Scared Of The Crate

[Guest muggu123]

Hi all,

 

We just adopted a 4 year old greyhound. We don't even have a name for it yet! we're having some problems adjusting to the new life with him.

 

The first problem is that we have not been able to have him sleep in the bedroom because of the noises he makes at night. Getting up, scratching the bed, etc .. So for the last few days we have put him in the crate at night (I know, I know, an absolutely wrong thing to do but until we figure out a better solution)

 

Initially he was quite mellow and would go into the crate when I took him there and held his collar and gave him a gentle push. This all changed last night - I took him near the crate and as soon as I reached for his collar he shrunk away in fright. When I held the collar I backed away so hard that the collar came off and I was left holding it in my hand as he ran away into the house.

 

Now he seems scared of me. He doesn't follow me around the house as much as he was doing the first couple of days. When I take him near the crate he tries to run away.

 

Since this incident my wife has been able to put him in the crate at night (although he did pee in the crate once after the incident) but it seems like I have created this issue with him that I can't put him in the crate or even go near it.

 

As an aside, since having him sleep in the bedroom is not an option do you think we have to return him to the adoption agency or can we figure out something else? There is a small room in our house which we were thinking of making his room by cutting it off with a dog gate. could we just put him in the room at night?

 

I'm very stressed out! Please help.

 

Thanks!

[Batmom]

How long have you had him?

 

I honestly would keep him in the bedroom with you at night. It takes a bit of time (1-3 weeks) for them to settle at night and be reasonably quiet, but most all of them do.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Encourage him to go into the crate with some tasty treats rather than trying to force him.

 

 

[Guest muggu123]

We have had him for 5 days and 6 nights. The first night he was in the bedroom. The other five nights he has been in the crate....

 

How long have you had him?

 

I honestly would keep him in the bedroom with you at night. It takes a bit of time (1-3 weeks) for them to settle at night and be reasonably quiet, but most all of them do.

[robinw]

I agree with Batmom about having him sleep in the room with you at night. He'll settle down pretty quickly.

[Tallgreydogmom]

I missed if you said you feed him in his crate. Feeding him in his crate makes the crate a happy place. He only gets treats if he is in his crate. Is his crate nice and soft, try a couple of dog beds two or three high. That is like 7th heaven to them. He needs more time to settle in. You and he need to adjust to each other.

[kudzu]

We always crate fosters in the bedroom with us. All but one of our fosters have been restless & some even whine at night in the beginning. In my experience the best thing you can do is keep them in the bedroom with you. If crating is out with your guy for now then you might try an xpen. (Your adoption group may have someone willing to loan one for you to try.) Otherwise keep the door closed or use a baby gate to keep him in the room for housebreaking purposes. Usually you just have to ride it out for a few nights before they adjust enough to sleep through the night. Most fosters whine for a few minutes or possibly bark a little before settling down. They will then have one or two restless periods through the night. After the first night or two though we can get some decent sleep. Some may still wake up too early for the next week or so. As long as it hasn't been too long since their last potty trip we just ignore them completely. They learn quickly that reveille at our house comes when the humans rise, not the sun.

 

For now it may be best to have your wife do all crating. Sounds like that may already be the case. You may need to, in large measure, ignore him for the next few days. Don't try to encourage him to come to you or be affectionate if he seems wary or reticent. He'll come around again soon enough if you give him some space. Is he food motivated? If this were one of my dogs I would just drop treats for him as I passed by without stopping. Over time you can try dropping them closer & closer to the crate. Eventually you can toss a treat in but still DO NOT try to lure, lead or in any other way apply even gentle pressure on him. It could be anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks but if he was following you around & trusting you then he will regain his confidence with you if you do not pressure him. At some point he will likely start anticipating what you are going to do & may even head for the crate on his own. Depending on how confident or comfortable he looks you could then start working on teaching him to kennel up with a verbal command or hand signal.

 

These are the times when we wish we could have a conversation with our dogs & explain what's going on or ask them what upset them. We can't though, at least not so soon in the relationship. My advice to you is to gave him some space for a bit & then start some training with him. Whether that training is through classes or all done at home, it will help build a line of communication & strengthen your relationship. Here is a free train at home program that sets up a great foundation for companions & performance dogs. Levels Training (Sue's original version) From there go to the Introduction here. The first couple levels are all things useful to the average owner & companion dog.

