Well, for the most part we have done quite well crate training our Briar; however, there still are some reminders that he is just a pup and that he's not totally perfect!
Briar is able to be put to bed by 10pm for the night. He is crated overnight in the living room away from the bedroom (our way of training him independence and self soothing to hopefully decrease chances of separation anxiety disorder as he matures). This morning he was taken out by my husband for his morning duty of pottying outside. He did very well! He was crated once again while my husband finished getting ready for work. Having the day off, I wanted to see how this routine would work as it is indicative of his future days once I return back to work from holiday next week.
Oh dear! Where did the wonderful Briar go? Once my husband left - Briar has been crying and scratching in his crate (lovingly dubbed his "house" when we refer to it while training). It has been 30 minutues of high pitched cries and whines. It nearly sounds like an animal is getting slaughtered it's so bad.
As a good mama, I must not reinforce his behavior by releasing him from his crate while he's crying and carrying on. I must allow him time to self soothe and once he's calm and quite for at least 5 minutes, I will release him and praise him and give him a trot outside.
For all of you new puppy parents out there, hang in there! The hard work you put in now will certainly pay off later once your pup gets used to the expecations and structure.
We have been doing very well offering time in his "house" for an hour at a time during the day while we are home without any cries or whines. This is something we worked through during his very first days. We filled his "house" with toys and only offered his very favorite treats when he was being crated. This allowed him to understand this is a good environment for him and good things do come to him while he's in his house.
Ahh...he's been quite for 5 minutes now...I must go and let him know what a good pup he is.
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