The crate has served you well at night or during your working hours but now you’re looking to transition your dog out of the crate and into his comfy dog bed.
But why?
The crate is a perfect way to keep your dog confined and safe when unsupervised.
Well, that’s easy. Once your dog has reached a certain age and is fully potty trained, you probably want him or her to be able to roam around the house freely.
But a dog that has been confined for several months or even years will get overwhelmed with sudden freedom.
Transitioning your dog out of the crate will take a bit of time and adjustment.
Is it actually the right time to get rid of the crate and what exactly are the best steps for a smooth transition from crate to dog bed?
I actually have a couple of stories to tell about the process and benefits (or disadvantages) from firsthand experience.
Let’s dive in!
When Can I Start Leaving My Dog Out of the Crate?
Generally, you will want to use the crate until your dog’s at least one year old.
But it largely depends on your dog’s behavior and characteristics.
I started leaving my dog home alone without a crate pretty early and she never had a problem with it.
She actually preferred being able to roam around the apartment to have a better overview.
Your dog’s behavior should be stable and he needs to clearly understand what his toys are and what he is not allowed to do.
If he’s getting into trouble while you’re at home, don’t let him out of the crate yet.
Let’s go into more detail about crating during the day vs. night.
When Is My Puppy Ready to Sleep Out of the Crate?
Letting your pup sleep in a dog bed at night instead of the crate should only happen once he’s fully housebroken for several weeks or months.
Some owners are letting their dog sleep in the crate until he or she reaches one year of age, just to be sure you don’t have any setbacks.
Personally, I transitioned my Rottweiler to her bed when she was around 4 to 5 months old and it worked wonderfully (even though she wasn’t the quickest to be potty trained).
For a successful transition, you should pay attention to your dog’s destructive inclinations and see how he generally behaves around the house.
He should also understand the difference between bedtime and
So don’t engage your dog in any play right before bed or in the bedroom.
Introduce the appropriate behavior patterns first.
If his dog bed will be placed beside your bed and you don’t want your dog to jump up your own bed during the night then you will have to establish that rule first to avoid annoying disturbances.
Leaving Your Dog Out of the Crate During the Day
You don’t want your dog to get to all the rooms
Start with a single room your dog is already very familiar with like the living room.
Restrict access to all the other rooms by either closing doors or setting up baby gates.
- Completely puppy proof this room which means removing chewable objects, wires, cleaners, and medications.
- Close trash cans or cabinets you don’t want your dog to reach.
- You can hinder your dog from chewing on the furniture by spraying the legs with a deterrent.
- Provide your dog with lots of chewing toys like a stuffed Kong to prevent boredom.
Important: Any time you leave your dog at home, make sure that he is physically and mentally exercised beforehand.
This way, he’ll sleep most of the time without being interrupted by the need to pee.
When leaving your dog outside of his crate for the first time, start in your room of choice and only leave for a couple of minutes.
If he seems to be fine after a few tries, you can gradually increase the duration.
Take a step back if your dog fails and try to determine what caused him to fail.
After he graduated one room, you may want to give him access to more rooms in the house.
If you are uncomfortable with your dog being in certain rooms then you can still restrict access to those.
Some dog owners keep their adult dog crated during the day until 2 years of age.
Personally, I got rid of the crate when my puppy was 6 months and never looked back.
Not a single thing was destroyed in the house because she already knew the rules.
Transition Your Dog from a Crate to a Bed at Night
Whether you’ve started with transitioning your dog out of the crate during the day or you’ve started at night, the right place to rest is key.
You don’t have to use a conventional dog bed and your dog may just prefer the couch anyway (if he’s allowed – make sure he doesn’t get on anything he’s not supposed to otherwise) but having a high-quality dog bed makes things so much easier.
When choosing a dog bed you should take your dog’s size, health,
Think about the position your dog likes to sleep in.
Small and toy breeds obviously prefer smaller beds to snuggle up.
My Rottweiler loves to sleep with her head resting on a large pillow, for example.
