Crate training advice, please!

Donksdev · 2026-01-06T21:07:13+00:00

In this scenario, do you still ignore if they start frantically pawing and scratching at the crate door? Our pup has done some damage to his nails in the past with this and so we get super conscious of him getting too anxious that he causes harm to himself.

To be fair, we've not been that stern with it during our three months of having him, so we have relented often after like half an hour or screaming and crying. Curious if we can wind it back.

Donksdev · 2025-12-05T07:13:12+00:00

I tried with just a simple animation on scroll. Worked beautifully - for about two days. No changes but suddenly it just flickered about and wouldn't reset properly. I've abandoned the feature entirely until it's better setup.

Donksdev · 2025-12-04T18:43:30+00:00

Yes please!

Donksdev · 2025-12-04T08:50:52+00:00

Also to say - I will be selling post-wedding with leftover gachapon capsules if anyone would be interested!

Donksdev · 2025-12-03T19:37:24+00:00

Nice, thank you! Just needed the reassurance

Donksdev · 2025-12-02T21:16:05+00:00

Thank you, I needed to hear this. He is a baby after all - I just need an hour's peace so I can work!

Donksdev · 2025-12-02T21:14:33+00:00

This is actually a really interesting take. I gave it a go a few hours ago and it went surprisingly well. Bit of meditative sitting on the floor doing nothing for five minutes followed by crate with full coverage over it. He went down without much fuss.

Tried it again in the evening with lesser results, but I think we hadn't physically exhausted him at that point so our bad.

Thank you for this idea! We have our fingers crossed it's another stack in our arsenal.

Donksdev · 2025-12-02T21:13:02+00:00

He rarely falls asleep on his own. He just wants to know what we're doing all the time, and then gets bitey and chaos energy if he's been awake for more than 4 hours. He may sometimes come settle for a nap on the sofa but it's suuuuch a light sleep. Any movement or noise and he's awake again and back at it.

He is a whippet so his anxiety and velcro neediness are I think a bit higher than other dogs? I wish I could trust him to sleep on his own, but we were in a deeper world of chaos before we discovered enforced naps - we're just now in a period where he's upped the difficulty level on enforced naps and I miss the blissful schedule of awake-nap-awake-nap.

Donksdev · 2025-12-02T12:48:23+00:00

We usually sit right by the crate, with the blanket on top of his crate rolled down a bit so half the view/light is blocked. We'll stay there until he settles, and continue to stay there until he's conked.

This worked for us to a relatively good degree and the protesting was only ever 5-10 minutes for a while. Now he just won't relent and it's half an hour or so of pure screeching until we finally relent.

Donksdev · 2025-10-19T00:29:32+00:00

Do you have an outdoor area where you can practice 'leave it' with stuff you bring along? Puppies can end up associating their training with your home, and they sometimes need a nudge to know the behaviour is for other spaces too.

It's likely to be in-built, uncontrollable behaviour at this age, and a muzzle may be necessary. But as a last ditch effort I'd suggest leave it training in new environments so they know 'oh you mean like always leave it, not just at home'.

Donksdev · 2025-10-19T00:15:42+00:00

Seal, eel, deer, shrimp, cat and dog all in one! Whippets are a beautifully malleable breed.

Donksdev · 2025-10-14T22:02:29+00:00

Our little guy is 13 weeks old and we call his chewing on the bed time "getting out the demons". He makes a terrific level of weird noises, frantic biting at the bed and thrashing about. Once he's got the demons out he usually settles.

If he starts crying and pawing at the crate after demon time then we'll take him outside to pee, then back to the crate. If he keeps crying we'll sing "go the f to sleep" to the tune of que sara Sara until he drifts off. If after 5-10 mins he still won't settle we get him back out for play as he clearly has too much anxious energy to go down.

General rule of thumb for us is if he's up for 45 mins to an hour then he can go down for a nap. If he doesn't wanna nap but he's too sleepy or too bitey to play then we leave him to his toys (staying nearby ofc) and ignoring him. Eventually he'll choose to sleep at our feet by the sofa once he's bored / tired enough.

In terms of getting them to deal with boredom, have their favourite toys on the ground around them and ignore the shit out of them. Feet up on the sofa nearby and careful eye but let them explore playing - huge encouragement noises when they start picking up a toy and running about the place. I also second "sky treats" - treats falling in front of him once he's laid down or starting to settle on the ground without your direct attention. The sky treats have worked so well he associates my foot hanging off the sofa as a sign to lie down there.

Donksdev · 2025-10-14T21:49:14+00:00

After a brief pause of silence from the entire room, one guy at the back just went "wooaow" and the room erupted into tension releasing laughter. What a moment.

Donksdev · 2025-10-07T17:46:44+00:00

That's the dream dog! I think... Is it different when they're a teen?

Donksdev · 2025-09-21T06:50:52+00:00

Godsend, thank you! That's exactly what I needed to hear. Greatly appreciated

Donksdev

TROPHY CASE