I feel like i'm being an overprotective new father…. When Elsa is left in the crate alone ( for the shortest time) she cry's like we are torturing her. My wife and I work from home but we often have to leave. How long will the crying last and is it alright for her to cry for an extended period of time.
Thank you all for the help, i'm new to the forum and I LOVE IT .
Thx Jeff
You may need to go back to the beginning on crate training and try only short times away so that she gets used to you leaving - then work up to longer times.
One thing I made sure I did with my pup, was leave interactive treats in her crate - something she would have to work at to get the food out of - that way she concentrated on that instead of me leaving.
I used a toy called a squirrel dude and stuffed it with her kibble. Her first version of it I cut most of the prongs away. As soon as she was able to clean it out 100%, I bought another and only partially cut one prong away. I also stuffed kongs with her kibble and topped them with cream cheese, yogurt or peanut butter and froze them - so it would take longer for her to get thru her treat. The kibble that I used was in place of full meals - I'd give her a smaller regular meal and then the treats would complete the amount of food she would get.
One key thing I had in her crate was a stuffed animal called a snugglepuppy. You heat up a bag of rice in the microwave - and it gives out warmth, just like a littermate. There is also a heart element that emits a heartbeat sound when you turn it on.
In your other thread, I wrote about the setup I used with an xpen, litter box and crate. It worked well in my house as my pup made the choice to sleep in her crate but then had extra room to move around and an area to pee. I also left a radio on to keep her company. When the time came that I took away the xpen (and the litterbox), she was fully crate trained and to this day she is actually eager to go to her crate as there is always a treat or 2 waiting.
I think they all do that if they think it will get them released. AJ's almost 7 years old and still does that. Once he understands I'm not going to let him out just because he cries, he quiets down. After he's quiet for a few minutes, I open the crate and let him out. He stops crying faster each time.
