Breaking my heart :(

qbear · Post by **qbear** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 8:52 pm

We just got our 8wk old puppy last night and he's doing SO well! He hasn't had any accidents yet, he potties on the newspaper we lay out for him and pottied outside when we took him out. So is there any reason to crate train him? We thought we should still crate train him so that when we're both out he'll be fine in the crate, but maybe since he is doing so well right now we don't have to? Please help! His yelping is breaking my heart, I won't go to him while he's yelping but if you all suggest we don't have to crate him we won't from now on.

During the day, he'll nap in his crate (with door open) but at night he whines and whines

Thank you so much for your help!

Pinoy51 · Post by **Pinoy51** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:50 am

I never crated Simba and Nala. They stayed and staying with us all day if we're home, with access to the garden anytime.
Last night Nala decided to sleep outside on her own, she is 7month now. Simba might follow her soon.

Sarahloo · Post by **Sarahloo** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:37 am

God no, you don't have to crate train him if he's perfectly well-behaved! Nobody uses crates over here! Hope it never becomes fashionable here to have doggie cages.

Sirchow · Post by **Sirchow** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:19 am

I would agree that there is no need to crate train as such but it is very useful to keep them accustomed to going in and eating there etc as one day your pup may need to be in a crate at the vets and it will be less stressful if he is used to cages to some degree. Isla gets shut in her crate to eat her meals and she runs in happily to get her food.

Fozzbear · Post by **Fozzbear** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:47 am

I have never bothered with crate training - I don't like it. I think that Sirchow's point/idea is an excellent one though x

sue · Post by **sue** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:44 am

I have never used a cage move anything that might get chewed out of the way & let him have the run of the ground floor.Try it & see what happens.Chows are the excellent guard dogs they see it as there duty to protect there family & the home.He wont be able to do that if he's locked in a cage.

Tippsy'smom · Post by **Tippsy'smom** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:43 am

I'm the single one out I guess. I would still crate train. Just for the simple fact that I've learned that a bored puppy is a destructive puppy. They will go looking for trouble if left to their own devises.

And crate training isn't just pupping the puppy in the crate and leaving them. Teach them that it's a good place. Feed him there. Give him treats when he goes in and when you close the gate. Give him a treat when he's been good in it when you let him out. Don't start out with keeping the gate closed for long periods of time. Start by sending him in, give him a treat and close the door for a minute; when he's stayed quiet, let him out again and repeat. Gradually up the time and start going into another room and coming back to let him out again. Again, gradually up the time you leave him. It takes time; it's not an overnight thing. All three of my dogs are crate trained and LOVE their crates.

Me & Tess · Post by **Me & Tess** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 11:50 am

Your Chow is just a baby at 8 weeks. My gut would tell me to comfort him. I may be wrong, but that is exactly what I would do. I don't believe in crates either. You could also keep a night light on & turn on the radio softly. I remember years ago you could buy a toy for a baby that had a heart beat. Also, lots of people allow their pets to sleep with them. We have a very high bed & do not let Lilly on it (except of photo ops). Tess used to sleep with us when she was young..... Then as an older girl she slept beside our bed or at the head of the stairs. Lilly has found her favorite sleeping place in back of our head board. Our Chows are a part of our pack, and need to be near us especially pups.

TyChowgirl · Post by **TyChowgirl** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:02 pm

Jess, you're not the odd one out. While Ty is no longer crated, I used the crate as a training tool because I was working all sorts of odd hours so there was no routine for him when he was small. I had one where there was a adjustable divider. It made certain that he was safe during the day when he was alone and bored, it also allowed my cats some non-puppy free time and helped with the potty training. He would be crated while I was at work, and then at night. The pouting thing happens a little at first, so instead of comforting him per se, I would lay down next to the crate so he knew I was there. Once he got quiet and fell asleep, I would move back to the bed. This happened less frequent as time went on and for shorter periods of time. After a while I'd just have to tell him to go to bed and he'd get in the crate. He'd also got rewards for going in by himself. Once he was house trained and a little older, I baby gated off a section of the apartment until I was sure he was trustworthy. He didn't have full access to the entire apartment until a little later. While he doesn't use it anymore, I recommend it to anyone who works full time and would like to save themselves a lot of mess and possible heartache. You can't moniter your pup when you're away and who knows what they can get into? If you made it work without a crate, congratulations, but I don't think it's a terrible tool.

Piff Poff · Post by **Piff Poff** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:04 pm

We didn't crate train Henry either, we used to shut him in the laundry room if we were leaving him home alone, by the time he was 4 months old, he was too heavy to carry downstairs, so I left him to his own devices, the worst he ever did was take the end of the loo roll and run with it - ALL around the house, it was so funny, just like the commercial.

Right now we leave Henry alone while we are at work and his food is not even in a cupboard, we free feed him, he has his bowl of kibble but the bag is right there in the living room and not once has he tried to get into it, he will supervise me filling his bowl, to make sure I get the mix right but that's it.

If you do want to crate train then maybe get him a beating heart stuffy, this type of thing http://www.snugglepetproducts.com/ it might help.

Discipula · Post by **Discipula** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:15 pm

I crated my pup for about 2 days and couldn't stand the whimpers any more. He never did his business in the house so I did not really see the point for it. A good thing about crate training, however, is that it gives your pup a safe place to go (I had a fluffy blanket and toys in his crate and he went to it from time to time). For the most part, I've found Chows to be a pretty easy-going non destructive breed

qbear · Post by **qbear** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:50 pm

Thank you all for your help!! I agree that we should get him used to the crate for purposes other than house breaking-- We've decided we want him to see the crate as a positive comfy place, but we don't want to lock him in. During the day, we get him in and reward him and pet him til he's comfy and begins to nap. We're extra careful to not leave anything around that could potentially hurt him and we change out chew toys around the house so he doesn't hurt the furniture. We left him alone today and he did so well! We heard him whimper for a little but he eventually stopped

bhepburn · Post by **bhepburn** » Fri Mar 01, 2013 5:28 pm

Our beast treats her crate as her bed and goes right in when it's "tick time". The crate is in our bedroom, and she has slept in it since the day we got her home. She whimpered a bit the first couple of nights, probably because we were still strangers to her.

Our last chow slept on the floor in our bedroom, pretty much wherever she wanted to. All was well, until she became nearly deaf when she got old. Then if we were to get up at night, she couldn't hear us, and too often (once is enough) she would get kicked or stepped on... which really is a rude awakening, for all parties concerned. So in my opinion, it's a wonderful, secure place for them to be.

Tippsy'smom · Post by **Tippsy'smom** » Fri Mar 01, 2013 5:53 pm

Another note on crate training; it also helps if they ever have to be at the vet for a period of time. They won't be as stressed in the kennel there if they're use to a crate at home.

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