Here’s an article that covers the best chew-proof dog beds to avoid you having to run to the store after a couple of months because the bed is torn apart.
If you want the quick answer, pillow-style beds like the K9 Ballistics Tough Orthopedic Dog Bed are a great choice. If you’re looking for something sturdy with a headrest, I’d recommend this bed.
Whatever bed you choose, make sure that it is big enough for your dog to lay completely stretched out without hanging off of the bed.
It should be able to keep him warm and comfortable with washable covers.
Right after the bed had arrived, I introduced it to my dog in the living room (she usually sleeps in the bedroom) so she could get accustomed to it.
You should let your dog sleep in the bed during the day at least for a week before transitioning it at night so he has enough time to claim it as his favorite napping spot.
Amalia loved her bed right away and would sleep in it for every nap.
One evening I carried it to the exact same spot where her crate used to be and waited for her to settle down.
She was very happy with it and was able to sleep through the night as usual.
It may happen that your dog will get up and walk to the couch or another sleeping spot for a couple of nights.
Where to place the bed?
In my opinion, it’s always best if the dog sleeps right next to you in the bedroom because bonding is the foundation for a good relationship and training routine.
Troubleshooting
No matter how you’re going about this and what you start with, there will nearly always be some troubleshooting you’ll need to do.
Fortunately, my dog transitioned very smoothly even though she didn’t like the crate at all during the day and reluctantly slept in it at night – maybe that’s just the reason why she was so happy when we finally ditched it.
Jumping on the Bed
Now that your dog has the freedom to do whatever he wants at night, he may be tempted to wake you up by jumping up and down on the bed.
If this happens, it would be a good choice to establish a command for settling down in bed rather than walking around all over the place.
To teach this command, simply lure your dog into the bed with a treat and give him the verbal cue of your choice like “go settle”.
It doesn’t matter if he is standing or lying down yet.
Repeat this a couple of times and then ask your dog to lie down
After a couple of successful tries, you can wait a few seconds before giving your dog the treat.
Slowly increase the duration to establish a built
Increase the distance between you and the dog and try to leave the room without your dog getting up.
Now that your dog knows the command to settle, you can use it at night to redirect your dog back to his place.
If your dog is way too annoying at night and keeps waking you up, you may consider putting him in another room at night, but I wouldn’t recommend it long-term unless heavy allergies or something are involved.
Destructive Chewing
If you rush the transition period with your dog, you may come home to a few surprises like chewed-up cushions on the couch.
A change in a dog’s routine can be overwhelming and if you give him too much space too early chances are that boredom and anxiety kick in.
The most important
You can only correct behavior if you catch your dog in the act.
There is a three-second rule in which you should reward or punish, outside this period your dog won’t be able to
He will only connect that every time you get home, he will be scolded for no reason and actually start to fear your arrival.
Destructive chewing can be caused by boredom, lack of mental and physical exercise, stress and separation anxiety.
What are your experiences with transitioning a dog out of his crate? Let me know in the comments.
We have successfully transitioned our puppy yesterday using your tips and it worked out so well!
I am very glad to hear that!
My puppy is 4months old and has been great in her crate overnight. We now want to transition her to a bed as she is getting big but have had a few accidents (relieving herself) by the door even though we let her out last thing before bed. We have also limited where she can roam. We know she can hold it in the crate but not when she has the bed freedom. Any suggestions?
Hi Rachel,
how is your pup during the day? Sometimes it’s best to transition a dog after she’s fully house-trained. The only thing that her holding it in the crate shows is that she doesn’t want to soil her personal space, but that isn’t necessarily established for the rest of the house yet.
Even if puppies can hold it during the day as well as overnight, it might be a silent battle with their bladder and if given opportunity, they relieve themselves.
You could also try to let her sleep in bed but bring her out during the transition phase once a night, that’ll reinforce where you want her to relieve herself.
