Hi everyone - we are crate training our 9 week old Chiweenie. He is doing really well sleeping through the night and seems to be comfortable with the crate itself. We have trained him to go into his crate when we tell him to so I think he feels safe enough to be in there. I've tried to leave him a few times (1-2 hours) in the crate. I usually try to play and make sure to go potty before having him go in the crate so that he is worn out enough just to sleep. Problem is that every time time I have left him I come home to him crying bloody murder and a soiled dog bed in the crate. It takes me a good ten minutes just to calm him down.
Does anyone have advice on where to go from here? Should I keep trying to use the crate and hope he gets used to it? We also have a puppy pen that we can put the crate, toys, etc. in but I'm afraid I will have the same result. He has been lucky enough to have someone home with him all the time since my boyfriend and I have opposite schedules, but at some point we need to be able to leave him and have some peace of mind that he will be safe. Any advice would help!
Does anyone have advice on where to go from here? Should I keep trying to use the crate and hope he gets used to it? We also have a puppy pen that we can put the crate, toys, etc. in but I'm afraid I will have the same result. He has been lucky enough to have someone home with him all the time since my boyfriend and I have opposite schedules, but at some point we need to be able to leave him and have some peace of mind that he will be safe. Any advice would help!