Quote:
Originally Posted by spike021
Hes such a handful already..lol. He HATES his crate and his playpen. Last night got him into the crate for bedtime, thought he was good, closed the door, and immediately he kept screaming his tiny lungs out, but I persisted.
he mostly did ok but woke me up a few times with random noises and he wet the bed once.
Today for naps he refuses to go into it and will only nap (twice now) under my bed, lol.
I'm definitely hoping to properly crate train him but need to figure out the best way. I used a cleaning spray so most of the urine smell is gone now (to my nose at least). Hopefully he'll be able to go in tonight...
|
My son has had a couple of GSDs and has persuaded me the key with puppies is TREATs. Anytime the dog does a behavior you want - TREAT Doesn't matter why or when they they did it just - TREAT. You're outside and the pup potties - TREAT. You're inside and s/he wanders into the crate - TREAT.
If the pup likes you and has sort of bonded with you, throw a set of your smelliest clothes in the crate. When you get him in it - TREAT. Most puppies are food motivated so that works for quite a while. When they get bigger you'll need to make some changes.
Edit: Another couple of thoughts. At that age, you should probably be taking him outside at a minimum, every two hours. Put him down on the grass and when he potties - TREAT! When he starts squalling in the crate, don't let him out until he calms down. When he gets quiet, let him out and - TREAT! Ignore most to all undesirable behaviors for a while and reward the hell out of desirable ones. You are now Sugar Dog Daddy.