Cheers,
Danielle
Our pup Chloe does great overnight (goes the whole night w/o accident) and in the crate (never goes in there). I get the sense that when we graduate her out of the crate, she won’t know the house is off limits for evacuation, just like the crate. I’ve read your other posts on housebreaking, and we’re following those tips already Any tips to enable a pee-free transition from crate to house?
Hi Jonathan,
are you still using the crate at night or only during the day? If Chloe is housebroken during the day and maybe even gets through the night without accidents outside the crate, then I’d recommend that you just get your feet wet and let her roam freely.
This post mainly addresses people whose pup is housebroken but still sleeps in the crate at night. If your dog is used to being in the crate at night as well as during the day, you probably need to start with training during the day. Little accidents can happen and are no problem, every dog gets it eventually if you stay persistent and show your dog where to pee instead.
Cheers,
Danielle
7 month old cockapoo puppy, couple of weeks back we decided to remove her crate and let her sleep in her bed at night, in the living room (same as where her crate was). During the day she is as good as gold, not destructive, quite chilled and will settle easily. We walk her twice a day off lead for 25-30min. Yet at night/morning, I’d say around 5am ish when she wakes up, she has started to destroy things.. e.g chew/pull the fluff out of our rug, pull things out from the table cubbyholes and destroy them. No noise from her e.g. barking or whining.
She has so many toys out and even a toy crate for her to grab stuff from (which she does during the day). Any ideas please as we are close to getting the crate back out and trying again when she is older?
Thank you 🙂
Sam
Hey Sam,
in case you’ve got your pup when she was around 8 weeks old, 7 months is generally not too early. However, it can always be that your dog needs a little longer in which case going back to the crate makes sense. Really depends on whether or not she’s destroying stuff during the day at all? If not, she seemingly knows what’s a toy and what not already and the destroying at night might just be boredom/frustration, especially since it’s only happening when she wakes up at 5am.
Have you tried moving the crate into your bedroom? Not only is it great for bonding, but you can also supervise her and once she gets up, tell her the command for her bed. You can provide her with a special toy for going back to bed or a stuffed Kong (freezing it the day before makes the treat last longer and saves you the headache for preparation early in the morning), just as an example.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle! Great post! I have a three year old Boston Terrior, crate trained since he was a puppy (just at night) during the day he roams free and is fine. He suddenly does not want to sleep in his crate! This is the routine –
– take him out for last potty
– go to bed (crate) with a wee cookie, close door and leave the room (his crate is in my office where we spend most days
Last week he started snort/ wining, so I thought he had to go out, if this happens it is a straight to the point affair, no talking or cuddles, not another cookie, just in and out. Put him back in his crate and he started again, it went on for a couple hours!
Next day, I cleaned his blankets, all in it, checked the crate, was fine, that night was ok. Another night was ok. Tonight started again. Took him out, back in, fine for a bit then started again.
Should I let him just sleep in the office, free? Close the door? It is so weird. He does have a bit of anxiety but the crate isn’t new.
Thanks so much.
Hey Erin,
since your dog is probably potty trained for years now, the accidents are likely to happen due to anxiety issues. However, there could also be an underlying medical problem so make sure to get that checked out. A few isolated accidents here and there don’t necessarily speak for serious separation anxiety or medical issues, they can just happen.
You can certainly try to let your dog roam freely in the office but have you also thought about letting your dog sleep in your bedroom? Sudden changes in behavior can happen and your dog might’ve just figured out that crate equals being away from you.
My Rottie was never a fan of her crate. Never. Still trained her to stay in it for the night, etc. and it was a good idea. Until she was fully potty trained with around 4 months and then we let her roam freely and had no issues at all with accidents or her getting up at night. She sleeps right next to the bed and I think it would break her heart to be separated. We got rid of the crate, keep in mind that some dogs like to have that safe-haven during the day though. Just an idea to try that out :).
