Crate Training a New Puppy

Question: We got a second black puppy who is 9 weeks old. We are trying to crate train our puppy and she is howling! Immediately sobs in the crate during the day even after playing for hours (better at night because she cries herself to sleep). Do you have any videos on crate training puppies we can watch and how to handle the hysteria? Is cry it out the best method and wait until calm to take out is really the only option? We need to have the crate work for our lifestyle to ensure the pups safe when we leave for work for a few hours eventually. We are only doing this for about an hour at a time 2 or 3x a day so minimal but want to avoid traumatizing her since she seems so upset! Thanks for the advice!

Jeremy's Answer: We do have a chapter on crate training in the puppy video that will show a little more of what I'm gonna try to describe here in the message.

The easy answer is, I do let them "cry it out". I do think there are things that you can do to make it easier for you, particularly when you have a stubborn puppy. One thing I think needs to happen is to do your best to ensure that the pup doesn't have to go out for bathroom reasons. That is similar to the technique you're going to use when housebreaking. By controlling the food and water you know when the puppy will need to go out. Setting up a routine is going to be key to that success.

But once you know that the dog doesn't have to go outside and you kennel them and they start to cry, I do leave them until they show me some sign of giving in. It might just mean that they stop for a few minutes. If they do, that might be my time to let them outside immediately and see if they have to go to the bathroom again. I always bring them outside immediately after taking them out of the kennel. I repeat that until they start to realize that the kennel is not a place that they're gonna get out of by crying. Instead, they get out by being quiet. I do think that they will tend to wear themselves out, even wear themselves down to the point of giving in and falling asleep.

That being said, another thing you can do to help yourself is to be sure that the puppy has had "significant" or adequate exercise so that they should lwear themselves down prior to trying to kennel them. Another thing you can try is covering the kennel. I do try to put the kennel in a place that is less distracting, which helps them to settle by not being tempted by noises and sites that they potentially can see when the kennel is in a place of high traffic.

The biggest thing I think leads to success is patience and the ability to not give in to their crying. Not joking, my wife often times wears earplugs when we first bring puppies home at night. If you stay consistent, I think you will see changes in a relatively short amount of time. Keep me posted and best of luck with your new addition.
Your friend,
Jeremy