Hi,
New to the board, and I reckon this has been asked before:
My 16 months old dog has been allowed freedom of the kitchen, with an open crate at night time. Occasionally we would find a "gift" in the morning though and she would not alert that she needs to go out. (She usually just stares down the door if she needs to go out...)
Recently it has become more frequent though, and I'm wondering if it has to do with her being in season, too.
Therefore, we've decided to crate train her at night time. Hopefully not too late.
Am I right in thinking that putting her in a crate at bed time, letting her out when she wakes and putting her straight back in, ignoring any subsequent crying, is the way to go?
Or should she be allowed freedom of the kitchen again once she is done?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
S x
night time crate training 16 months old
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: night time crate training 16 months old
Hi there, sorry your post has been missed.
The problems you are having now are part of the difficulty of having a dog shut away from you overnight - you want her to tell you when she needs to go to the toilet.. but which barks/cries do you respond to and which do you ignore?
At this age she should be able to go through the night without needing to toilet, so look at her feeding schedule and see if htat could be causing her to need to go - also see if there are any sounds that could be waking her in the night, as once woken, the digestive system also wakes up and starts work again!
I would be surprised if putting her in the crate and shutting the door, if she's never experienced that before, works out well - its more likely to result in fear and upset - but one way it COULD work is if you move the crate to your bedroom.
Put the crate right by your bed so you can reassure her you are there, only shut her in when its clear she is sleepy and you are about to turn the light out and go to sleep yourself (as this makes it clearer to HER that this is time to sleep).
Take her out the second she wakes, if shes just moving around in her crate, don't wait for her to cry.
Once you have a decent period of her sleeping in the crate, and not needing to go out during the night, then think about moving the crate back to the kitchen.
This will break the habit of going in the night, ensure she doesn't learn to yell to get your attention, and make the transition to sleeping in the crate easier IF thats necessary for her.
The problems you are having now are part of the difficulty of having a dog shut away from you overnight - you want her to tell you when she needs to go to the toilet.. but which barks/cries do you respond to and which do you ignore?
At this age she should be able to go through the night without needing to toilet, so look at her feeding schedule and see if htat could be causing her to need to go - also see if there are any sounds that could be waking her in the night, as once woken, the digestive system also wakes up and starts work again!
I would be surprised if putting her in the crate and shutting the door, if she's never experienced that before, works out well - its more likely to result in fear and upset - but one way it COULD work is if you move the crate to your bedroom.
Put the crate right by your bed so you can reassure her you are there, only shut her in when its clear she is sleepy and you are about to turn the light out and go to sleep yourself (as this makes it clearer to HER that this is time to sleep).
Take her out the second she wakes, if shes just moving around in her crate, don't wait for her to cry.
Once you have a decent period of her sleeping in the crate, and not needing to go out during the night, then think about moving the crate back to the kitchen.
This will break the habit of going in the night, ensure she doesn't learn to yell to get your attention, and make the transition to sleeping in the crate easier IF thats necessary for her.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