Have a great day,
Danielle
Hi Danielle
I have giant breed puppy (Saint Bernard) who has been sleeping in a large pen enclosure in a spare bedroom located on the first floor. We sleep on the second level. He has never had a problem with sleeping at night in the pen until recently. He begins whining around 3am and has begun to push and nudge the metal pen in an effort to escape. I believe there is some separation anxiety occurring. But he cannot do stairs so must remain on the first floor to sleep. I’d like to transition him to sleeping outside the pen on the lower level of the house. What is the best way to monitor to ensure he stays on his bed at night without needing to sleep on the first floor with him?
Hi Karrie,
awesome that you’re thinking about your dog’s hips, especially important with giant breeds like the Saint Bernard.
Have you tried to relocate your dog to your bedroom on the second level? While he’s a puppy, you could carry him up the stairs, especially when he still needs potty breaks. Walking stairs now and then is fine too depending on the exact age and when he’s fully grown, walking the stairs up at night and down in the morning should be absolutely no health risk. You can use a baby gate during the day.
Strengthens your bond and creates security for your dog. My dog never went a night without us at her side and she has absolutely no issue with staying alone when she has to during the day.
Another idea would be a two-way dog camera through which you can tell your dog the command for his bed (if he already has a realiable command). You can also use a regular crate that’s closed on all sides, that won’t prevent him from whining though. If you let him outside of his pen, he might try to get to you, and a baby gate would help again. If you’re not there, it’s hard to reinforce that he needs to stay inside the bed. Sleeping with him downstairs for a couple of days and keeping an eye on him could help but might be really inconvenient in your situation.
I’d really think about relocating him to your bedroom during the night if that’s at all possible :).
Have a great day,
Danielle
Hi I have an 11 month old Border Terrier and he is crated through the night and during the day while I work, with me letting him out and playing with him for an hour at lunch. He is walked for 40ish minutes in the morning and and hour and half or so in the evening. But he has started To get restless and is barking on and off through the night, I take him out to the toilet only but I’m not convinced it this what is he wants. I have nothing against him being in my bedroom at night, but I have to be able to leave him securely during the day. Will me allowing him in bedroom and sleeping on his bed on the floor or on my bed confuse him and ruin him using the crate during the work hours?
Hey Stuart,
basically you want to know if you can let your dog roam freely during the night and still crate him while you’re working, right? Usually people want to do it the other way around. The main reason for this is that potty accidents mostly happen during the night but with 11m, your dog is probably potty trained already (assuming you got him at 8-12 weeks).
Is it possible? Yes, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. If you’re doing it the other way around with your dog sleeping in the crate at night that’s fine. Why? Because at night, your dog is supposed to calm down anyway. Most dogs are full of energy during the day.
Have you checked what he’s doing when you’re at work? You probably think he’s only getting riled up at night even tohugh this might also happen during the day. Placing a dog camera inside your home can help (doesn’t even have to be something expensive like a Furbo).
Besides, your dog will surely get that the pattern of day = crated and night = free but why do you think he’ll stop barking when he has free access to the home? He could try to get all that energy out. Personally, my dog just disliked the crate but she didn’t seem full of energy, she was just frustrated that she had to be in the crate at night and letting her roam freely helped instantly because she just slept calmly but your case sounds different.
Why don’t you try letting your dog out during the night and day? If it turns out to be frustration, letting him roam during the day might help if he can entertain himself with a couple of his favorite (and safe!) toys. Just get everything out of the way that he could destroy or that could hurt him, lock the doors and windows and you should be fine. Expanding the size with a play pen or hiring a dog walker to take him out or play with him a bit could also help.
The only thing that’ll solve your problem long-term is tiring out your dog. Mental games such as snuffle mats or simple stuff like tug-of-war. Obedience and teaching tricks will tire him out much more than simple walks :).
