Teddy Bear Puppy

Question
I have a 4 month old teddy bear puppy that absolutely goes nuts when put in a crate to sleep at night.  He will scream for hours and won't stop until I take him out.  He will sleep at the bottom of the bed and rustle around when he has to go potty.  During the day, when he knows I'm not home, he is fine staying in the crate with the door open to a place where he can do his business.  I thought about leaving him in the crate during the night and letting him cry until he stops but he never stops and I am afraid he will become psychologically damaged.

Answer
He may be too spoiled now for what works for me with new puppies.  What I do is lay down by the crate like I was going to sleep there.  Usually a puppy may fuss a little, but then settle down and go to sleep.  Once it is asleep, you can get up and go to bed. You may just have to let him scream.  He also needs to learn you are in charge.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm