To stop a puppy from barking in the crate, it’s important to evaluate whether the puppy was given a chance to acclimatize to the crate in the first place. While a crate is created to mimic a den, for puppies who weren’t given the opportunity to get used to being in the crate, a crate may feel like a trap and the puppy may dread being enclosed in it. On top of that, if a crate is used incorrectly, the puppy may come to associate the crate with punishment or perhaps isolation. The first step to stop a puppy from barking in the crate is therefore evaluating what dynamics may be going on so that problems can be adjusted accordingly.
1) Make Sure Your Puppy’s Needs are Met
When you place your puppy in the crate, it’s important that your puppy is empty. This means your puppy should have peed and pooped before being inside. This is important because it may be difficult at times to distinguish a puppy barking out of protest because he doesn’t want to be in the crate from a puppy who needs to actually potty.
On top of being empty, make sure your puppy has not eaten or drank anything in the past hours this is one of the most important puppy potty training rules. Puppies tend to pee and poop shortly after eating and drinking so you may need to adjust his schedule accordingly so to lower the chances for a need to potty.
And don’t forget about your puppy’s needs for exercise, socialization and mental stimulation. There is nothing worse for a puppy than to have loads of energy and being confined in a crate or being alone all day and isolated in the crate away from you.
Puppies who are crated for long hours come to dread the crate just as people come to dread being in a cubicle working over time after being there for a whole 12-hour shift. Puppies whose needs have been met will make less of a fuss when they are placed in a crate.
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2) Watch for Inadvertent Reinforcement
Many puppy owners inadvertently reinforce the barking- in- the- crate behavior. Puppies are fast to learn that their barking brings attention. If every time your puppy barks, you rush to him talk to him sooth him and perhaps even feel sorry and open the crate, your puppy will have learned that barking gets you closer and grants him freedom. The law of reinforcement says that, soon, your puppy will be doing the barking in the crate more and more.
Not only, your smart puppy may also learn to generalize the barking behavior to other aspects of his life. Next thing you know, he’ll be barking to get you to interact with him such as to play with him, pet him and feed him. Things can quickly get out of hand when puppies or dogs learn to bark for attention!
If your puppy’s needs for play, exercise, mental stimulation and socialization with you have been met and your puppy is empty (has peed and pooped recently), when you place him in the crate, then there are high chances your puppy may be barking for attention.
3) Rule Out Containment Phobia
Many puppies will bark, whine and attempt to open the crate by biting it and pawing at it, but some puppies have a real containment phobia. These puppies will shake, drool, breathe fast and have a high heart rate when they are enclosed in the crate. These puppies do not see the crate as their dens, but rather feel trapped just as a claustrophobic person may do when trapped in an elevator.
Some mild cases can be remedied by changing the puppy’s emotional response towards the crate. This may take some time to accomplish, but the goal is teaching the puppy to like the crate rather than dread it. Alternates potty training measures will need to be into place as the puppy learns to enjoy staying in the crate with the door opened.
For difficult cases, the crate may be bypassed altogether in lieu of other less stressful potty training methods. The puppy can be placed in a large playpen or gated area to enclose a corner of a home with pee pads in one corner, or the puppy can be leashed to the owner (umbilical cord training), or can be taught to use a doggy door.
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Tips to Stop a Puppy From Barking in the Crate
There are several things you can do to stop a puppy from barking in the crate. Following are several options.
- Make sure you have properly acclimatized your puppy to the crate and provided lots of positive associations with the crate.
- Provide your puppy with something safe to chew on that will keep him occupied when he’s inside the crate. A Kong stuffed in a challenging way with layers of goodies can work well.
- Let your puppy have the chew toy or stuffed Kong only when he’s in the crate. If your puppy ignores the chew toy when he’s crated, he’ll likely grab it once he’s out of the crate. Prevent this from happening.
- Cover the crate with a blanket, this can help many puppies settle.
- Use white noise to prevent your puppy from barking at stimuli. Blow a fan, turn the TV or radio on or play relaxing music.
- If your puppy’s needs are met and he is empty (you are positive he went pee and poop before being placed in the crate) ignore the attention-barking. Expect an extinction burst along the way, but if you ignore it, your pup will soon learn that it no longer works.
- Use DAP diffuser to soothe nervous puppies.
- Keep your puppy on a feeding schedule and keep track of how often he needs to be taken out. This will help you differentiate attention whining from whining because he really needs to potty.
- If your puppy often barks for attention, let your puppy out of the crate only when he is quiet and calm.
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