Cheers,
Danielle
Danielle,
Thanks for the reply, I already have a camera on him and I am only working upstairs at the moment. Toilet training isn’t an issue as he Is all fine with that. Through the day he does settle in his crate and rarely makes a noise. Then I tire him out through the rest of the day and in the evening to the point he is asleep fine on his bed, but as soon as I leave him and go to bed my self he settled a bit but then just keeps either just waking up or getting woken up by something then not settling until I let him out for toilet. But then he might settle again for a few hours or like last night start to bark again after 10 minutes. I know he is tired and is fine through the night as I slept in the sofa a few times with him just getting on with it in the living room. But I won’t be able to trust him with me not been there in case he starts to destroy things. He likes to dig the carpet and shred his dog bed and things. So I need to be able to have him secure through the day while I’m working and also when I get back to the office. But then happy for him to be in my bedroom with me at night. Hope that makes more sense. Thanks again Stuart.
Hi! I transitioned my 7 month old pointer to her bed (in my bedroom) recently and it’s gone well EXCEPT she’s started waking me up around 3am to be let out (i have a terrace right of my bedroom where she can relieve herself). She used to go 8-9 hours in the crate no problem, but now that she has the option to request to go out she’s using it.
I’m happy she’s not having an accident but don’t love getting up in the middle of the night each night to take her out. Any suggestions?
Hey Whitney, it’s normal for pups to avoid soiling their sleeping space at all costs and it’s unusual that instead of having potty accidents, your pup’s actually waking you up. Count yourself lucky :).
As long as she really needs to go (and does so quickly outside) instead of just wanting to play or whatnot, I’d definitely encourage her to wake you up and just take her out if you can. Might just take some days and trying this is most likely better than having an accident.
Try to go without the potty break after a couple of days or a week and go from there. Better take one slow step instead of taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back :).
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle
I have a 5 month old cavachon. We have recently taken him out of the crate at night and the first 2 weeks went perfectly he slept in his bed and didn’t move or bark all night but recently now he is whining at night to be let out to go toilet or else he is going on the carpet but barking to get our attention (probably not hearing him the first time and he just goes). We will go down and let him out the back but then he doesn’t settle back into sleep unless we stay in the room with him.
Any suggestions?
Hey Anne, where does your dog sleep in the first place? 5 months (or even 4 months when you started) is relatively early to get rid of the crate so accidents can definitely happen. However, the fact that it went well for 2 straight weeks and that he’s not settling afterward may just point towards him wanting to be with you.
Personally, I always recommend letting the dog sleep in your bedroom and that would be your easiest fix. Also has lots of bonding advantages. If he’s still whining, he really just has to go potty.
If inviting him to the bedroom isn’t an option, you could take him outside and just place him back into the crate. As long as he has to go potty outside, I wouldn’t ignore the whining.
No worries, every dog is fully potty trained at some point :). Just takes a little bit of patience.
Cheers,
Danielle
My Shih Tzu will be a year old this coming Monday. I got him on May 1. No accidents since July. (!!) I have been working from home and have not gone out much due to the pandemic, but will be returning to work full time four days a week next week. He gets anxious during the day if I step out of the house and he’s not confined (I take the garbage out, etc.) but is calm when he goes in his crate during the day. I just haven’t left him in there (during the day) for as many hours as I will have to be starting next week … I’m trying to transition him up. He has been sleeping in his crate at night (next to my bed) every night since I got him. He hates going into the crate at night. Once in there, he’s usually fine, but in the morning when he knows I’m awake, he may whimper a bit until I open his door. I’m thinking I want to keep crating him during the day when I’m at work (he’s a super chewer but has been good about sticking with just destroying his toys), but am wondering if I should start transitioning him out of the crate at night. Isn’t 16 hours out of 24 a bit too much?
Hey Lou,
generally speaking, I’d say 16 hours crated is too much but in my opinion, the problem here is not being crated at night (your dog’s sleeping anyway), it’s the 8 hours without break during the day.
You could certainly try to transition your dog out of the crate at night, should be pretty safe in terms of potty training and your dog doesn’t seem to like the crate at night anyway (which is interesting if he seeks it out during the day).
Not only that, but you could also try to transition him out of the crate during the day. If he’s anxious, you should work on that first and make sure he’s comfortable being alone (and work on chewing habits if they arise outside the crate with anything other than his toys). Also, starting with transitioning him out at night is probably the best start so you only change one variable at a time.
