 3 months, respectively) wear their leashes in the house to get them use to it being around their neck. They just drag it around with them (I think some people call this a drag line) and have been doing this since about the second week they came home. I've been doing this less and less with Ruby as she gets older. Good luck with your new girl! Does she have a name yet? Also, you must post pictures of your pup - it's the price of admission! [

] Christi

sstevens

Posted : 7/1/2006 10:33:07 PM

Thanks for the replies, my wife and I will give them a try. Here is a picture of our new puppy.

AngelDog

Posted : 7/1/2006 10:38:35 PM

Your puppy is cute!!!

laura

Posted : 7/2/2006 4:58:17 PM

Now that's a face it would be hard to say NO to, she's gorgeous!

I'd suggest you give her all her meals in the crate for now. Also give her a treat if she goes in voluntarily, etc. Make sure she has a comfortable towel or blanket to lay on, a toy or two etc. Like the others said, she needs to know it's a nice place to be. Crying for a few minutes isn't unreasonable, and she'll probably grow out of it.

Unless she's waking you up at 2 a.m. to go potty, I wouldn't take her out. You don't want to wake her up to take her out, and then get her in the habit of it. If she's sleeping through, leave her to sleep.

I'm really surprised if she has all her shots already and you can take her out for walks. Anyways, I'd recommend you do not pull her along by the leash, this will give her a bad association with being on the leash. It's your responsibility to watch out for her while she's so young, there's no excuse to find yourself dragging her along. Keep the leash loose, encourage her to walk along with you (happy voice, treats etc.) Walks for a young pup should be short, and are more to socialize them and get them used to different sights and sounds, rather than for actual exercise.

bunni

Posted : 7/3/2006 5:39:47 PM

I always teach my puppies to walk on a leash inside the house before taking them out on a leash. I don't believe yours is too young to learn, I teach them at 6 - 8 weeks and they do fine. I'll tell you how I do it:

I put the leash on and give a treat (I use Cheerios unless I have the energy to make liver treats). One Cheerio is enough for a treat. Try to give another treat before the pup starts pulling on the leash. If she doesn't pull take a step and if there is still slack in the leash give her a treat. The rule is: if the leash is stretched out stand perfectly still until there is slack in the leash, then give a treat. As soon as you can, take a step or two (I use the words "Let's go") and give a treat if she comes with you or even slackens on the leash. It takes usually less than 15 minutes (and lots of Cheerios) to get a dog to walk on a leash this way. They won't be sophisticated about it but they'll walk with me with no pulling.

I can understand the 5 minutes of whining being annoying but instead of getting annoyed, be extremely grateful that it's 5 minutes. That's really not a very long time.

Good luck