[CoCo]

I've read I'm sure every post on here about kennel/crating.   I read somewhere else last night that some boxers will NEVER allow themselves to be contained.   Coco is now 3 months old and I've had her since she was 7 weeks old.  I've recently returned to work full time and she goes NUTS when she is contained in her area.  It's bright, clean, big, full of toys, food, water, P pad, etc.  But she hates it and spends the entire day trying to escape, crying, whining.  We have no other option but to leave her in the 10x10 area from 7-3 5x/week.   Is that true some refuse to be contained?  If I had any other option I wouldn't contain her, but I dont want the house destroyed

 

[Sadiesmomma]

Do you spend any time with her in her "area" when you are home? I would recommend playing with her in there, giving her treats etc so that she feels comfortable in the area.  Maybe feed her regular meals in there too so that she considers it a safe comfortable place. I'm a new boxer owner myself so I don't have much more advise than that, but those things seemed to work really well with Sadie when we were crate training her. She loves it in her crate now. Good luck! I'm sure you will get some more great ideas!

 

[Kate]

Not only don't you want your house destroyed, but you also want her to be safe.  That's the biggest issue with not having them crated.  I think she will get use to it in time and you can start by keeping her in a crate for a short time and then letting her out so she learns that you will come back.  I don't believe it is true that boxers can't be kenneled because so many of them on this forum are and they are happy and well adjusted.  It just takes time and the fit throwing is just part of the process.

 

[sharonL]

I agree...it takes a little time and some working for them to know it is not a punishment.....Fiona cried at first and now I tell her "go to bed" and she runs and gets in her kennel.  If she is not in it we leave the door open and if she is aggrivated (by the skin kid or the cat) she will go in there and lay down, if we stay up to late at night (past her bedtime) she just goes to bed without us.....she is 7 months old this month and has been pretty well adjusted to doing this since about 4 months...

 

[Suchagirl]

You really need to start from day one when you get your puppy to crate him/her.  They really get used to it cause they dont know any other way.  They end up like a lion likes his den.  My dog used to go in his crate when he got nervous about something or just wanted to be alone.  It became a safe haven.

 

[BucsFan]

As a new owner my self the day we brought Dempsey home he had his kennel set up for him, at first he cried but now we leave the door opne and he will go in his house to sleep and he like to take his kong in there which is great, Think as many have stated that starting them young and making sure that it is never used as punishment really helps the dog feel that it is there space.

 

[15842]

I got Ringer when he was 8 months old and was supposedly crate trained.  He whined and cried and outright refused to go in the crate on his own and after about two weeks of hell, I had a friend come over and show me what I was doing wrong.  After about fifteen minutes, he was going in on command and now (two months later) he is going in on his own at night to sleep when I am being too restless for him.  He won't leave my side during the day so he doesn't go in it.  Plus since it was in my bedroom up until about an hour ago, I wouldn't trust he was in the crate and not getting into something when out of my sight.  It just goes to show that you don't have to start with a 5 week old puppy.  It will work on older pups too.  Just give it time and don't show your pup that you have any anxiety about this or he will pick up on that.

 

[Donya]

Maverick is somewhat crate trained. While he doesnt love his crate or go to it on his own of for fun he wont whine or freak out when he is put in there. He seems to understand that this is the way things are and ill come get him out when it's time. He usually just sleeps or plays with a toy. Just telling you this because maybe coco wont start liking the crate for a long time but at least work towards her tolerating it and not freaking out and i think with time she will learn to even like it and think of it as her own space....at least that's what im hoping will happen for my puppy

 

[samsonsmom]

Both Samson & Angel are crate trained, but they don't particularly like it and never have used their crate as a den, some just don't..But if you just started crating CoCo, it will take time for her to adjust...Definitely try to get her to go into the crate, if you can leave the door open, lay in front of the opening and play with her..Put an old shirt of yours that has your smell onit in her crate as well...Try leaving a radio on with some soothing jazz also. You don't want your pup to feel like she's being punished, so always make sure that crate time has nothing to do with any punishment or time out.....Oh and just an FYI, Samson was 6 when I got him and had never been crate trained prior to being rescued.....

 

[sully]

I've read I'm sure every post on here about kennel/crating.   I read somewhere else last night that some boxers will NEVER allow themselves to be contained.   Coco is now 3 months old and I've had her since she was 7 weeks old.  I've recently returned to work full time and she goes NUTS when she is contained in her area.  It's bright, clean, big, full of toys, food, water, P pad, etc.  But she hates it and spends the entire day trying to escape, crying, whining.  We have no other option but to leave her in the 10x10 area from 7-3 5x/week.   Is that true some refuse to be contained?  If I had any other option I wouldn't contain her, but I dont want the house destroyed

I am almost in the same exact situation.   I am a new pup owner (he's about 14 weeks) and I've been trying to crate train him.  He absolutely hates it.  He cries, whines, barks.  I've heard noises out of him while in that crate that I can really only describe as "blood curdling."  I can ignore whimpering and barking, but when it sounds like he's dying....it's pretty tough.    I leave him in there when I go out and although he goes pretty crazy the entire time, he survives it as long as I'm not gone too long.  But at night it's just non-stop protesting.  I've tried sleeping in the same room as the crate, sleeping in another room, ignoring him, rewarding him with treats (when quiet), letting him out when quiet, etc etc.  He will have moments of silence but will pretty much protest throughout the entire night.  I am worried he will hurt himself in there.

