Mothering Forum banner

Wait until puppy calms down to let out of crate or let puppy out immediately b/c he probably has to pee?

654 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  SevenVeils 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,
We have been keeping our puppy in a crate at night and when we are away. When I wake up to let him out or when we come home he seems very hyper/anxious to get out of the crate and is barking and whining. Should I wait until he calms down to let him out and take him outside or should I just let him out immediately? Should I have a verbal command to calm him down?

Thanks!
SJ
 
#2 ·
Definitely do NOT let him out of the crate when he's whining/barking unless you want him to always bark/whine to get what he wants. He needs to learn that quiet calm dogs get what they want. I know it's difficult but you need to wait until he's quiet for at least 10 seconds and ideally longer, but you will probably have to do this in baby steps until he gets the idea.

I'll tell you it took about a week of being very consistent with our new puppy before we could actually open the door and she wouldn't move until released. Now I can open the door to her crate and walk across the room and even if our other dog is in the room too she will not leave until released.
 
#4 ·
Yes I use "OK". A lot of trainers will tell you to pick a different release word though since "OK" is used so commonly in daily speak. So it's up to you what you want to use, but I would definitely use a word to release the puppy. Some people use "free", "done", "release", "party", etc.
 
#5 ·
Yes, don't even look at him or in the direction of the crate if you can avoid it, until he is very calm. When you get up in the morning, or when you come home, pretend that the dog is invisible (and inaudible) until he is laying down and very relaxed. My dog knows that he won't get to come out until then, so he actually pretends to be asleep if he isn't tired.

My dog, too, won't come out of the crate until I give the command. In my case, the command is "you can come out now".
 
#6 ·
I cant agree more. Dont them her out until she is calm, dont pay attention to her if shes crying, its hard
ive caved a few times. When I come home our puppy's tail is wagging a mile a minute that I think shes going to take off like a helicopter. but at least shes sitting and not crying, which is a far cry from what she USED to do. You would think she was being eaten alive by ants or something.
Our release word is free. we went through the same thing with our trainer she said it should be a comon word that you say all the time.
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Garden~Lover View Post
When I come home our puppy's tail is wagging a mile a minute that I think shes going to take off like a helicopter.
I honestly have no idea what mine is doing when we come home. I really, really don't look at him. We really do completely ignore him for 10 minutes, so that our coming home is not an exciting event.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top