How to help my anxious dog stop crying and whining in his crate?

Thanks for asking about crate training your puppy. I'm a professional dog trainer. It sounds like you are doing some of the general recommendations for crate training, like feeding in the crate and giving treats in the crate. I'm going to share with you all of my tips for crate training. But the two most important things are to ALWAYS give high value treats for going into the crate and never let him out if he's crying or barking. For you I recommend doing this: Step 1: Throw a handful of yummy treats in the crate and say "Crate" or whatever phrase you want to use and let him go in to eat them. While he's eating them, close the door and stand there. When he's finished eating the treats and not crying, open the door and let him out. Do this 5 times. This teaches him that he gets lots of treats in the crate. The crate is good! Step 2: Throw the treats in the crate, say the word "Crate", let him go in and eat, close the door and walk out of site for a few seconds or a minute (very short time). Come back when he's not crying. Open the crate and let him out. Do this 5 times. This teaches him that you put him in his crate, leave and come back and let him out when he's not crying. Step 3: Throw treats in the crate, say the word "Crate", let him go in and eat, close the door and walk away for 5 minutes. Come back when he's not crying. Open the crate and let him out. Do this 5 times. This teaches him that you stay away longer but you still come back and let him out when he's quiet. Step 4: Do same thing for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and then at night. Step 5: Now that he knows the crate is good, keep reinforcing it by always giving treats to go in. Give him a stuffed Kong or special toys that he only gets in the crate. Keep feeding him in it and don't let him out when he's crying. More tips: Guidelines: 1. A puppy should be able to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably in the crate. 2. Do not leave any extra space inside the crate where the puppy might be able to eliminate. If the crate is large, place another barrier inside that will leave just enough room for the puppy, as stated in step one. 3. Place a towel or padding in the bottom of the crate for puppy to lie on. Remove if you feel the puppy will chew or ingest it. 4. Select an area in your home to set up the crate. This should be in a room where the puppy is engaged with family activities and able to view the family. This may be the family living room or master bedroom. 5. Setup the crate and let the puppy see it in his environment and explore. Keep the door open and hide yummy treats inside, he will learn that good things happen in his crate. 6. Hold a yummy treat in your hand and lure the puppy into the crate. As the puppy enters the crate, say “Crate” or whatever word will be used as the crating cue, and praise and treat. 7. Continue to leave the door open and keep hiding treats under the crate bedding. This will encourage the puppy to explore the crate. 8. Repeat several times until she is comfortable going into the crate. Additional Information: • NEVER force the puppy into the crate. • If a puppy should begin whining or barking in his crate, check your housetraing schedule to ensure the puppy does not need to potty. If the puppy just eliminated, wait until she is quiet before you let her out of the crate. Wait patiently for a split second of silence, and then open the crate door. If you let a puppy out of the crate when he is whining or barking, this will become an “I want out of the crate” cue. • The crate should become a calm and positive environment. • For crate training to be successful, the puppy must view the crate as a refuge and associate it with positive experiences. • Add special yummy treats or toys that the puppy only receives when he is in the crate. Food-stuffed toys like Kong’s work well and make the crate a happier place for the puppy. • When a puppy is left alone in his crate, play soft music in the background.

Young puppies like this are often anxious about being left alone, even if they're just in a crate across the room. You can help him learn to enjoy being in his crate by giving him a special long-lasting treat each time you put him in - something like a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter works very well for many puppies. This will help to keep him busy and encourage him to settle, and will also teach him to associate good things with being in his crate.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It sounds like Stormy is dealing with separation anxiety. I would recommend feeding her dinner in her crate and making this a place where she wants to go and is comfortable for her. I would make sure she has plenty of room to move around in as well. You can try using the Adaptil products to see if this calms her down and relaxes her. It can take some time for a dog to become crate trained but the key is to make it an enjoyable place that she wants to be in. If she associates the crate with food and a place where she sleeps, she will hopefully find the crate less stressful. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is a tough part of puppyhood! In general the advice goes to ignore the crying entirely and only pet, talk to, or let Vito out when he is quiet. Otherwise he learns “Hey! Crying gets me attention and out of this crate!” Patience and dedication over several days or weeks with this method usually does the trick. I’ve attached a good handout in the link below with other things you may not have considered about crate training. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Vito! 

vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/local_resources/pdfs/behavior_pdfs/Crate_Training_Your_Puppy.pdf

Hello, thank you for your question about Moose. I have provided some information from a handout on crate training, it can be tough and challenging but you are doing a great job already! Moose is likely exhibiting these behaviors because he knows you are leaving him and he is trying to do anything to get you to stay and take him from the crate. Why should I crate train my puppy? Crate training is a great way to limit your puppy’s access to your house while he learns appropriate behavior. It will cut down on the number of “accidents” while your puppy is learning to be housetrained, and will reduce destroying and chewing of furniture or other household items. It will give you more peace of mind and freedom to be away from home during your puppy’s growing up period. If your puppy is used to being crated it will also be easier and less stressful for him to travel, to be in a cage at the veterinarian, or to be confined for any other reason in the future. You may choose to continue to use the crate into your dog’s adulthood as his very own comfortable “room”. Why does it work? In the wild, dogs naturally seek out dens for sleeping quarters. Presumably this is because they are closed with only one entrance, giving the dog a sense of security. Dogs instinctively do not like to soil in their dens and will go outside to eliminate. Crating your dog is simply using his instinct not to soil in his den, and so therefore allowing you to gradually teach him that your whole house is his “den” and to only eliminate outside. Some people feel apprehensive about crating their dog, thinking that it is mean and that their dog won’t like it. However, since dogs seek out dens on their own, a crate is both natural and comforting to a puppy. How do I choose a crate? Both wire and plastic crates are available. Both work well, so it really depends on your personal preference. Keep in mind that plastic crates can be used for airline travel while wire crates may be collapsible, thus easier for storage. Getting the right size is very important. Your dog should be able to stand up and turn around freely in his crate, but it should not be big enough for him to have a separate toilet area. If your puppy is going to grow a lot more, get a crate that will be big enough for him as an adult, but block the back area so it is not big enough for him to have a separate toilet area now. How do I crate train my puppy? First, make sure the crate is comfortable by placing a towel or bed inside. Place the crate in a common area and put toys and treats inside for your puppy to discover. Don’t ever force your puppy into the crate, as going in should always be a positive experience. Praise him every time that he goes into the kennel. After he is comfortable going inside his crate for treats, beginning feeding his meals inside the crate. Start closing door while he is eating, but open it before he is done. Next, leave the door closed for longer increments of time, building slowly. Never open door when he is whining or scratching, but only open it when he is quiet. If he is consistently whining, he is being closed in for too long, so go back to an amount of time he tolerates well and increase more slowly. After that, start crating him at other times besides his meals. Always give him an incentive to go into the crate (treats, food-filled toys, such as a Kong®, toy etc.). First stay in the room with him and then start leaving the room for short increments of time, building very slowly. Once he handles this well you can start leaving the house for short periods of time, again slowly increasing length of time. The length of time it takes for a puppy to learn varies from dog to dog, so remember that patience is key for your puppy’s success!

I recommend playing with him before bedtime so he’s tired. Playing music and giving him a toy to snuggle with usually helps. Some dogs sleep well in the crate if it’s in your bedroom. Give it some time and he should adjust, usually the first few days or week is the worst. Crate training is important for housebreaking, travel and boarding so be patient. I do like to leave the crate open during the day and place treats in it so he likes to go inside. My dogs still love their crates and often prefer to sleep in them even now that they’re grown up. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Benji.

It is possible Trish could be feeling a bit anxious, or just wants to be with her new people after all this change! If she is OK to be allowed out in the house when you are home, I would just leave the crate open for her to enter and leave at her leisure and not leave her crated unless you cannot attend to her. If she's still working on housetraining, gating off the house so that she has access only to easy to clean areas such as the kitchen, or keeping her tethered to you with a leash can help prevent accidents while she learns. Here are a few articles on separation anxiety that may also be helpful for you! https://www.petcoach.co/article/separation-anxiety/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/top-5-ways-to-reduce-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-common-signs-of-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/