mummytodakota Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I have just invested in a create for my 11 week old staffy pup, mainly for sleeping in at night though. How do i go about doing this? What steps do i have to take etc to make the process a little smoother? Shes very reliant upon me & has been trying to sleep on the bed every night with me, so this is going to a be long hard process, but one i have told will be worthwhile. I am going to get the whole staffy howl & yelp all night long arent i? Any ideas/suggestions would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Our pup has been in a crate since he was 7 weeks old. We used to give him a kong at night with a little bit of peanut butter in it, he soon settled. He is now so exhausted after his evening run around that he settles quite happily with a biccy. If you pup wakes you then a few firm NOS wont hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I have just invested in a create for my 11 week old staffy pup, mainly for sleeping in at night though. How do i go about doing this? What steps do i have to take etc to make the process a little smoother? Shes very reliant upon me & has been trying to sleep on the bed every night with me, so this is going to a be long hard process, but one i have told will be worthwhile. I am going to get the whole staffy howl & yelp all night long arent i? Any ideas/suggestions would be great. What sort of crate is it? I have my 9 week old pup in an airline carrier, which is also inside a pen. I started him in it as soon as he got home. He took to it like a duck to water during the day time, he climbed straight in and got stuck into his chewtoys. It helped that it had a blanket which had his littermate and mother's smells on it. Make sure that he doesn't need to go to the toilet if he's crying. I made that mistake on the first night...He cried for about 40 minutes and I thought..hmm...maybe he needs to go...so I took him outside, brought him back in. He cried for a bit so I put his carrier just outside our open bedroom door. He stopped crying and slept till morning. Ever since then he sleeps in another room, in his carrier. He cries to go to the toilet and I take him out, no play, no fuss, striaght back to bed and he settles immediately. Apart from 40 minutes on the first night and realising that crying means "I need to go to the toilet", it's been plain sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyCav Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 There is loads of info on the net regarding crate training itself but as far as using it for night time goes, well, we put ours right beside our bed and on the first night we put our 8 week old pup in and closed the door, lights out, no fuss. After a few minutes our puppy started making whimpering noises so I reached down and put my fingers through the crate and made some soothing sounds. He settled down and has honestly never cried during the night since. I was prepared for lots of nights of crying but it just didn't happen. He had comfortable bedding and a soft toy (which he still sleeps with and now he's five years old). The first few nights I had to take him out to the toilet once a night when he woke and whimpered a bit and then it was straight back off to sleep. These days Charlie has some time with us on our bed whilst I'm reading or getting ready in the bathroom etc. (Sometimes I force myself to read a bit even if I'm tired just so he can have his time on the bed with us. ) and then he goes into his crate when it's time for lights out. On very rare occasions he'll make a very quiet scratch on the crate during the night which means he needs to go out to the toilet. I don't think the process would have been so easy if we'd postioned the crate elsewhere in the house. I had actually planned on moving the crate out of the bedroom when he was a little older but it never happened and I couldn't imagine not having Charlie sleep in our room now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mummytodakota Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 There is loads of info on the net regarding crate training itself but as far as using it for night time goes, well, we put ours right beside our bed and on the first night we put our 8 week old pup in and closed the door, lights out, no fuss. After a few minutes our puppy started making whimpering noises so I reached down and put my fingers through the crate and made some soothing sounds. He settled down and has honestly never cried during the night since. I was prepared for lots of nights of crying but it just didn't happen. He had comfortable bedding and a soft toy (which he still sleeps with and now he's five years old). The first few nights I had to take him out to the toilet once a night when he woke and whimpered a bit and then it was straight back off to sleep.These days Charlie has some time with us on our bed whilst I'm reading or getting ready in the bathroom etc. (Sometimes I force myself to read a bit even if I'm tired just so he can have his time on the bed with us. :rolleyes: ) and then he goes into his crate when it's time for lights out. On very rare occasions he'll make a very quiet scratch on the crate during the night which means he needs to go out to the toilet. I don't think the process would have been so easy if we'd postioned the crate elsewhere in the house. I had actually planned on moving the crate out of the bedroom when he was a little older but it never happened and I couldn't imagine not having Charlie sleep in our room now. I've been trying for 3 nights now & its been absolute bedlam! She DOES NOT settle regardless of what i put in there or how close to the bed she is. I've tried taking her out to the toilet etc but its just plain sooking that shes doing. She cant even be away from me for 5 mins without howling the neighborhood down. Even when she is sleeping on my bed she refuses to settle until about 30 mins later after she has jumped all over the place & caused trouble. She will not sleep at the end of the bed, HAS to be near me. I dont know what else to do, she howls extremely loud & wakes my daughter up, not to mention the dogs next door etc. Any other suggestions? I havent had an hours peaceful sleep at night regardless of where she sleeps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyCav Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Oh my gosh, you must be exhausted. I'll bump this up in case anyone else can help. How do you manage about going out during the day and leaving her