We are trying to figure out crate training our miniature poodle puppy. He's 18 weeks old now as the breeder didn't want to sell him over Christmas, and she wanted to leave him longer with his mum as he was the only puppy in the litter.
We've been working through positive associations with the crate. He's not heavily food motivated, he barely eats enough of his kibble as it is. The only treat that he likes properly is chicken. Over the last 5 days I've managed to get him happy and comfortable to go in on his own. I did have to take the cover off though as his favourite thing to do is chew on anything fabric. He's not interested in a Kong at all, and even the toys he likes outside of the crate he doesn't have an interest in inside the crate.
We did try to leave him in his crate to see how he found things, he didn't take it well. He was jumping around biting the crate, whining, barking, howling and eventually made himself vomit. We don't want to reward his whining, so we know we can't put him back in there again as otherwise he will notice the pattern.
We reckon he does have some level of separation anxiety too, as he goes mental if left alone more than a few minutes generally (though yesterday he managed 10 minutes just fine, sadly regressed today). Ultimately I think the issue is he doesn't know how to settle on his own. In our house he's only ever slept on us.
Has anyone got any tips on how to get the puppy to stay in the crate willingly for longer than 30s, and how do I help them settle? Is it just more slow progress or is there something I should be doing? He currently is sleeping very lightly, so lifting him up when he's asleep and putting him in the crate isn't an option, I've tried.
submitted by /u/oolong-moon
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