Comfort Zone and crate training. HELP!!!

rachnhaze · #1 05-20-2009, 02:56 AM

Ok, so Carmel is about 12 weeks old, we've had her for over a month now. We have been very consistent with crate training, but she still goes nuts all night long. my husband is starting to get quite annoyed with me and the dog and i am so tired. Has anyone used Comfort Zone to help calm a puppy, if so did they take to it and was it easy to "wean" them off after it ran out after the first month? It takes her anywhere from 15 min when shes in a super tired/ good mood to 2 hours non stop to completely calm down, but if one of us moves to much or gets up or it even looks like we are going to get up, shes right back at it. She ignores her Kong or eats and whines at the same time and barks intermittently, i play music at night, i don't know what else to do!!!!! Thanks

BoxYorkCav · #2 05-22-2009, 06:41 AM

I would recommend some simple crate training techniques we implement with all of our foster dogs (and some that we still use with our Boxer). First, if you are not doing it already, every time you give her food (be it a treat or her meal) do it in the crate, she will start associating these things with the crate and will become more accustomed to being in it. Second, if the crate is in the same room as you, I would move it to a different location of the house (a guest bedroom or office near your bedroom preferably). This will keep you from disturbing her when you are getting ready for bed or when one of you has to get up to do something. This will also give her a place to go that is "her space or den" which plays to their natural instinct as a den animal and might be more comforting to her (and give you a little bit more quiet if you keep the door closed). Finally, while Comfort Zone is a great product, I would recommend Rescue Remedy (either regular or for pets). You can get Rescue Remedy at any natural pet or human store (GNC also has the human version). RR is a mix of essential oils derived from plants and will not harm your dog with manufactured chemicals (I think this is especially important for puppies). The oils have a soothing affect on the animal and helps them to calm down. You can give her a dose with the eye dropper under her tongue before crating her or you can rub some behind her ears if she does not like the taste of it to calm her down.

I do want to stress that since she is only 12 weeks old her bladder is not yet fully developed. The rule of thumb is 1 hour for every month old they are. This would put you at 3 hours of bladder control, part of her problem when you wake her might be the fact that she needs to go out and she is just looking for her opportunity to let you know. You might want to set an alarm for every 3.5 hours so that you do not forget to let her out and ruin all of the crate training you have been doing.

I hope this helped and wasn't too long. Good luck, puppies are a ton of work, but worth it in the end. Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers.

rachnhaze · #3 05-22-2009, 09:50 AM

Yeah alot of people told me to keep her near by so she could see me so she felt comforted, but then I read on one site that they should basically be put in an isolated area, this also helps us humans not give them ANY interaction whatsoever when she is barking her little head off. So I moved her into our formal dining room which is empty at the moment and furthest from the bedrooms, and put her on a very strict schedule for a few weeks so she knows I mean business. This has helped out SOOOOO much, I have seen so much progress in the past 4 days, in her barking, and in her attitude in general. She still throws little puppy tantrums if we make noise after its been quite for a while, She seams to have calmed down some, I think she realizes now that although she does need and get a lot of attention, the world doesn't revolve around her lol. I think I will hold off on getting the RR because after all this progress, she might not need it in the end, but thanks, because its always nice to have backup, or for those times when shes in RAWWWRRRRR mode lol.

ikonxone · #4 05-22-2009, 01:21 PM

my nixxon is 9 weeks old and sleeps through the night. we have fed him in and out of the crate and he takes his naps in the crate during the day. we also cover part of the crate with a bed sheet only leaving one side open. before going to bed we spend time outside in the backyard playing with him until he's ready to sleep. he also sleeps near our bed at night, but that's not working for you. if you're going to isolate her in another room, try leaving a radio on so its not totally quiet and noises don't wake her up.

jrackow · #5 06-15-2009, 07:25 AM

It's helped us a lot with our boxer puppy (who is 13.5 weeks old; we've had him for 4 weeks) to put him in his crate whenever he falls asleep elsewhere during the day. If he falls asleep on the couch or floor, we move him to his crate, but leave the door open, so he can come out when he wakes up. that way, he associates his crate with sleeping, relaxing, being calm. It's worked great! You might try that, if your pup has a habit of sleeping someplace other than his crate during the day.
HTH!