Whether your dog is inside the crate during the day or he’s freely roaming around – if he’s alone for 8 hours you should have somebody come by and at least take him on a quick walk to relieve himself. The general rule of thumb is to crate your dog for 4 hours max.
Hope that helps,
Danielle
Very helpful. Last night I tried having him sleep without the crate and the night went fine. He cried a little about an hour after we went to bed. I reassured him briefly, and we both went back to sleep and both got a good night sleep with no incidents. I am working on trying to find someone to come play with him during the day when I go back to work. The problem is that although I will be vaccinated, I know that I can still be a carrier of COVID, and I am concerned about carrying the virus to my dog and then to someone coming into my home. Thank you for your suggestions, though.
Hi Lou, that’s great to hear. Once he’s used to the crate at night, you might even be able to ditch it during the day in the near future :). As long as he’s not in there for more than 4 hours, he should be good.
Totally understand what you mean but unfortunately, our dogs absolutely don’t care – they want to be exercised or at the very least have time to go potty. Of course, it’s harder if you’re directly exposed to working with people.
I’m sure it’ll work out!
Danielle
I have a problem. Ace is 7 months old. I have him on a leash during the day so that he let me know when he need to go out. He is doing great. No problem. I change his dog food and he poof in the house. So I stopped feeding him that food are I would mix it with food that does not cause him to loose his bowels. He does not eat until he is really hungry and. I have wasted alot of money trying to find him something he like. So I mix Bella and Pedigree together, half and half. He likes Bella but he can not hold his bowels after eating it.
My next problem is I let him off the leash during the day. At night I have to chase him to put him in the crate. He will not come to me are my 3 grand children age 8,11,13. We have to chase him so I have been keeping him on the leash during the day. I am not going to chase him. So what should I do to get him on the leash to put him in the crate because he will not just walk in it. Help please. I hate to keep him on leash but I have no choice.
Hey Lillie,
have you consulted your vet in regards to your dog’s bowel problem? No matter what, not being able to hold his bowels after a certain food is not good indeed and I’d definitely think about replacing that food entirely with something easily digestible for your dog. Generally, I’m not really a big fan of brands like Pedigree, I have a guide on what should never be in your dog’s food, let me know if you’d like to check that out, maybe it helps.
Having him on leash is good for potty training and sounds like he’s doing great. To get him into the crate at night you can do two things 1) obedience training meaning you teach him a command to come to you (not vice versa) and maybe even a command to get him into the crate and 2) make the crate a great experience. If you introduce the crate in a fun way and positively reinforce when he goes in there, your pup should be loving it (or at least tolerate – my puppy never loved the crate at night either).
If your feeling confident in the near future, you can start with transitioning your dog out of the crate. Chasing the dog certainly isn’t a good option and we don’t want to start that game :).
Cheers,
Danielle
I would love some advice!
My dog is a little over a year. And he loves his crate. He goes in on his own and sleeps in his crate. He never falls asleep out of the crate. We are trying to transition him out and are having some trouble.
We kept him out of the crate for over 8 hours. Exhausted him as much as possible. He still wouldn’t sleep out of the crate. He just paced until he went back in and then knocked right out. He is potty trained, but once we tried leaving him alone in the kitchen for about 15 min, he peed. (And he was outside right before that!)
Any advice??
Thank you!!
Hi Julia, that’s the exact opposite of my dog – she was so happy we ditched the crate and that’s actually more common. I’d say if your dog loves the crate, let him be in the crate.
The thing is, if he pees when left outside the crate and is seeking it out voluntarily, that probably means he likes the security and comfort. You could try a cave-like bed for dogs, maybe he likes a bed more if the surroundings are blocked.
