Mission - getting Monty to bed !

It's taken us around an hour to get Monty into his bed tonight. We seem to be having this trouble every night to the point it's wearing us thin .. he's just gone into his bed, he has been in and out of it all night, and the reason why, because when he goes in, he will not stop barking, so I bring him out, and he's just sniffing about the house, then he's going back in and he's continuously barking ... we've ignored, and ignored and ignored, we've told him no, shouted, to no avail ! Help !

I can't be of too much help as mine have always slept with me after a week or so of crate training. Is he walked or exercised before bedtime so that he is tired?

He hasn't been tonight as I didn't get home until late, but even after a walk on an evening he's pretty much been like it also.

Maria. wrote:It's taken us around an hour to get Monty into his bed tonight. We seem to be having this trouble every night to the point it's wearing us thin .. he's just gone into his bed, he has been in and out of it all night, and the reason why, because when he goes in, he will not stop barking, so I bring him out, and he's just sniffing about the house, then he's going back in and he's continuously barking ... we've ignored, and ignored and ignored, we've told him no, shouted, to no avail ! Help !

There's part of your problem - he's getting the desired reaction from you.

Is he crated? If he is, I'd just put him in & then totally ignore him. Eventually he'll fall asleep. If necessary get some foam ear plugs from the chemist, they're brilliant!

It would also be useful if you teach him the 'quiet' command. While he's barking keep saying "Speak". As soon as he stops (and you have to be quick) say "quiet" & give him a treat. Pretty soon he'll bark when you say speak (hopefully) and he'll stop when you say quiet (again, hopefully!).

When Tyson was sleeping in his bed (ha ha) if he would not settle I would put his lead on and return him to his to lie down. I sliped the end over my wrist so I would know if he moved. As his bed is next to mine it was easy and it worked.

Sounds like he is just trying it on to what reaction he gets. He will get used to his regular bed time if you stick to it.

Persevere stick to your guns and ignore him, it's a bit like having a another child. It will work

when i tried getting lemmy into his own bed to settle and sleep i put it in the room with us because he only cried when he was in a room on his own.

Thanks guys, all advice taken on board ! He has been exceptionally quiet today, hasn't left my side at all.

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Another tough one tonight ! Have had to cover his cage up, and he sounds like the bloody devil in there ! He's not as sweet as he look (at bedtime) ! He's been walked today .. my dad winding him up or Monty not long waking up from a half hour snooze might have somthing to do with it. :/

I hope the obedience classes I'm gona take him to, do some kind of bed time training !

Just be consistant. They do catch on pretty quick

I bloody hope so. I hate having to cover up his cage

We mist have been so lucky with Billy he only wined for a couple of nights and then always used to get in his bed, just be consistent we just used to say bed and he would go in, but I guess all dogs have a different personality

I cant even get him in his cage, I have to lift him in there !

Maria. wrote:I bloody hope so. I hate having to cover up his cage

To be honest, most dogs prefer the crates to be covered on 3 sides - it gives them a sense of security.

Maria. wrote:I cant even get him in his cage, I have to lift him in there !

When do you put him in there? Is it just at night?

Hi Caryll, yeah just at night (covered), he does go in there in the day time some times as currently we've had the downstairs decorated, sanding doors etc, but we don't cover him in the day time, sometimes he wonders in for a little rest on his own accord during the day, and of course, if he has been naughty, we put him in there for some time out.

Bella settles quite well in her cage but only if its covered on 3 sides and the open side has to be facing away from where people will be walking around. She is fine with hearing you walking around and talking but if she can see whats going on she just wants to be out and joining in. I was quite lucky with her as it only took a few nights for her to settle but it is horrible to hear them cry and whine.

I'd cover 3 sides all the time as it makes the crate a 'den'. Every so often put some treats in there without him seeing & then tell him to 'seek' or 'find' and point towards the crate. If the treats are right at the back he'll go in. Then shut the door for just a few seconds & let him out again.

After a few of those you should be able to entice him in at night without you carrying him there (you won't be able to do taht soon anyway!).

Thanks Caryll, definitley going to try this !

Good ideas from Caryll - it's really all about creating value for the crate as far as getting him to go into it and being happy to be there. If you go on youtube and serch for crate games you will find several good videos with a lady and her iggy Zelda. If you do what she does you'll get lots of drive for him to go into the crate. You might not need the sit-to-be-released part, but it really comes in handy when you're out and about so might as well train that, too.