The funny thing is that he loves his crate with the door open.  He can spend an entire day in there.  Sleeping, eating, playing.  He drags his toys back to the crate so he definitely already sees it as his den.  And if I let him sleep in there with the door open, he basically sleeps throughout the entire night with no problem.  He doesn't wander around the house until he needs to go outside.  But the second you close that door he goes nuts.  

I am now in the same position as considering just sectioning off part of the house with baby gates.  Maybe he won't have the anxiety, but still can be contained to a safe area.  I'm wondering if the same problems will occur though.  How big of an area will be enough to keep him from feeling "locked in."  And do I need to sleep near that area?   I definitely need a place where he can be safe when I go out or during the night.  The crate would be ideal because he won't eliminate in there but I'm losing patience.  I might go buy a couple of baby gates today and give it a shot.  I don't really have any answers here, but I feel your pain.

 

[15842]

Someone more versed in dog behaviour correct me if I'm wrong, but the problem is the feeling of being "locked in."  It sounds more like a feeling of being left alone.  Are the pups associating your closing the door to the crate with you leaving them?  Probably.  It looks pretty obvious that they don't see the crate as a negative so changing from the crate to a bigger room probably won't fix the issue.

 

[sully]

Someone more versed in dog behaviour correct me if I'm wrong, but the problem is the feeling of being "locked in."  It sounds more like a feeling of being left alone.  Are the pups associating your closing the door to the crate with you leaving them?  Probably.  It looks pretty obvious that they don't see the crate as a negative so changing from the crate to a bigger room probably won't fix the issue.

These are good points, and the more I think about it the more I tend to agree with you.  Upgrading from a small containment to a larger contaiment probably isn't going to solve the issue.   I do believe, at least with my pup, its a separation anxiety.   The thing is I'm not sure he equates closing the door with me leaving.  Every night I've shut him in there, I sleep on the couch within sight of him.  He can literally see my face from his crate.  I've also put him in there when I'm still in the house during the day so he doesn't think crate means he's home alone.   I do think he's spoiled a bit, I work from home so I'm always home.  That could be feeding the anxiety.

I'm actually re-reading some of the old crate threads in the archives here, and I think the best bet is to suck it up, buy some ear plugs, and just let them bark and whine until they get over it.  And if you are crating them while you're not there...well even better because you don't have to hear it.   Sounds like some dogs just take longer than others to adjust.  

(I don't mean to hijack the original poster's thread, we seem to have a similiar issue though).

 

[slobound]

I just want to let you know I'm going through the same thing too with Koa!  Granted, I've only had Koa for 3 days and he's going through normal puppy seperation anxiety.  We have a baby gate that confines the entire kitchen and his crate is in there.  He will sleep in his crate but once he wakes up and notices we're not there, he goes BAZERK!!!  Last night was horrible... non-stop whining, crying, blood curdling screaming for the ENTIRE night.  I gave up at 5:00am and let him sleep on the floor next to me while I was on the couch.  I know I shouldn't have done that but I needed at least a couple hours of sleep before work.

 

[Ky_IsisnOnyxsMama]

try to COVER the crate the issue may be that they CAN see you...Isis was 4 yrs old when we rescued her...and she did the whole flip out whine bark screaming thing too...we thought about it and tried covering the cage so she cant see us or anythign around her..IT WORKED..it wasnt instant but it worked that night ! somehow made her feel more comfortable....try it..never know...

 

[15842]

I was told by a trainer that covering it makes it feel more like a den and give possible attackers fewer angles from which to attack.  Be warned, I covered Ringer's crate with a sheet and when I got back home, he returned the sheet to me in pieces.  May want to try a plastic crate or the cardboard I mentioned in another thread.  Remember to add holes for ventilation.

 

[Ky_IsisnOnyxsMama]

lmao @ he gave the sheet back in pieces ya i forgot that part..we cut a box and put the top and sides on ....making a cute design all over it...let the kids draw on it and let the dogs step in non toxic paint and step all over it..b/c the crate was in our living room so we wanted it to look cute...then over the cardboard we put the sheet..of course we cut holes for venilation
THNK YO DAN FOR POINTING THAT OUT..OOPS

 

[sully]

Hey just an update on my situation, just when I was running out of patience....I put Oggie in the crate last night with my pillow case and then got out of sight and went to bed.  He didn't make a sound all night!  I think all of your suggestions worked....my scent and just getting out of view really worked.  I've never heard him so quiet.  He slept all night, and I heard him stirring in the morning so I took him outside to potty.  I am so relieved!  I am sure there will still be tough moments, but this at least gives me hope.  Just 24 hours ago I thought for sure this was a dog that would never be crated.  I even went out and bought baby gates and ear plugs.  

Also another tip, I tried to tire him out before bed.  I played ball with him and made sure he ran out with some of his toys for a good 15 minutes.  It probably helped, and it definitely can't hurt.

Thanks everyone!

 

[samsonsmom]

Woo hoo! That is great news, Oh yea definitely a good play session before bed is a great way to help them sleep...Glad it went well and hoping it continues.....