 

Give him time & things will be OK again.

Edited May 31, 2011 by kudzu

[Guest RichardUK]

I'm with Batmom - Greyhounds settle very quickly - a few days is not really enough time. I've never had to use a crate.

[krissy]

One night is not long enough in my opinion. When we had our foster dog (before adopting our boy) he was crated in our bedroom. The first night he whined a little when we first put him in, but he stopped after a few minutes. We just ignored him and got into bed and he stopped though he was very restless. We got very little sleep the first night. The second night was a little better but he was still restless. After the second night we slept great.

 

Think about if you had brought home an 8 week old puppy. You would expect him/her to cry and howl for the first few nights away from the mother and rest of the litter, and then the puppy would learn to settle and sleep through the night.

 

The key to many things with a new dog is to ignore behaviours you don't like. Ignore crying in the crate, ignore restlessness at night, etc. The beginning steps of alone training will help with the crate aversion. Have your wife (since he is wary of you near the crate) throw treats in for him so he goes in of his own free will and then have her give him lots of praise and treats while he remains in the crate. After a few minutes (before he becomes uncomfortable in any way) have her invite him out calmly. Do not praise him for coming out of the crate, do not give treats. Coming out of the crate is no big deal. Don't even shut the door on him when you do this. You just want him to associate the crate with good things and to not create the impression in his mind that every time he goes into the crate he gets locked in against his will.

[christinepi]

We can't sleep with a dog in the bedroom, either, for noise reasons. When we got Tracker, he slept in the crate in our bedroom for the first 4 or 5 nights, with the crate door closed (he fortunately never had an issue with the crate). Then we moved the crate into the door frame with the door open to another room, so that, if he left the crate, he'd be in that room rather than our bedroom, but he'd still be close enough to us. I think he spent one or two nights in the open crate, and then, on his own, went into the living room to sleep on the sofa, where he's been spending his nights ever since. So we get our peace and quiet, and he seems perfectly happy on the sofa.

 

Maybe keeping your bedroom door open, but blocked with a baby gate, and his bed right in front of the gate would work for him? And then gradually move his bed further away, as he gets more comfortable? I'm not addressing the crate anxiety issue, I know, but once Tracker started sleeping on the sofa he's never seen the inside of a crate again, so maybe you can get around the crate issue altogether right now, though I realize it's an issue that should be addressed eventually since you'd probably at least want to have the option to put him in the crate w/o anxiety if a situation demands it one day.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Encourage him to go into the crate with some tasty treats rather than trying to force him.

 

Treats and a positive demeanor go a long way toward Working through the adjustment period. This is all new to your hound. Where you want to encourage behaviors (like going in a crate) you need to build positive associations with them.

[GeorgeofNE]

Is this your first dog?

 

There isn't a thing wrong with having him sleep in the crate, but it'll make things MUCH easier for all if the crate is in your room. Suggest you have a LONG, honest chat with your adoption group. I find it a bit worrisome that such minor issues have you thinking about returning the dog.

[Guest muggu123]

thanks for the comments!

 

One thing not mentioned in my original posting is that there is a cat in the house and although our adopted dog is supposedly cat-safe and has shown no aggressive behavior or interest in the cat so far, we don't feel comfortable having him loose in the house at night outside his crate!! We have to somehow confine him so that the cat and him don't get into a confrontation ....

[TheFullHouse]

I don't think it's the crate as much as the separation from you. These dogs are used to sleeping with a kennel full of dogs, they've never slept alone, ever. If you can put a fan in your room and turn it on, it should mask the noises that he's making that are bothering you. You get used to the noises they make after time. I would bet if you put the crate in your room he would go right in it to sleep and may not be as restless as he is without it.

 

His security is his crate and you've made it a place he doesn't want to be because he'll be alone if he goes in it. He needs a lot more time to adjust before trying to separate yourself from him.

Edited May 31, 2011 by JillysFullHouse

[Guest sheila]

If you are not used to have a dog around making normal dog noises such as walking around, fluffing the bed etc it can be annoying at first. Over time though I think a person can get acclimated to it and it begins to seem like background noise. Are you really sure that you couldn't get used to it over time?

