[koda0211]

I just picked up my 8 week old boxer on Friday and crate training isn't going all that well for us. The first night he cried for 2 1/2 hours straight (which of course broke my heart). Now he won't go in his crate at all - All he does his cry. When we leave the house to run up to the store he cries and when I get home he is still crying. Last night he slept in our bed (which was probably a bad mistake on my part) and he was a perfect!! Now tomorrow i have to work and I have a feeling its going to be a very long night for me...Any advice for me???

 

[Beka]

Hi---- Just wanted to offer a little advice on what worked/is working for us.  My 2 fur balls are 4 months old now and at first we tried the crate method... which worked perfect for Damien but not for Jasmine (yea I'm nuts and got 2 at once lol).  

They both went into their crate(s) just fine but Jasmine always seemed like she couldn't quite relax in the crate, where as Damien would go right in and lay down (snoring within 5 min).  
Also Jasmine would constantly pee in her crate.  It didn't matter how long she was in there ---- 1 hour or 4 but on occasion when I'd let them sleep on the foot of the bed she'd be fine all night.  

I just puppy-proofed my bathroom and set her bed in there w/ a little area in the corner w/ a puppy pad and she is doing marvelous.  She's also getting better at holding it.  I plan to re-introduce the crate to her in about 1 month (when she goes a few weeks w/o going potty on the pad).  I know I will not be able to leave them loose in the house un-supervised for quite sometime... these guys are very mischievous when given time combined w/ boredom and energy lol.  

Hope this helped... all puppies are different and it's basically trial and error until you find something that works for your baby  

Beka

 

[mylittledeers]

Welcome to the forum  :lol: This topic has come up quite a bit lately and some have had success with a Rubbermaid tote lined with a blanket or towel placed next to the bed. Haven't heard much on the transitions to crates from that tote. You can try a radio left on, or one of your unwashed articles of clothing in the crate but I think at some point they all just a few days or in some cases weeks of screaming the house down!  You can also check the training topic for other ideas. All dogs are different, Blitz is having a much tougher time crating during the day than Donner ever did. Good Luck, and we love pics!!!!!

 

[koda0211]

Thank you for the advice...My husband and I just don't know what to do tonight - Tomorrow will be his first long day in the crate so i'm not sure if I want him to sleep in his crate and then tomorrow also be in his crate for most of the day. I feel if i do that, then he will NEVER give the crate a chance.  

He is such a sleeper - its kind of funny!!

 

[sabrePUP]

I've never crate trained a Boxer, but we did crate train our Dalmatian (also 8 wks). Louie, the Dalmatian, only cried for a little while the first time he was in a crate. What may have help is that we left the crate covered with blankets, so that he wouldn't know if we left the room or not. Now, we let him in and say get in your house Louie, and he goes straight in and curls up. He was only introduced to the crate about two weeks ago, and it has done him pretty well.

Some things we did:
1. Covered the crate. (esp. at night)
2. Put a clock in his cage (one that ticks)
3. Fed him in his crate (it helped him understand that it wasn't all bad)
4. When he's not in it, we leave the door open (that sorta makes it his choice if he wants to use it as a safe haven)

Hope I could help!

 

[koda0211]

We are going to try and crate him at night starting tomorrow..lol..I really need to sleep tonight..plus i need to buy a clock..do you know why they say to use a clock??

 

[ginawest]

We suffered with our first Boxer, buckled and let her sleep with us.  That lasted from 8 weeks to 15 months, and I needed my bed BACK. She's a well behaved girl, and after a few nights of nicely telling her "off" she doesn't get in bed with us.

We've had our 2nd Boxer for 3 weeks. The first two nights we made the older one sleep in the kennel with him. Now he is find to sleep alone.
A puppy should not be in the crate for the entire day. You are getting home at a couple times a day to let him out, right? My husband and I take lunch "shifts" and one comes home to let him out at 10:30 for 30 minutes, and then the other comes at 1:00 for 30 minutes.
I took off from work during his first week home.  This is a big transition for you & your puppy - make sure you have the time and fortitude to do it right, and you should have a loyal and well behaved family member forever.

The ticking noise is supposed to mimic the mother's heart beat. Never worked for me.

Good Luck!!!

 

[lucky8926]

I know exactly what you're going through!!! We've had Tyson for 2 weeks now. He was 8 weeks when we got him and he would cry, bark, whine, & howl for 2 hours, sleep for 30 minutes, then start back up again. I tried everything, I covered the cage (I used cardboard so he couldn't chew on it or pull it in his cage) got a ticking clock and put it by his cage, a hot water bottle in with him (the rubber kind) a piece of clothing that we had worn all day. Nothing helped.....He continued to cry, until we got a rubber maid tote. I put a blanket in there, put him in and he goes right to sleep. He will wake up whine a little so I reach in and pet him a little bit and he normally goes right back to sleep. If he keeps whining that means he needs to go outside. Someone mentioned to put his cage in the room with us but that isn't an option since we got the gigantor cage in anticipation he will grow up to be the size of his 90 pound daddy and don't have enough room in our bedroom. I don't think it would help anyway. We have put him in there and laid down next to the cage talked to him and pet him through the cage and he will whine, cry, and bark like we've left him in there alone. It's just something about his cage he doesn't like..... The tote was great because we could finally get a good nights sleep after 4 days. He still goes in his crate when I go to work and stays in there until my girlfriend gets home about 3 hours later. He will start crying within about 30 seconds of me putting him in there and my girlfriend said sometimes he is crying when she gets home. He's just going to have to realize this is where he will be until he can be trusted in the house.  He has been sleeping with us for the past few nights and will usually go about 4-5 hours before he has to go potty and will start walking all over the bed trying to decide if he wants to jump down (which is good to know he doesn't want to pee/poo on our bed) We haven't quite decided what to do when he outgrows the tote but I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Here is a pic of Tyson in his little rubber tote bed!!