How is he coming along noise wise at night? As long as he's not uncomfortable in the crate and you keep being persistent it will go away. It makes sense that it got worse initially, though, as you have technically taught him that you'll come let him out as long as he makes enough noise. It's the same when parents teach their kids to have tantrums at the store by giving them stuff to keep them quiet. When you suddenly stop rewarding the behavior they tend to get even worse - imagine one of the keys on your computer stop working (like the ON button.. how annoying would that be?!) - you'll keep pushing it over and over because you KNOW it should work. Then either it will work after all (and you've been rewarded for your repeated button pushing) or you'll give up.. When the dog keeps barking more and more or the kid keeps screaming louder it's like us pushing that button.. if no more rewards are coming they will stop, but they'll try really hard for a while until they reach that point.

Maria. wrote:Hi Caryll, yeah just at night (covered), he does go in there in the day time some times as currently we've had the downstairs decorated, sanding doors etc, but we don't cover him in the day time, sometimes he wonders in for a little rest on his own accord during the day, and of course, if he has been naughty, we put him in there for some time out.

Perhaps I am wrong, but if he has been naughty and you use the the crate for dicipline, he may begin to associate it with discipline instead of his comfy bed/cave.

bbimson wrote:Perhaps I am wrong, but if he has been naughty and you use the the crate for dicipline, he may begin to associate it with discipline instead of his comfy bed/cave.

You're right - it all depends on how it's done.. If it's just a proper time out ("too bad" in a happy voice - lead puppy to crate - leave puppy in for a couple of minutes and let him/her back out as long as s/he's not making a racket) it's not likely to cause negative associations. If you get angry/drag to crate/leave in there for too long and so on it can cause negative associations, absolutely!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice you're giving. Ane, he is great at night, if ever I hear him in the middle of the night, it's usualy a cry to be let out for the toilet, then he will either come up to bed with me, or he will go quietly back in his crate.

We had family over for dinner tonight, so as you can imagine, he has been a live wire, peed in he house a few times, then when I just put him in his crate for bed, I sat the other side of the cage and fed him few little treats through his cage like Caryll suggested, then pulled the covers own. HE BARKED !! For all of a few minutes Now .... he's asleep. Thank you Caryll you little love !

After reading this forum, we decided to cover Violets crate, and just live through the whining. In retrospect, the ear plugs would have been worth £million! After a couple of nights, she stopped crying, and now, without even being told, at 10pm every night, she hops into her crate, even if she's sleeping on the floor or couch. I guess its just a case of perseverance Even when I'm staying at mum&dads, she knows bedtime is 10.

So glad it seems to be working. I never used a crate with any of my other dogs (let's face it I'm ancient & they just weren't the done thing!) but I wouldn't be without one now!

bbimson wrote:Perhaps I am wrong, but if he has been naughty and you use the the crate for dicipline, he may begin to associate it with discipline instead of his comfy bed/cave.

I used the crate for 'time out'. I wouldn't get angry & throw him in there, I'd just calmly pick him up, put him in and close the door. He always had a toy in there so he'd usually settle with his stag bar or something similar. As soon as he was calm again, he'd be told he was a good boy before he was let out & then he'd be let out.

Still using the same technique, another successful night tonight ... not a single bark

Well done monte and Maria

Thanks!

Good to hear

Lola was destructive when left alone downstairs at night... nibbling on wires etc. and peeing on the floor! (We cant afford a crate just yet)
So we moved her bed upstairs to keep an eye on her and she's been fab!
She knows when its bedtime and races upstairs to her bed and stays there unless she's unwell/needing out!!

Cant imagine her in a crate now

Sorry for bumping the thread, but just want to say another successful bed time ritual ! 2-3 treats inside his cage, 'good boy', covers down .. I've got a house full here including a 7yr old, a 5yr old, me (lol), a 13 year old, and he is flat out. Thanks guys for the help with getting Monty's bed time under control

Glad it's going well. Sometimes all it takes is a good routine.

Absolutely : )

I noticed in another thread that his right ear's almost up!

Ha ha yes, but when I got home from work tonight, it seems to be up that little bit more .. I give it to the end of the week and he will have 2 piercing ears standing up in full !

Looking at my profile picture I'm thinking ... wow what a difference