[tootsiesdad]

As Violet seems to be settling in to her new 'pack', the next two hurtles are letting me know when she needs to pee, and getting used to her crate. I have her now where she will go in and out of it to see if there are any new treats in there, or to get another toy out to play with. Later today, I hope to do a few minutes with the door closed, leaving the radio on in the kitchen. She seems to want to urinate frequently in the morning , but will sleep with us all night(sometimes more than 8 hours) without as much as a whimper. As always, any suggestions are welcome. Love to you all from Violet and her humans :>)

 

[Raindrops]

As Violet seems to be settling in to her new 'pack', the next two hurtles are letting me know when she needs to pee, and getting used to her crate. I have her now where she will go in and out of it to see if there are any new treats in there, or to get another toy out to play with. Later today, I hope to do a few minutes with the door closed, leaving the radio on in the kitchen. She seems to want to urinate frequently in the morning , but will sleep with us all night(sometimes more than 8 hours) without as much as a whimper. As always, any suggestions are welcome. Love to you all from Violet and her humans :>)

Sounds like you are doing great! I would recommend having a special chew toy/treat that takes her some time to work on, but only allowing her access to it in the crate with the door closed. So she will start to associate crate time with good stuff and she'll be excited to go in.

 

[Poodlebeguiled]

I 2nd what Raindrops suggested.

Additionally, may I recommend that the first few times you close the door on the crate and turn the radio on, leave....that the radio can become paired with your leaving and may actually wind up being a conditioned punisher. LOL. When the radio goes on, Dad leaves. The radio is a predictor of something not good is about to happen. (unless she couldn't care less if you leave. That's sometimes the possibility) You could have the radio on when you're already in the room for a while, then leave. You can also mix things up so that sometimes the radio goes on when you leave, sometimes not, sometimes when you return. That way the radio doesn't become a cue. If you want her to feel soothed when you're gone and you think the radio helps, then use it. But I'd have it on also when you're there some of the time. (I recommend Bach):musical-note: lol.

Also, I would suggest if she's not showing that she's super comfortable in there with the door closed that before you start leaving the area, stick around in the same room...unload the dishwasher or putter around in there. When she's comfortable with the door closed for longer and longer spells, then try going to another room but only for a short time. Come back, increase duration of absence. Don't let her out while she's whining but wait for a lull. Anyhow...you get the idea. Gradual conditioning. Pretty soon she'll be comfortable in there with the door closed for an hour or more. Good luck.