Crate Training: Are we making decent progress?

[ramama]

Okay, DH is 62.  He has some old-school approaches to dog training (and child-rearing for that matter LOL) and I'm trying to get a feel if I'm heading in the right direction in the crate training department.  We have a 9 week old lab/shepherd mix.  I've started slowly crate training him about 3-4 days ago.  First putting his food near the crate, then just inside the crate, then half way in, then all the way in the back, etc.  He is now used to the crate and quite frequently takes naps in there.  I have started closing the door for short periods of time.  He has no problems with that.  I close the door when he is sleeping in there (not latched, though) and he wakes up and gazes about and is not alarmed at all.  He was happily in his crate for 3 hours this evening with the door closed (we like him to go in there to chew his bone since we have another dog who will steal it from him.  He chewed on the bone and then took a nap.)  I am thrilled with the progress so far.  DH, on the other hand, with every new milestone in this endeavor, says "Well, then I guess we can crate him tonight."  All night?  Is he crazy?  His argument is that he'll whine for a couple nights but then he'll get used to it.  My argument is that he's going to be an 80lb dog when he is grown who is terrified of his crate.  Yeah, good luck wrestling him in there then!  Not to mention that he'll freakin' undo all the hard work that I've put in so far!  Am I being stupid?  Is this good progress so far?  Is there a way that I can get across to my husband that forcibly crating him is not the best way?

[Arduinna]

The puppy is 9 weeks, sounds to me like you are making great progress and it would be a big mistake IMO to undermine that by trying a CIO approach. You easily could set yourselves back to step one. As far as getting it across to your dh, how much does he know about puppy maturity and fear periods? I'd start there. 

Labs and GSDs have pretty different personalities, we are crate training our pure bred GSD and I've had labs before. They just don't see the world the same. We are using similar methods as you for our pup that is about 6 months old. She eats all her meals in her crate, takes her bones there and uses her crate as a refuge. She actually has 2 crates one in the LR and one in BR. But she has never been locked in her crate at night, she was very good at waking us up if she needed to go out. 

[Alyantavid]

Well we put our pup in her crate at 9 weeks old and she slept all night in there until she was probably a year old.  She cried a little bit at first and then when she needed to go out.  It was really easy and not traumatic on her at all, but we did keep the crate in our bedroom so we were right beside her the whole time.

[Arduinna]

My pug was fine in the crate from day one too. But a GSD is not a pug, and OP has a GSD mix. Although maybe her pup has more of the lab personality than the GSD? 

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by Arduinna 

My pug was fine in the crate from day one too. But a GSD is not a pug, and OP has a GSD mix. Although maybe her pup has more of the lab personality than the GSD? 

I don't have a pug?  Anyways, I wasn't aware that it was a breed specific question, so I'll go on about my business.

[NikonMama]

Our pups (who are 4.5 months old now, we got them at 8 weeks) have slept in their crate at night from day one.  Yes, they cried a bit at first but they calmed down quickly, and they are not terrified of their crate at all.  They actually love it.  All we have to do is say "Crate!" and they walk right in on their own.  Our girl loves to take her naps in there.  At first, for the first couple months, I got up with them every couple hours but I gradually spaced it out.  Now I don't have to get up with them at all at night.  You aren't going to traumatize your dog.  He'll be fine.  Our dogs immediately go to sleep when they are put in their crate now.  Your dog will get there also, but it doesn't happen overnight. 

[ramama]

I was vetoed by DH, and he was put in his crate at night cold-turkey.  He whined pretty good for the first few nights, but luckily one of the only commands he knows and reliably obeys is "quiet," so once it dawned on me to tell him to be quiet, everything went a lot better.  He is put in his crate around 2-3 am since DH is a nightowl, and I get up with him around 6-7am, so he's not in the crate all that long.  Last night was the first night he didn't cry at all.  He still likes his crate and naps in it, so there has been no fear so far.  Thanks for the responses.  CIO is not something I'm conditioned for, but DH gave me no choice and all-in-all it hasn't been that bad.