Hi there, new to the forum but hoping someone can provide some advice, there is so much conflicting information out there we don't know if we're doing right from wrong!! this is a long thread I appreciate!!

Just got a now 9 week old fox terrier pup home 6 nights ago. He has a crate which we encourage him to sleep in. He has plenty of toys, fresh water, comfy bedding etc. Initially he took to the crate rather well, bedded down around 11pm and slept till 6am, crying initially but nothing excessive. We had a play pen for him to allow him to urinate etc but within the safety of a confined area which he initially did well with.

However 2 nights ago he started to become very distressed at night, crying ALL night, not just for an hour or so, he just didn't stop. Then we would hear scratching at the door, and found he'd managed to climb and escape his play pen! since he is only little, and jumping from heights is not good for his developing body, we now have his crate in the kitchen as we can leave him there safely. I understand this might have confused him slightly but felt it was necessary to keep him safe. Our kitchen is joined to our living room so we are in view and at night we encourage him to go in there when tired, leave his crate door open, then when he is settled we close the kitchen door and go to bed ourselves. He has a puppy wheat pack for heat and we also leave the radio on low for him. Then the crying starts, even howling at times, I normally go through at least once a night (at a quiet moment) and clean up any mess, again this was advice we were given, I do not play with him or engage him, just simply clean up as you would if you were taking him outside to pee. We cannot take him outside as he has not had his second jag yet and the vet has informed us there have been several cases of parvo virus in the area recently, therefore we are erring on the side of caution. last night when I went to clean his mess he was on top of his crate, had been sick and was overly distressed, much to my distress!!

we did leave him for the first time yesterday (out of the house) for half an hour. Again he had chew toys, water, the works. When he is tired and normally lying in his crate we leave the room etc with no problems but as I say the last couple of days have been a nightmare!!

I am not working at the moment therefore he will not be getting left for long, however realistically I will need to leave him occasionally i.e. to nip to the shops etc. I appreciate he will cry initially but not to the state he does, he just won't settle at all, now he is very reluctant to go into his crate at all.

We really want to train him properly for his own good. he gets lots of play time and exercise and is well socialised with many different people.

Do we just stick it out and ignore the crying? Do we close the crate door?

thanks folks and sorry for the novel!!

Hi Yellie,

I'm a bit of a novice too, got my first pup (ESS boy) roughly a month ago now and luckily he's pretty good in his crate, only had the occassional hiccup with removing things too early that he liked (such as his fav teddy and a blanket his breeder gave us with mum and littermates smell on it.)

Anywho, I'd say pretty good going so far, you seem to be doing most of what the crate training articles I read have advocated, so perhaps he is just have a few settling in issues still? It isn't overly long that he's been with you so still may be getting used to it.

Sorry if you have already clarified this but does your pup have access to his crate throughout the day? I ask because with mine, when we first got him, we left the door open all throughout the day so he could go in and out as he pleased, also fed his meals in there, treats, favourite toys etc so he would constantly be associating his crate with positive attributes. Also, when he was in there, we wouldn't take him out, so he also got the idea that it was soley his place to have a break and feel safe and secure.

Other little extras included draping a dark cotton blanket over the tops and side to make it more den like, and having a puppy-sized teddy that he could snuggle with and not make him feel so isolated at night. Rather than the radio I also put a ticking clock in the pocket of his bed, as I read somewhere this is good to simulate a heartbeat of either mum or littermates, again just reassuring he isn't utterly alone when it's bedtime. Have you tried putting something in there with your scent on? Like an old sweater or something maybe. These were all just things I tried and found they worked, of course they may not work for everyone but definately worth a shot

Other than that I would say just try your best to stick at it, try not to go to him at night unless you feel he needs the toilet, otherwise he may start getting in to bad habits. I know it's difficult when they cry, all you want to do is comfort them ..

I hope this helps and your pup starts settling soon, best of luck x

Hi starfish, thanks for your reply! sometimes you just need to hear you're doing right!!

yes he has access to the crate all day, he has toys and treats in there plus that's where his water dish is, so he goes in regularly. I have his blanket draped over the top to make it like a den, but he regularly pulls it down during his temper tantrums. He goes into full disruption mode when he's left. I am unsure if this is more our fault for allowing him the room to be destructive by keeping the crate open and having the play pen for him? or whether shutting the crate door would eliminate this?

He has also become very excited and snappy, especially when my partner goes out, which I believe he is doing to try and show dominance? he bites things I have, including my clothing, or he will bite my feet I have carefully restrained him as advised, not hurting him, till he calms down, by placing him on his side. Sometimes this takes 3 or 4 times before it works. I want to show him I'm in charge but I don't just want to put him in the kitchen or lock him in his crate as I think he might begin to negatively associate them.

I knew it would be hard but jeezo!! perhaps a child would have been less stressful!!??