Addressing a Dog’s Persistent Barking in a Crate

Table of contents

• Understanding Why Dogs Bark in Crates
• Creating a Comfortable Crate Environment
  • Invest in Bedding and Toys
  • Location of the Crate
  • Size of the Crate
• Behavioral Training Techniques
  • Don’t Use Force or Scold
  • Talk to the Dog from Outside when he’s Barking in his Crate
• Addressing Separation Anxiety
  • Avoid Punishing Your Barking Dog
  • Involve your quieter pup in Exercise to reduce barking.
  • Stay Connected to Your Pet
  • Medication for Anxiety
• Managing Nighttime Barking
• What Not to Do to Get Your Dog to Stop Barking
• When your dog keeps barking in his crate, it’s time to Seek Professional Help.
• Additional Tips and Resources
• Conclusion

Crate training is important for ensuring that your dog lives with you harmoniously. However, the process can be quite demanding even if you follow all the textbook methods of crate training your dog.

Barking is a most common issue that occurs during crate training. Even if you’ve invested a lot of time making the smallest of increments in crate time, persistent barking in the crate can be quite draining.

The first step to take when you notice this behavior is to understand the reason behind it. It might be that they have to take a potty break, are bored, or are anxious about being left alone. Puzzle toys can help alleviate their anxiety.

Because this is a common issue, our experts have suggested some strategies to help stop dogs barking in crates:

Understanding Why Dogs Bark in Crates

While a little barking is tolerable, excessive barking could mean trouble because it leads to learned behaviors like excessive whining or demand barking. So, understanding crate barking and resolving it is important.

The first step to solving a problem like a dog barking in his crate is assessing what is causing it. If the dog constantly barks in the crate, they might be bored, demanding attention, or feeling anxious.

Once you understand why the dog is barking, you can address the issue accordingly. For instance, a barking dog might need calming down. On the other hand, a bored dog could feel better if you gave them more toys inside the crate.

Creating a Comfortable Crate Environment

Creating a comfortable crate environment with puzzle toys is crucial to ensuring the dog remains in the crate without getting bored or anxious.

Invest in Bedding and Toys

One strategy to make the crate feel at home is to make it more comfortable. You could invest in new bedding for the dog and new toys. A surprising thing to note is that the location of the crate is also important for creating a comfortable crate environment.

Location of the Crate

While dog training, keep the crate in the living room or a space where your family is together or where your pup can see you to help him stop barking. For nighttime crate training, keep the quiet dog close to you so they’re not scared and know that you’re there to protect them.

Size of the Crate

The size of the crate also contributes to the crate environment. If the dog is small (What is considered a small quiet dog?), a small crate size would work. But for a larger dog, a small crate would feel congested. So, you will need to clear out some space to make the crate bigger to make it more appealing and less boring for the dog.

Behavioral Training Techniques

Training dogs to be quiet in crates takes a lot of positive reinforcement and patience. You can expect your dog to quietly make a positive association and enter the crate and say nothing when they’re first in the crate.

Don’t Use Force or Scold

To encourage a positive association, initially make them enter the crate on their own will by placing their food bowl or a fetch toy near the crate door. Forcing your barking dog inside the kennel will do more harm than good.

Once your pup is inside and eating, close the crate door, but immediately open it the first few days so they don’t feel that they’ve been tricked into this dog training. Continue this positive reinforcement till they stop demanding to come out of the crate after eating.

Talk to the Dog from Outside

Initially make sure that the training sessions of crate is placed where the dog can see you, even if you’re crate training for nighttime.

However, to deal with barking, one of the best crate training tips for quiet behavior is talking to the dog and responding to them while they are in the crate. This way they won’t feel lonely and trapped inside the crate.

Addressing Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is also one of the most common causes of excessive barking in crates. However, addressing it is important otherwise it will lead to excessive whining which can aggravate biting and other aggressive behaviors. Here are some strategies for managing separation anxiety in crated dogs:

Avoid Punishing Your Dog

Dogs who experience separation anxiety aren’t doing it out of boredom. So, punishing them won’t lead to anything good. Avoid punishing your dog and instead make them feel comfortable in the environment so they don’t grow to fear the crate.

Involve them in Exercise

Exercise stimulated pets, especially dogs. If your dog isn’t exercised well before crate training, they will keep demanding your attention. Even dogs that are doing well might develop separation anxiety if you keep following the textbook training method without stimulating them enough beforehand.

Stay Connected to Your Pet

These days technology like white noise devices can help your tired dog sleep. If you want to crate your pup while you’re at work and manage their barking in the crate, you can install two-way baby monitors to keep a close eye on them and communicate with them when they feel anxious.

Medication for Anxiety

Many dogs who have had past trauma could have more than usual anxiety. If your dog shows signs of anxiety like panting, pacing, drooling, hiding, or trembling, you can consult their vet to prescribe some anxiety medications.

Managing Nighttime Barking

• Here are some effective, expert tips for dealing with nighttime crate barking:
• Tire the dog out before bed with exercise or playtime.
• Establish a nighttime routine like going to the potty before bed and covering the crate wires with a bedsheet before turning off the light.
• Feed your pet 2-3 hours before bedtime to make sure they don’t need to poo during the night.
• Limit water intake before bedtime to reduce the need for peeing during the night.
• In case of excessive barking, place the crate next to your bed or sleep next to the crate till the barking reduces.

What Not to Do

Crate training sessions requires a lot of time and patience. However, there are a lot of common mistakes and misconceptions in dealing with crate barking.

• Punishment is not an effective solution as it causes fear.
• Don’t respond to the dog barking in his crate immediately otherwise, it will result in demand barking behavior.
• Gradually reduce your presence in front of the crate. Don’t give your dog some alone time without distractions to chew on his favorite toy. in a room in a crate in the initial stages of training.

A dog in a box for safe travel. Papillon in a pet transport cage.

When to Seek Professional Help

If your dog develops demand barking or learned whining, it is important to seek help from a professional, such as a veterinarian or a dog behaviorist. They might diagnose any underlying health issues such as diabetes (causing a frequent need to urinate) or behavioral issues.

Additional Tips and Resources

Crate training methodologies don’t fit every dog. As a pet parent, you should stop barking and keep learning about your furry friend and adapt the dog training according to their needs.

A pet or baby monitor playing white noise can help you during the crate training sessions. Investing in it can help you to assess the signs and aid in reducing crate barking.

Conclusion

A great percentage of dogs being crate-trained respond by whining or barking. While the methodologies and strategies of crate training are quite effective, they might not work on every dog the same way. so, adjusting your behavior and training according to the pet’s response can help you crate-train your pet effectively.

Lastly, understanding, patience, and consistent training are important throughout the process and not just the initial stages. Some dogs might start barking after being settled in the crate. On the other hand, some dogs might start barking in the initial stages too. Planning doesn’t work in most cases, so you must adjust your behavior accordingly.