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Crate Woes

cavalicious

Well-known member
Ollie is 5 months old and he is still a wussy in the crate :yikes :roll:

I'm attempting to have him sleep in the crate one week, my bed the next week, crate, bed, crate, bed etc. Only because I love having him in my bed icon_whistling but I still want him to be familiar with the crate.

If his on my bed he sleeps right through the night but its a whole different story in the crate. He always wakes up at least once! And wakes me in the morning very early. Last night he woke me up only 2 hours after I put him in there! I usually end up putting him in the x-pen (loungeroom) in the middle of the night because he gets so frustrating. :x

How can I get him to just shush up and sleep? I know he can hold it in, he proves that fine when his sleeping on my bed!

Thanks for any help :flwr:
 
Hi Em,

I'm not sure that you can get Ollie to go back and forth like that. Amazing that he goes to sleep at all in the crate. Part of the reason Tucker ended up sharing my bed full-time was everytime my nieces slept over he ended up in their bed with them. After they went home, he didn't want to sleep alone anymore.

I'm interested to see what other people have to say.
 
As we were leaving the breeder, she said, "remember now, do tonight as you mean to go on..." meaning that if you let your Cav in your bed, s/he will now expect it and kick up quite a fuss if 'banished' to the crate!!! Tough love I guess! Mike and I therefore started using the crate beside the bed at night because we weren't sure if we could deal with doggy hair in our covers, etc....and it works out well. But we introduced Bianca to that from the beginning, and she didn't have a choice. Good luck! :flwr: -Natalie
 
Yep, I think the crate one week & bed the next week is the problem.... the big problem icon_whistling :lol: Dog, like children actually like consistency & predictability. It really jerks them around if what was okay last week is not okay this week. I'd be choosing one place for him to sleep, and then stick to that.
 
Caraline said:
Yep, I think the crate one week & bed the next week is the problem.... the big problem icon_whistling :lol: Dog, like children actually like consistency & predictability. It really jerks them around if what was okay last week is not okay this week. I'd be choosing one place for him to sleep, and then stick to that.

I agree-- like children-- some don't take well to change. They understand consistancy.
 
With Indy, she slept in her crate every night until she was not pottying at night. Then she slept weekends with us in the bed, and weekdays in the crate. Once she was fully housebroken, she sleeps every night in the bed with us, but still isn't bothered by sleeping in her crate if she has to.
 
Colin didn't like sleeping in the crate (or was it mommy didn't like hearing the crying icon_whistling ) and slept in our bed until he was potty trained. Then he started sleeping downstairs with our black lab and has ever since. Every now and then he comes up to one of our bed to snuggle for a bit.

Teddy is now 16 weeks and has been sleeping in a crate by my bed since he was 11 weeks. He gets to snuggle with me for a few minutes in the bed and then I put him into the crate. One time I tried to put him straight into the crate and he started whining right away - expecting the few minutes of snuggle time :roll: . Aside from that he does great in his crate at night, always (thankfully!!!) sleeping through the night.

I have to agree with everyone else. You have to stick to a consistent schedule. I think you can do occasional things different as they get older, but when they are pups they like things the same. Just like preschool aged children!
 
Emily,

Ollie sleeps through the night in your bed, probably because you're there .....but, as others have said, if you want him to sleep in a crate, you're going to have to go through a few restless nights til he gets used to it.

Seems he has three places, your bed, his crate and the X-pen.

If I were you, I'd make a decision for Ollie and then stick with it...he'll catch on quickly. You know he can wait til morning for potty, so just stick in those ear plugs.

Both of my Cavalliers have ended up on our bed. It was fine with us and they preferred the bed.

Our Charley had been in a crate as a young pup, sometimes he'd just go there...particularly on very humid nights. It was his den, always available for him to choose.

Good luck with your decision. :flwr: :flwr:
 
Thanks everyone :flwr: I think it'll be back to the crate for a while for Ollie boy! ;)

(He likes to like my mouth when his on my bed) :yuk:
 
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