22/06/2025
Morning everyone, happy Sunday!
Slightly longer post today so grab a cuppa, but with lots of people asking me how Titchy Glitchy is doing, I wanted to share…
I’ll be honest, she’s blooming lovely. But there was one struggle that we had that I haven’t spoken about - crate / pen training. She had severe FOMO 😅
I’ve seen lots of people recently come to class and say that crate or pen training didn’t work for them and I always feel a slight regret that we are seeing these pups when they have been in their homes for a month or so because quite often it could have worked with the right tools!
Now they aren’t an essential thing for a dog to have, but it will make life a LOT easier when your angelic puppy moves into the ‘I don’t WANT to nap!!’ stage and no longer falls asleep anywhere.
So I wanted to share what I did with Glitch that now means she really quite likes her crate/pen set up and no longer screams when I put her in…
🐾 NO letting her cry it out.
It won’t get us the calm, happy emotions in the crate that we want. She may end up being quiet, but it is likely because she has learnt that if she screams, no one will come. Leading to my next point…
🐾 A secure attachment.
The literature is very similar in babies and dogs - when they know you will respond to their distress cues, they are more secure and confident in themselves. Leading again to my next point… (almost like I planned this isn’t it)
🐾 Sleepy put-downs. I cuddled her to sleep!
It may seem counter intuitive, but the best place she settled was on me. So I let her get cozy and sleepy, then transferred her to a crate where she woke up, looked around, then promptly dozed off again.
Each time I did a sleepy put-down I would put her in her crate sooner and slightly more awake.
Then I would put her in awake and sit on a chair next to her crate. Now she can go in wide awake and settle.
🐾 Regular crate naps.
Try not to only use it at night, or when you go out. Young pups are probably having 4/5 decent naps a day so use at least a couple of those for a sleepy put-down and crate training nap!
🐾 Tethered chews.
With the door wide open, I would tether a chew or stuff a carrot through the bars of the crate. This meant she spent a good fifteen minutes in the crate whilst I moved round the house and she was choosing to stay there, not being trapped.
Did this feel very time consuming and monotonous? Yes. Did it actually only take 3-4 weeks of her life and now I get to enjoy her for the next 15? Also yes.
This is only what we did - a good trainer would create you your own plan for your pup, taking into account which part of crating they are finding stressful, so please do reach out for help. But I wanted to share because it wasn’t all smooth sailing and it was a real pain to commit to at times, but well worth it.
And finally - it’s all normal puppy behaviour. They are not used to being alone, they need security.
