HELP!!!!!!

[max]

I just brought home a 8 week old male shorkie and i was going to crate train but he throws a huge fit when we put him in the crate the first time he pooped in it the next time he peed in it and he whines big time does anyone have any suggestions.

[Mai Tai]

Welcome to the site Max.  Sorry you are having trouble with the crate.  My shorkies both like their crates, but Mai Tai did poop and pee in his on several occasions.  I would google crate training and follow the directions there.  Some dogs are stubborn about being in the crate, but if you give in to the crying and take them out, they learn that they get their way by crying.  I know the poopin and peeing in the crate is more difficult to deal with.  My original instinct, when Mai Tai was doing it, was to clean it up immediately, but I found if I left him in it instead (Gross, and I did not do it on purpose, I was just out of the house when it happened) he did not like it, and he eventually stopped.  Others on this site do not crate train, and have other methods, so maybe someone will have a better idea for Max.  Whatever happens, try to be patient.  The first 2 weeks are very hard and it USUALLY, not ALWAYS, gets better after that.  Mai Tai was easy to train and is an easy dog.  Mojito, on the other hand is the complete opposite and still is not housetrained after almost 2 months.  I am starting to lose patience with him.  I sometimes think if my kids did not love him so much, I would give him back to my friend who gave him to me.  Then  I look at his cute face and think I couldn't do such a thing, then he pees on the floor again, and I think I could.  Good luck and I hope it all works out soon.

[Mai Tai]

ALso, on a weird note, Mojito NEVER EVER EVER poops or pees in his crate, just on my kitchen floor.  Mai Tai, who did poop and pee in his crate, never goes in my house, so go figure.

[Bailey]

Hi Max and welcome...i have a female shorkie named bailey- she is now 7 months old....i've never looked up crate training so i'm not sure exactly what it entails.....we got bailey when she was 10 weeks old....we only crated her when we weren't home and at night-but at night her crate was in my daughters room so she could always see someone-the breeder recommened this and bailey never cried or had to go out during the night.  during the day when we got her we restricted her to our kitchen and den-someone always watched her for signs she had to go out and every hour we would say bailey do you have to go out....and lead her to the door-take her out and tell her to go potty-sometimes she went -and then we'd make a big deal about it and give her a treat...other times she didn't go and we'd just go back inside and repeat the whole process an hour later- it took her about 10 days to understand to go to the door- and she only had a few accidents in the house- it is time consuming....like mai tai said everyone has different ways to train....you'll find out what works best for you and max

[Cash]

I only used the crate when we were out of the house, otherwise I was always home with Cash and able to watch him and train him to go outside.  At night we have him sleep with us.  Cash too would poop or pee in the kennel when we left him, not sure if it was purely his lack of being in there or if the kennel was too big for him. They say it should only be big enough for them to stand and turn around comfortably any bigger than that and they will use it to relieve themselves.   Good luck, and welcome to this site.

[teddybear]

Sorry that you are having this problem. My shorkie, Teddy, will be 8 months old tomorrow. He never had this crate problem, so I think you should ask about crate training on google or this website called Wikianswers. Good luck with whatever you do!

[max]

Thank you all for the help I think I will just have to put him in there and let him whine for a while.  I will let you know how I turn out.

[Kim]

Hi Max and welcome!

I had the same problem with Max. Make sure he only has enough room to turn around and sleep in a curdled position. If you give him too much room he will poop and pee. Usually, they will not potty in the area they sleep, unless they have enough room to move away from it. So just give him a small amount of room. With the whining, it will be awhile before he feels comfortable in it. You might wanna play some games with him.

Start by sitting a feet or so away from the crate. Give him a treat. Slowly move a little closer to the crate each time giving him a treat. If he starts to get uncomfortable, move a little bit further away from the crate. When you finally get really close to the crate put a little treat inside wait for him to go inside to get the treat. Gently close the door without locking it for a few seconds and give him a treat, then open the door and praise him.

By doing this you are telling him that being in his crate can be a good thing. Try to do this exercise a few times a day. You can also play with him near his crate. 

Also, put 1 or 2 of his favorite toy in his crate. I also find that putting a small fan near his crate also helps calm him down.

Hopefully this helps.

[max]

Hello everyone and thanks for the great welcome, I just thought I would let you know that Max now goes to his kennal just fine it took about an hour of him whining (thank god my wife was gone HAHAHA) but now he goes in it with no trouble or at least has 3 times today, I did make his kennal smaller which I think helped a bunch, anyhow thank you all for the suggestions they were very helpful and what a great site this is, for being the first time owner of a Shorkie I have learned a lot from here.

[Bailey]

so glad he's going in the crate for you....post a photo of the little guy when you have time we love looking at them

[codysmom]

Max I'm so glad he's going in the crate for you!

[Mai Tai]

Great Max.  It is so hard to keep them in the crate and listen to them cry, but if you are strong and patient, and don't pick them up when they are crying, they get used to it.

[Christine3837]

Hi Max and welcome. I only joined a few weeks ago. I have a posts that says "New Mommy/Member needs some encouragement" and "I can't take it anymore!" That goes to show that at the beginning it can be so hard because you can't believe how much such a small animal can poop and pee! Just so you know, my 3 month old Monty is a completely different dog thanks to time, patience, and the wonderful advice I get here. I agree completely with everybody's comments, particularly Kim's details. The best results from crate training comes after introducing it to them correctly. I didn't know this and he was such a whiner when he was in there. I looked up Crate Training online and started over again, introduced it to him right, and now whenever I have to put him in there, he just quietly chews on his toys or towel, or takes a nap. When they whine make sure he doesn't need anything (water, to pee, food, or in the case of Monty...his toy fell through the cracks and he wants it back). If you are sure it is just him wanting attention, you really need to ignore it. He'll give up eventually. Monty NEVER barnks and whines for about 5 seconds before giving up...unless he wants his toys. As others said...making sure the crate is small enough makes a big difference. They hate sitting in their own waste. Also, try feeding him in his crate because they hate eliminating where they eat as well.  Monty jumps into his crate when he knows its time to eat. Good luck with everything and take full advantage ofthis site.

[Kim]

Max I'm glad things are looking up.

[Cash]

Me too Max, it's always nice when one hurtle is down.. and Christine... so glad you and Monty are buddies and he gets to hang out with you more now too!