Need advice

We've had the puppy for almost two months and he will not crate.
We actually had to stop because he hurt himself trying to get out.
The trainer is stumped, so, I'm hoping the experts can give us hope.
We cannot leave him out in the house all day, because he has learned to chew things....
We don't want him to hurt himself again.

So far we have used food and treats, but those don't motivate him but just for a minute.

The barking doesn't bother us, it's the going nuts and pushing against the door to the point of injury that really concerns us!

I can work with him for several times a day, but as soon as I turn to walk away from the crate, nuts!!!

We believe that it is more about separation, than the crate.

Thanks

First puppy proof the inside of the crate so it can't hurt itself. It sounds as though it is somewhat training you. You may need to teach a quiet command. If it raises hell and you let it out on its terms, it's not gonna get better, it's gonna escalate. It's pretty common for a young pup to raise a ruckus when kenneled. My current dog was a terror and completely destroyed an expensive well built crate from the inside as a puppy. In the end he learned when I tell him to kennel he has to kennel. You need to figure it out. If the dog keeps outsmarting you, you will end up being the guy no one will hunt with who's dog is out of control. As far as chewing they all do it the first year or two.

You might want to put a big rawhide roll in there.

put a stop bark collar on the dog, if needed a second bark collar and lots of crate time until he gets bored

Have you tried throwing a blanket over the crate? Sometimes if they can't see out they calm down faster.

Good luck!

Thank you all for the advice!

Smokey Bear, you may be on to something, sorta what we had been talking about.....

Bill Oxner, we haven't done the raw hide, just kong toys.

shooterwalter, we have not tried that, thank-you!

duck buster, yes, we have covered the crate....

Try packing a hard bone full of peanut butter then freezing it. This has worked for me. It takes them so long to get all the peanut butter out they usually tire themselves out.

Several good suggestions but please don't put a bark collar on a puppy yet. He needs to understand what the correction is for and how to get out of the pressure before using that method.

Is it a wire crate he can see out from? This is separation anxiety.

Cast - yes wire crate with blanket thrown over it....

The more research we do, the more it seems like separation anxiety.

If he hadn't hurt himself, we would have tossed him right back in.

All in all, he is a really good dog, he'll get there.

Thanks for all the advice!

Use a small plastic crate, with a toy and towel.put them in the garage. Once they learn they won't get rescued, they will get better.
Get it under control now, the older they get,the harder it will be to teach them.

Robby

Robby,
Thanks for commenting, but why are you suggesting using a small plastic crate and putting him in the garage?

Don't cover the crate. He'll just tear up the cover. Crate him while you watch TV and sit where he can see you. Be sure to praise and issue treats when he goes in. When he starts carrying on, calm him through the crate. He needs to know hes a good dog when crated. Let him out the second time he starts complaining. Leave the crate door open when he is not inside and place treats in the back so he can get used to going in and out. The crate will eventually become a safe place to him.

Small plastic crate: they only need enough room to turn around, they can't get hung up in the door since it's usually 1 inch square mesh. Move them to a wire crate when they get older.
Sleeping in the garage, when they see you or your family, they get excited. Then bring them in when they get older and understand the rules better. Right now he hears the tv, the wife, the kids and wants to be out having fun.
As I write this one of my field trial dogs is laying quietly beside my chair.
Robby

All dogs like to go for rides. Put a box in your truck and take it everywhere.

bill oxner - that is a great idea, will definitely incorporate that into our training, thank-you!

I would get a new trainer. Seriously. Working with a pro trainer is the best thing you can do for you and your pup and it is awesome you are doing that, but if your trainer is stumped over this you need to find another. I have consulted multiple pro trainers with my pup, mainly to train me and tailor training program to my pup and her specific needs.

He needs to be with a trained pack. They learn very quickly from other dogs.

I can't leave home without my two.

bill oxner - Great picture!

We're making progress, he's been in the crate little over an hour, I'm close by making phone calls for a church mission trip.
Just a few whins, followed by encouragement and a couple treats, last 20 minutes or so, silence!!
That long walk before works wonders too....

Cast - thank you, we've found a really good trainer close by and will enroll him soon! And you are correct, we took him for a little "walk-thru" observation, and he picked up what the older dogs were doing, just by watching for about 30 minutes.

Guy - thanks, totally agree, the current trainer is good, but too "soft" maybe.
The new trainer is much more "commanding"......
Just by me the last couple days being down with the flu and at the house all day has made a big difference.
Thanks for the compliment, we are really trying to turn this good puppy into a great dog, and like you, it's us who need the most training!

I was fortunate enough to work from home when I got my lab puppy. I crate trained him and it wasn’t easy, even though I was with him basically all day. I was in an apartment, no less.

We treated it as his space. We left it open all the time except when we left or went to sleep ourselves. We put a bed in there and covered it, too. He would eventually start to take naps in there. He learned to love it. It was his space.

He hasn’t been in it in four years or so, because I eventually trusted him not to tear up anything in the house.

I wouldn’t leave toys in the crate for my dog because I would’ve been afraid that his anxiety would’ve led him to tear the toy up and possibly swallow the smal parts.

Good luck. It’s tough. I hope he will grow out of it.

Thanks Duck_Hunter,

Went to Bible Study early this morning, wife says he's been a "pistol" all morning....of course he was, especially when all she wanted was coffee and quiet!
So when I got back to the house, he and I took about a 20 minutes walk, got back, he started nosing around his crate, so I put him in, few little whins, but he's been in about an hour and is fast asleep!!

I've had ones tear through the wire ones, but was able to crate train them in the plastic crates.
New dogs only get their meals inside the crate. I also save their favorite treats for crate only.
Lots of exercise before crating them.
Its worked with all my dogs, and the foster dogs I bring in.

But there is always a exception to the rule. I took on a known severe separation anxiety, containment phobia dog. In the 6 months I've had him, I think 15 minutes, is as long as I've ever been able to crate him. then he is stressed out for the rest of the day.
I'm retired, so he just goes everywhere with me.
He likes to hunt, and thats my favorite pastime. It works for me, but wouldn't for most people.

So I just got a new puppy last week. A couple things we did.
He is used to sleeping with other bodies so for the first couple of nights when we actually had to sleep, he went in with my two year old dog. Not a peep all night.
second a tired dog is a good dog. I would wear him out before trying to put him in there. Take all of his energy out so his give up is very high.
Third leave the door open and just do drills with him to get him to go, sit, stay and come back out. just getting him used to being in there and happy. treats for good jobs.