[Raena]

What is the best way (or ways?) to stop kennel barking and whining? I've tried a few things, but they don't seem to be working to well. I'd love some suggestions!

 

[bigpoodleperson]

For a puppy that young i would still expect a certain degree of whining in the crate. One of the best ways to prevent this is to exercise her more before putting her in there. She will be too tired to bark. Also giving her a treat whenever she goes in or leaving her with a stuffed kong toy.

 

[cbrand]

I can not abide a barky/whiney dog! I feel like training a dog to be a quiet member of the family is one of the most important lessons you can teach.

A crate ideally needs to be in a quiet place away from household activity. My crates are in my grooming room in the basement. Practice tough love when it comes to putting a puppy in the crate for the night. As long as they went potty before you put them up for the night (usually around 11-12p.m for an 8 week old puppy) then you should not give in and take them out of the crate if they bark. They should stay in their crate until 5-6a.m. the next morning.

Around the house, I like to use a squirt bottle on puppies who whine or bark. Skaker cans work well too. If these don't work, you can step up to putting a little vinegar in the squirt bottle to give it a bit of a bite. When the puppy is older and clearly knows better than to bark in the crate, you can bang on top of the crate and say sternly "Quiet!"

 

[KPoos]

We have the crate in our bedroom and our room is not used much except at night. He's only been here for a couple of days but his whining has decreased a lot since we started it. The breeder didn't do crate training much but he was in an ex-pen. He's better at not crying for us to come and rescue him when we aren't in his eyesight but he's a baby so naturally he's afraid of being left alone. I just ignore it honestly. He did cry again last night and I have to just roll over and ignore it. Within the week he'll stop whining I'm sure of it but I could put a sheet over the crate at night. I just don't do it because I don't want him in the habit of having to be covered in order to quiet down. He needs to just be of the understanding that crate time is quiet time and when he's out he can play.