Quote:
Originally posted by
missymery
I rescued my dog, so he was already used to crates, as sad as it is. But he still loves it! But, his crate is in my room, so that wouldn't work out.
We've had several rescue dogs, too. They often turn out to be great pets!
Our vet has told us "no crate in the bedroom." Your room is your room, and YOU are the Alpha. Put the puppy's crate in there, and he starts to think too much of himself and sometimes may be too hard to train. I know it's a temptation. Our Malamute came from a large litter and cried every night for over 2 weeks. We've had half a dozen puppies and never seen one who was so sad to leave his family.
My Man would lie next to the crate for an hour or so, but we resisted the temptation to bring it into our room (although a few times, I couldn't stand the crying and was ready to.) Our vet encouraged us to stay firm and kind.
You may have a situation where it's the only place for his crate, in that case, putting a barrier between the dog and your bed, even if it's only a blanket over the side of the crate that faces your bed, will strengthen the Alpha situation. It makes it seem like a different room than yours. Every dog's family is his pack and training him that way is the best, IMO. Papa and Mama are the Alpha pair, the children are Betas or juveniles, and the dog has to be at the bottom of the pack. It isn't "mean" but it's for the best. We have Malamutes and they can easily kill a child or even a grown man if they get out of hand. Getting them to respect the pack hierarchy as puppies (which crate training encourages) keeps everybody safe and happy.
Cesar Milan has the best info about dog raising I've ever read. We have always trained our dogs this way and when I read his book and saw his TV show, My Man and I would just sit there, nodding our heads and going, "YES! That's what we do." Cesar is the best.
What kind of puppy do you have?
