Crying and Crate Training

You would think that after 4 months of crate training that Cheyenne would finally get it! I will say it once again - it was a lot easier with Dakota. Cheyenne just has not learned that crying in her crate, in the early morning hours after she hears me wake, will not get her out of the crate any quicker than if she just sat quietly. The morning ritual is the same and she still doesn't get it.

So, as I get up in the morning and prepare to do some Yoga in the livingroom, Cheyenne starts to cry from her crate in the basement rec room. Sure, Dakota is in the crate next to her but she has learned that if she is quiet, she will get out sooner. Cheyenne will cry while I am trying to do my meditation and for about 45 minutes, she is fully ignored. This is about how long she cries from the moment I am up to the moment she is let out of her crate.

This morning was a bit different though. I have decided that we will not let her out of the crate as soon as we enter the basement. Instead, we have begun to ignore her to do things like empty out the dehumidifier while we are down there. No eye contact or attention is given to either dog. This way she has 5 minutes of seeing us and we are not paying any attention to her. This is the 5 minutes of quiet that is needed to let her know that crying will not get her out of the crate. Ironically, she did not cry during that time but excitedly watched us. We then let Dakota out of her crate (hierarchy) and when she was upstairs with my husband, I opened up Cheyenne's crate and told her to stay. She was given the command again, after her collar was on, and she listened. Once I released her with the "okay" command, she darted up the stairs to see her daddy and sister.

This seemed to work well this morning with her crying but only time will tell. The end result is to get her to stop crying at all in the morning. With any luck, she will get the hint!