Gun Dog Forum

I have a few questions. Me and my wife just got a almost 5 month old britt. The last owner had him crate trained (they said) which seems to only work when we are at work. At night time we try the crate, but he barks and whines and bangs on the crate. If we let him out, he curls up beside the bed and falls asleep no problems. Which is fine, because e let's us know during the night if he has To go out which happened to be at 1am last night. Then he was good untill I left for work at 5:30am. My wife leaves at 8:30am for work, so lets him out again. Then crates him until I get home at 2:30pm. Yesterday she said he was fine. No whines or anything (1st day doing this). Then today she told me he was whining and banging on his crate when she walked away, and heard him whining, when she was outside leaving. We have a half house and the neighbors have a newborn baby, and she is home all day. I don't want them to get angry at us. I asked the neighbor yesterday, and they said they didn't hear anything. No barks, or whines. So yesterday he was fine. Any ideas? Just repetition? Is 6 hours to long for him to be crated at 5 months old?

I also heard people talking about them bringing there dog to work. Then on lunch breaks letting him out and playing with him during that time. Only thing there, is that would be a longer period he would be crated. It's either my wife does it before work and he is alone for 6 hours in the house, or I take him to work with me at 5:30am and have lunch breaks with him, let him out and do his businesses. But he would be crated untill I got home at 2:30.

Any ideas?

The rule that I use is 1 hour for every month of age plus 1 hour. Meaning a 5 month old britt should be good in their crate for about 6 hours. I do have a question at to the type of crate you are using. I use a travel kennel to crate my dogs for the night, as they feel more like a den with solid walls. If you are using a wire crate, Try putting a cover over the crate so that it feels more like a den. You will still need to get up during the night to take your pup outside, however. Also, make sure that your have the water out of reach about 1 hour before putting the pup up for the night, nothing worse than getting put to bed with a full bladder.
Good luck with the training.
One more thing, everyone on the site is waiting for pics of your pup.

Sleeping next to your bed sounds fine if he does not cause any damage. Always crate him when you leave the house even for short periods. Use a stuffed KONG toy for him to chew on while in the crate. Don't leave him in the house unattended, that could lead to a disaster.

It is a crate with the wire sides and a plastic bottom. It has a door in the side, and one at the front as well. It will be very nice when taking him hunting. I can put it sideways in the back of my cherokee. He is though very good in the vehicle. When I drive the truck he sits in the back and looks out the windows the whole time. When in the car, he just lays down and sleeps almost as soon as we start driving. No whining, no jumping around. I wasn't expecting that.

Oh... I'm loading a few pictures now.

Try covering the crate at night and see how it goes. Most dogs will quiet down when the crates are covered.

There is a good chance your new friend was testing the rules when your wife put him up to go to work. When you went to bed, he whined and he got to stay close to you. He may have tried the same tactic when your wife left for work. As soon as the door closed, he probably shut his mouth because he knew she was gone (previous crate training). That's probably why the neighbors never heard anything.So, now that he knows that when you are home all he has to do is make a racket and he sleeps in your room....

whoadog wrote:There is a good chance your new friend was testing the rules when your wife put him up to go to work. When you went to bed, he whined and he got to stay close to you. He may have tried the same tactic when your wife left for work. As soon as the door closed, he probably shut his mouth because he knew she was gone (previous crate training). That's probably why the neighbors never heard anything.So, now that he knows that when you are home all he has to do is make a racket and he sleeps in your room....

x2..

Just my opinion....when you leave toys in the crate, it tends to make them more active and likely to need to be let out earlier.

We have a GSP that is about a month younger than your brit, and went through a similar process when we brought him home. You really need to just ignore the noise at night. We did that, but he would keep yapping for hours, so my father in law recommended spraying water in his face and saying "Quiet". That was a godsend. It really only took a few times. Now, a couple months later his behavior in the crate is perfect.