I can't advise as to a crate. I had one for my first hound and used it exactly once and decided against it. I returned it to the store and traded for some dog beds and never looked back.

[sobesmom]

I strongly believe that dogs need to sleep with their family. It's hardwired into their brains that the "right" place to sleep is with their pack. ESPECIALLY for brand-new dogs. I suggest you try letting your dog sleep in your bedroom. Yes, you might loose some sleep for a few nights while the dog - and YOU adjust. You must have been warned by your adoption group that transitioning into a new home is not majic? But after a few nights, the dog will settle, and you will get used to having a dog in your room. Crating is a personal decision, and should be based on what the dog needs IMHO - but if you crate at night, do so in your bedroom. Try the crate in the bedroom, then try open crate in the bedroom. Or maybe just babygating the dog in your bedroom.

 

Does your spouse snore? Roll over at night? I'm sure that woke you up for a while at first. You also got used to it.

 

Give the dog a chance. I guarantee you'll be rewarded for it.

 

ETA: getting up and scratching his bed is MILD, BTW - I've had fosters that have cried, yowled, paced, panted, and screamed all night long - out of fear and lonelieness at being at a strange new place. I've spent several nights "sleeping" on the floor, half in - half out of an open crate in my bedroom with a new foster that was scared. It wasn't that fun, and work was HARD the next day - but they all came around, calmed down, and turned out to be great dogs, and champion sleepers.

Edited June 1, 2011 by sobesmom

[Guest BrianRke]

Is this your first dog?

 

There isn't a thing wrong with having him sleep in the crate, but it'll make things MUCH easier for all if the crate is in your room. Suggest you have a LONG, honest chat with your adoption group. I find it a bit worrisome that such minor issues have you thinking about returning the dog.

I agree!

[Guest HHHounds]

We have 3 hounds sleep in our room - may have been a bit restless at first, but they have all been pretty good sleepers. I guess after raising 3 kids and dealing with various pets we are used to some interrupted sleep! Love the comment about the puppy crying at night - I would much rather have some bed settling instead of a crying puppy!

[Guest Wpgkeith]

With our first, Riley, he would have none of the crate. We stored it in our bedroom in the hope that he might. We threw a blanket over the top and use it to store laundry, and stuff.

 

When we got Brogan, she LOVES the crate. For sleeping, we leave the door open and she scoots right in. Riley sleeps on a bed, beside ours. I give both a bedtime treat and eventually, Brogan comes out and settles on another bed on the other side from Riley.

 

A new routine takes a bit of time to work out...what will work best for your hound...what was his track name?...will be figured out.

 

Think about how unsettling this has been for him...his name, now unknown, his world - lots of structure and "everything" on time, lots of canine friends to hang out with - is gone....and now, everything is totally alien! Stairs, windows, only two people, a CAT! , and no other dogs (yet ). He's going through some adjustments, too.

 

Once they're worked out, you have a fantastic pet, who loves his retirement!

 

 

K

Edited June 1, 2011 by Wpgkeith

[Guest NJgrey]

Does the cat get run of the house during the night? If so, this is what I'd do: move the crate back into the bedroom. Put lots of padding on the bottom of it. Take the collar off the dog, if you've been keeping it on. Put a baby gate across the bedroom door to keep him separate from the cat. Crate him at night for a few days until you're confident he won't pee in the bedroom, then stop using the crate in the bedroom, replace it with a nice soft bed. Crates make noise when the dog moves around, soft beds make much less noise.

 

Other than that, there's not much we can tell you. Some dogs like to nest when they sleep, it's no different than you tossing and turning. Sometimes they make little woofing noises in their sleep. Believe me, it's all stuff you get used to. I'm sorry, but it's really quite unfair to make a judgment after having the dog in the room for one night. I'm sure you did your research so you should know that the first few days/ weeks with a new dog can be stressful. Their routine changes. Your routine changes. Not everything is going to be the same as it was before the dog, and that includes getting a perfectly quiet night's sleep the first night the dog is there. Sharing a den is important to dogs, again, especially new ones with no other dogs around. You're his pack, and you have to give him a chance.