Pup and the kennel

[R. Miller]

I have a new English Setter pup, and since last week Wednesday, I think he already knows his name and the command "come." I must admitt, the fiance and I have wanted to bond with him the first few nights, and he's slept in the bed. He's only went pee in the house once so far, and is catching on to that too, but does anyone have advice for getting a pup to like sleeping in his comfy kennel at night? It's by our bedside, and I guess I could stay awake til he falls asleep, but any advice out there?

[Bobb-o]

a sweatshirt or tshirt that smells like you with a clock underneath helps out a lot. but you basically have to just leave them in there and let them get used to it, which means no letting them out in th emiddle of the night. a good way to start is to have the kennel out in a common area and put toys in there and whenever the dog is in there do not interact with them, they soon learn that this is their safe place.

[Powerstroke]

Have you tried it yet? Most dogs will take to it pretty well if he's not too used to something else yet. If you've tried him in there and he whines then you're just gonna have to let him whine a bit. He needs to learn that just cause he whines doesn't mean you will let him out and it shouldn't mean "pick me up".

If you're trying to socialize him to the kennel put him in there during the day sometimes and put a toy in there with him. Have a blanket or towel in there that you don't mind becoming his bedding. It will be soft and comfortable and will clean up easy if he does have an accident. Get him comfortable with it. It needs to become his home. They will whine and cry because its new and you've already allowed him to be in your bed. You already have to break him of something you've allowed him to learn. It might be tough and he'll probably cry at night for a day or two. but he'll learn that the kennel is his new bed.

[Jarrod32]

Yep. You're gonna have to let him cry for a couple nights...but the pup will get over it and will get used to the kennel.

[tealitup]

Agreed let the puppy cry for a couple nights - our cried for a half hour the first night. Also, when its feeding time I put her food in her kennel so she could figure it was a safe place.

Throw some toys in there.

We also put her in the kennel during the day - stepped outside - listened and when she stopped crying we went back in - let her out. My thought, although not scientific, was that she would realize we were coming back.

[Studer]

We used a clock that makes the tic tic tic tic noise and that is supposed to resemble a heart beat from the mother and yes soft blankets or a stuffed animal or something worked for us as well. Yes it is annoying at first but will soon be very easy. Good Luck Gotta love puppies

[jbdragon17]

My last setter pup had the same problem. Here are my tricks that worked VERY well:

Put a plastic bin in the crate to make a smaller space

Throw in a "worn" T shirt

Keep the crate by the bed, and everytime he/she makes a smack the top of that crate and make a growly "hey" or whatever you use for your "no" command.

I think it only took about 2 nights for him to get it. It has worked with 4 dogs now.

[trailratedtj]

you can also try a 2 liter bottle of warm water in the kennel along with a ticking clock. The sounds and the warmth of the bottle simulates its mother. It took my dog a couple of days to get use to it, most dogs like said in the other posts usually take around 2 days to come around. Once my dog got use to it the only whining he did was when he needed to use the bathroom. You can take advantage of that if your dog does the same, he'll learn that he can signal you when he needs to go. When duke was around 8 weeks he would need to go potty about 4 times a night. Its really fun around the 4th time he needs to go, its usually about an hour before you need to get up for work,pissed and half awake trying to make a mad dash for the door with a full uncontrollable bladdered pup. As Duke aged he went from 4 times a night to now being before we go to bed and after we wake up in the morning.