crate trianing

Question
Dear Marcus
We have a 6mth sibe that we have only had a weeek,our main problem is that when we crate him at night he just howls and barks all night.We left the radio on for him on the second night and  he was quiet but he hasn't settled since.We leave his toys in their and i have been feeding him in his crate,we have taken his water out as he just ends up spilling it!We do leave him sometimes during the day but only for 3hrs max but as we are out we couldn't tell you if he barks all the time,more often than not though he is quiet when we walk through the door.He is walked twice a day and has a big garden to play in.Please help as i need some sleep!!

Answer
Unfortunately, the best piece of advice overall is give it time.  Dogs, and Sibes especially, will protest the crate, but the best thing to do is ignore it.  It can be touch, but that's what crate training is.  Some advice though that might help you get through it.

1) Make the crate as comfortable as possible.  A bed, or something that the dog likes to lie on can definitely help.

2) Don't worry about toys crowding the crate.  The crate is designed for down time, not play time.  Maybe a nice bone to chew on to relax, but that's about it.

3) Wear the dog out as much as a possible before bed time.  If you can go outside and have a solid 20 minutes of hard play, or go on a long walk before bed.  These dogs were bred to run, and run a lot.  If you can help tire them out there, the dog will be more likely to rest comfortably when you'd like to too.

4) Make the crate as much of a den as possible.  Generally, I recommend keeping the crate close to you, but trying to find a dark corner for it.  The fewer "open" walls the better.  Also, take a thick blanket or something and cover it so there is just an opening at the door.  This will often help calm the dog as well.

5) When the dog whines or complains about the crate, ignore him.  Don't give in . . . he has to learn that you decide when he comes out of the crate, and that only happens when he's quiet.  (I generally recommend about 5-10 minutes of no whining).

6) At 6 months old, he should be just about old enough to make it through the night, but males are a little more problematic than females to house train, and if the crate is new to him, I would expect that you might need to take him out once or twice during the night for a few weeks just to get him used to it.  In that case, if he wakes in the night and complains, you can get his leash, take him outside and let him eliminate outside.  If he does, praise him, and bring him back to the crate with a treat.  If he doesn't, don't waste time and simply bring him back to the crate.  No play time, no interaction, just a trip to the bathroom if he needs it.

Hopefully that will help some.  Let me know if you've tried some of these and how they've been working.  Unfortunately, the first part of crate training can be a little tiresome, but work through it and you should be great.