As you know I had plans for Kaylee to sleep in bed at night but when I took her outside to pee and she emptied out (I thought) then 10 minutes later, she peed on my bed, I realized it wasn't such a good idea after all. Besides, she was so tiny that I was afraid she'd fall off the bed or try to jump. She's quite the daring acrobat (more on that later).

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So, into the crate she went. Kaylee's breeder, Trudy and Ken, put teddy bears in with all the puppies before they left the litter so they would have a familiar scent with them to take to their new home. I put a thick foam pad, a blanket, a towel, her teddy bear and a few other toys in the crate. I waited until she was sleepy, then I sat on the floor next to the crate until she fell asleep in my lap. When she was sound asleep, I would transfer her to the crate but I stayed next to the crate door so if she woke up she'd see me right there. She did wake up many times and started to whine. I just stuck my finger through the crate and gently stroked her as I talked soothingly until she fell asleep again. We did this all night the first few nights and I took her out several times to pee.

The following day I brought her crate into the kitchen that I had set up as one of her pens during the day. She entered it and stayed in there without objection. Of course I waited again until she was on the tired side.

She was fine as long as she could hear and see me. If I stopped talking or it became too quiet, she would let out a few whimpers. When she was quiet I would occasionally drop a treat into the crate for her. She seemed to adapt quickly. So after a few repetitions of this, I decided to walk out of the kitchen. As soon as I was out of her view, she screamed bloody murder. Not just a whine or bark or howl, but a hideous noise that sounded like someone was being stabbed with a knife. It broke my heart, as this is normal for puppies to do when they feel abandoned. So I walked back within view and she immediately calmed down and became quiet. I practiced leaving and returning, leaving and returning, but I continued to talk as I left and returned so she could at least hear my voice when she couldn't actually see me. I think this helped her know she wasn't being completely abandoned. I also began to leave either the radio or TV on so she could hear voices. I've done this with all my dogs and whenever I leave the house, I leave the radio or TV on. The sounds are familiar so they feel more secure and the sounds also help mask outside noises that would be otherwise disturbing.

As a side note: I know many people leave the drapes open so their dogs can see outside and watch what's going on. If this works, it's a great idea, but I have found that this leads to barking and anxiety more often than not. So when I leave, the blinds and drapes are closed.

Within a few hours Kaylee became secure in her crate and convinced that I wasn't leaving her forever so she settled in nicely without me having to be within view. In fact at the moment I was first writing this chapter, she was in her crate in the bedroom and I was in the computer room completely out of her sight. I could leave her in her pen in the kitchen or in her outside pen without her howling or whining.

For another couple of weeks she would sometimes still whine or scratch and dig frantically at the door, but this happened less and less. I made sure I never rewarded that behavior by allowing her in or out when she was whining. I found a way to distract her (usually with a sound or a noise) that drew her attention away from the door.

I was pleased with the crate training. She adapted so quickly because Trudy and Ken put out a crate for the puppies so they became accustomed to it from the start. And I believe the teddy bear idea also helped her feel more secure when she was alone.

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Raising Kaylee  Puppy Training Story Book
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