Hi all,
Well, we adopted our new dog Murphy this weekend--a very gentle, sweet 2-year-old mutt (we think maybe there's some shepherd/pointer in him--but he's 30 lbs. and fully grown!). So far, he's doing really well. He hasn't had any accidents, and seems content to follow us everywhere--he's still a little clingy.
We'd really like to crate-train him for nighttime and while we're at work. We've been feeding him in the crate, giving him treats to fetch in there, etc. But when we gently place him in the crate at night, praising him, he whines and yelps so loudly--it's like he's being hit! The crate is right at our bedroom door, so he's close to us, but he simply will not stop yelping. We eventually have to take him out because we live in an apartment building, but now he's probably thinking "yelping=being let out."
We've left him alone in the crate twice for about an hour each time, and when we've returned to the apartment, he was quiet--so I think it's a matter of him wanting to be with us when we're actually there (at night). Is there any way we can get him to like his crate and want to sleep there at night, or is it hopeless?
Thanks so much for your help!
strass (Sleepless in Chicago!)
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