alone? Also, have you considered tiring her out more with play and training during the day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mummytodakota Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Oh my gosh, you must be exhausted. I'll bump this up in case anyone else can help. How do you manage about going out during the day and leaving her alone? Also, have you considered tiring her out more with play and training during the day? Yeah ive tried tiring her out but it makes no difference, i think shes got her body clock backwards as she likes to sleep most of the day & when it comes to bedtime shes wide awake. I dont know how to force her to play more during the day & sleep at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoodleNut Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Oh my gosh, you must be exhausted. I'll bump this up in case anyone else can help. How do you manage about going out during the day and leaving her alone? Also, have you considered tiring her out more with play and training during the day? Yeah ive tried tiring her out but it makes no difference, i think shes got her body clock backwards as she likes to sleep most of the day & when it comes to bedtime shes wide awake. I dont know how to force her to play more during the day & sleep at night. Ok,my suggestion for what it is worth ...... Try putting her in the crate and going out for an hour or so .. we did this and after doing it a couple of times Noodle accepted the crate. Put in a lovely frozen chicken neck for her to chew on and make sure there is some water (try buying what amounts to a bird bowl that can be screwed (wingnut) on to the inside of the crate but don't overfill it as she may try to stand up on it if she is upset and you will have water everywhere in the crate and a very wet pup when you get back. You could also leave a radio on or the television to give her a bit of company ... turned down low ... put her in and leave ... We did this with Noodle and when we got home she had been asleep and learnt in the process not to carry on as it got her absolutely nowhere. We went out at 7:30 and back home at 9pm (shopping) on a Friday night. When you get her out take her straight out for a wee. Perhaps a walk and then 20 minutes of training to wear her out mentally (sit, drop etc). Then back in the crate at 10:30/11 (when you head to bed) ... she may still act up but you will need to ignore her .. she is safe, she can't hurt herself, she has been to the toilet, she has been fed and now it is bed time. Stick your head under the dooner ... Friday night works well as if you are kept awake then you are able to catch up a bit ove the weekend. The first night we did this was on a Wednesday night .. bad decision!! Silly as we were so tired we did not persist and she effectively 'won' and we relented and let her out. This worked for us .. occassionally Noodle carried on but only once a fortnight and it only lasts about 10 minutes. Hasn't affected her from what I can see .. she is sitting on my lap as I type (she is getting a bit too big for a lap dog now .. no-onehas told her that!!) She has her nose nearly on top of the space bar!! Fortunately she has stopped licking me.... bit hard to type when my fands are being licked ... sweet girl she is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecherry Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I know what you're going through... It's hard work having a new pup! My little boy is very headstong, and the only way I've been able to control him is to not let him get away with ANYTHING... ! If you let a crying pup out of the crate, you'll get more crying next time... I had three nights of crying and complaining before acceptance happened, and now there is never any problem. You might have a strong willed pup on your hands, in which case I'd suggest training sooner rather than later.. The quicker you establish yourself as the boss in the pups eyes, the easier your life will become! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoodleNut Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I know what you're going through... It's hard work having a new pup! My little boy is very headstong, and the only way I've been able to control him is to not let him get away with ANYTHING... ! If you let a crying pup out of the crate, you'll get more crying next time... I had three nights of crying and complaining before acceptance happened, and now there is never any problem. You might have a strong willed pup on your hands, in which case I'd suggest training sooner rather than later.. The quicker you establish yourself as the boss in the pups eyes, the easier your life will become! Good luck! Very true ShelleyLee. Expect lots of crying and 'poor me I am gonna die in here' type behaviour .. this is not a once off quick fix but it does work. Much better to go through the agony now than wait until your 'pup' is an adult ... much harder to assert yourself then. Something good to chew on in the crate to get her started is a good way of making the experience more pleasant .. when she comes up for air and even notices there is something yummy to chew on Let us know how you get on and hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mummytodakota Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Okay i will try putting her in there for a few hours when i go out today, however it almost seems cruel considering i've got another dog whos really old now & has full run of the house, pup will feel very left out wont she? I have tried putting pigs ears etc in her create to make it easier for her but still doesnt work. I think its just going to take time, but the last 2 nights ive had to give in & shes ended up on our bed because my hubby works 12hr days & my 2yr old was getting woken up 3 times a night & refused to go back to sleep with the howling. It's going to be a long process! I left her for 3hrs every night keeping in mind the toileting etc but she still didnt stop after that long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macka Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 the last 2 nights ive had to give in & shes ended up on our bed By giving in you are teaching her that if she cries for long enough she will get her own way in the end. This will only encourage her to cry for even longer next time. Unless you want her sleeping on your bed as an adult, don't let her do it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 but the last 2 nights ive had to give in & shes ended up on our bed Unfortunately ,this has now 'taught ' her that you don't mean what you say...and she only has to persistent to get her own way Also..to tire her out... put her on leash, and do 10 minutes of obedience work with her a couple of times ..late afternoon and evening..just heel,sit... walk- without- sniffing type stuff... You may also find that having to work for her night time meal..by filling a KONG with her dinner, helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoodleNut Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 but the last 2 nights ive had to give in & shes ended up on our bed Unfortunately ,this has now 'taught ' her that you don't mean what you say...and she only has to persistent to get her own way Also..to tire her out... put her on leash, and do 10 minutes of obedience work with her a couple of times ..late afternoon and evening..just heel,sit... walk- without- sniffing type stuff... You may also find that having to work for her night time meal..by filling a KONG with her dinner, helps. Have to agree Persephone ... it is hard work ... but keep in mind that it is well worth it once you follow through. A bit like disciplining a child really ... may seem a bit cruel at the time but our children also need boundaries and over time they are able to have more 'freedom' to self determine with more responsibility. Make your pup work for ALL of her meals .. ours does .. she has a large green 'football' shaped thingo that I stuff her rehydratable puppy food in, bits of raw chicken or beef and throw in the freezer ... takes her quite awhile to eat it. I did the crate thing at night although during a couple of horrendously hot days in Melbourne I did nick home from work and crate her inside as it was cool and she was your pups age at the time. When for a short walk and lots of play and training afterwards though ... did not want her to resent the crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R00 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Put pup in crate and DO NOT let out until the pup has settled. END OF STORY No letting the pup on your bed, no feeling sorry for the pup, no wondering if the pup will feel left out because another dog gets to walk around the house. The job of a leader is to be firm but fair. Be very careful what you are inadvertingly teaching what can be a very stubborn breed. You are the boss!!! Start acting like one Your dog does not live in a democracy! Also now that you probably sewn some minor bad habits read this http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Extinction If someone's gained some reward every time for a particular behavior, the behavior will persist. If suddenly the reward stops coming, it's likely that the person or animal will not immediately give up the behavior. Instead, they'll try it again and again, harder, faster, more emphatically. It's a burst of activity. If the reward still doesn't come, eventually the behavior will extinguish, or become extinct. So, the burst of behavior before extinction of the behavior is called an "extinction burst". My favorite example is the elevator button. Let's say you ride the same elevator every day. You get in, you push the button for your floor, and you're rewarded by the doors closing and the elevator taking you to your destination. One day you get in and push the button, and nothing happens. Do you immediately say, "Oh, this must not work anymore, I'll just take the stairs to the 11th floor"? Or do you push the button again? And again? And harder? And faster? And in special sequences? That's the extinction burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigsaw Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Staffy's I've met (never had one) have been very vocal - they have their own special voice - very loud and persistent at times! As everyone's said you've got to be consistent and persistent. It's like the shampoo add - it won't happen overnight but it will happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nillasdad Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Put pup in crate and DO NOT let out until the pup has settled. END OF STORY Harsh but true, we trained our six month old GD from day one, we used the above method. Although we don't make her sleep in it at night she is quite happy to go in and have a nap when we go out. She knows she the door won't open if she cries so she has learned not to. But geez it was hard at the beginning to resist that little face... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournecritters Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 When we trained our girl she didn't start in the crate until she was about 16 weeks so it was all new to her. She didn't like the crate at first so we started putting her in it three times a day with a small meal and closing the door. She would have her meal in there and if she sat down quietly after she had finished then she would come back out. The crate got associated with something she loved and now she will sleep happily in it whenever we need, I have even taken her camping in her own pop up tent! You can also put the crate next to the couch in the evening when you are watching TV and put a chicken wing in there for her to chew. Try not to have her up in the couch or bed at any time during this stage as she needs to know who's boss, especially a staffy! Once she is trained and well behaved then you can always chose to let her up on your terms only when invited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoodleNut Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 The crate got associated with something she loved and now she will sleep happily in it whenever we need, I have even taken her camping in her own pop up tent! Ahh the advantage of the crate ... we took Noodle camping at Easter and she slept in the crate in the tent ... worked a treat!! Must admit I occassionally had to take her out at about 4am for a toilet stop. Also took a pen and used that sometimes during the day for 'time out' from the kids rather than having her tethered. Put those camping mats on the ground to keep her off the dirt. Check out the photo..... Pens are also a very worthwhile purchase mummyofdakota for this reason. From 8 weeks to 14 weeks she was in a pen inside with the crate in the pen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nillasdad Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 That looks like extremely civilised camping... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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