If you absolutely need to ditch the crate (when travelling, inconvenient if he’s in several rooms inside the house, etc.) then I’d say you just put the crate away and supervise him. Make sure to positively reinforce him and that you don’t take big steps like leaving him alone right away.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle, I have an almost 9 month old Golden Retriever. She doesn’t go into the crate at all during the day unless i leave the house to run some errands. I’ve left her for over two hours during the day. I work from home so i’m able to supervise her during the day and take her out when she needs to go potty. At night she’s been sleeping in her crate but has starting to fight me to go in. She really does not like it in there. I’d love to transition her and get comfortable with leaving her outside of the crate during the day so I’ll try your technique of a few minutes and building on that. My concern is more at night because it’s for a much longer period of time.
My room is on the second floor but her crate is on the main level. I’d lover for her to sleep in my room (not in my bed), but she seems to have a fear of the upstairs level even though that’s where she slept in a smaller crate until she was about 4 months old. I honestly don’t know what she’s afraid of, but if i manage to get her upstairs using treats, she runs right back down. What can i do with this?
thanks,
rose
Hey Rose, so your dog only goes into the crate when you’re leaving the house? Why do you want to transition her out of the crate if she’s still 9 months old and as long as she’s fine when you’re away, everything should be good. Some trainers recommend having a dog transition out of the crate at night at 1y of age and to still keep them inside the crate until 2y when away. Of course, it’s just a rule of thumb and all individuals are different, this is just a safe choice. I transitioned my dog far earlier as well. If your dog hates it during the day when you’re away too, transitioning her could be a good idea.
If she’s allowed in the bedroom, definitely let her sleep there. It sounds like you should fix her upstairs fear first and just have her sleep with you in a familiar environment (meaning first inside the crate then in her bed).
Taking treats to get her to walk upstairs is a good start. Your Goldie is still a pup with 9 months and maybe something happened during her socialisation period that manifested as fear of the stairs now. Shouldn’t be too hard to solve. Just encourage her walking up there, let her roam upstairs for some time, and gradually increase the time. Make sure she knows that upstairs = fun stuff.
I wouldn’t recommend a dog running up and down the stairs all day anyway (due to the potential hip dysplasia risks) but a couple of times a day and especially at night is definitely fine.
Have a great day,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
We have recently began transitioning our 7 month old Labradoodle. Previously he’s been crated and we had minimal disturbances (sometimes whimpered/cried to be let out for a wee or because he’s too hot) but that was pretty rare. During the day, he’s brilliant to be left. No disruptive behaviour or accidents in the house.
From Tuesday, we’ve changed the position of his crate to his bed. He only has limited access to his room and to the bottom of the stairs. He has now began standing at the bottom of the stairs, where he knows our room is, and cries/barks several times a night. When he does this, we let him out for a wee and put him back in his bed so as not to fuss/praise the behaviour but the barking then continues. This is consistent and feels like he’s back at 8 weeks old again 🤣
Any tips/tricks will be massively appreciated!
Best wishes,
Jonny
Hey Jonny,
so you’ve already transitioned your Labradoodle from crate to dog bed during the day and now you’re struggling only with the night, right? And the location of the crate (or now bed) at night was the same too (i.e. not in your bedroom)?
If he wasn’t with you back then and he isn’t now, it could still be plain separation anxiety (in a totally normal form for puppies). He might have recognized now that he’s technically free to walk around, he could join you upstairs.
Usually, I suggest letting your pup sleep in your bedroom. As I mentioned in the article, my female Rottie had issues with the crate when separated and at night when she was with us she still whined. When we ditched the crate during day+night, it just worked wonderfully. Never destroyed anything during the day and at night she was satisfied that she was with us and still chose to just lay in her bed for 8 hours.
What I’m saying is that your pup might just want to join you and it’s actually good for bonding. Yours didn’t seem to be unhappy with the crate itself but rather with the separation. It could definitely be that just wants to play when he has woken up but the fact that he didn’t do that before, I’d just try letting him sleep in the bedroom if possible.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle
Our Lhasa Apso is 9 months old, been potty trained well for a good few weeks. He only slept in his crate on a night & now started barking when in it. We transitioned him out of crate but now barking there too!
We can’t really have him in our room as we have a cat & they don’t get on. She goes in & out through our bedroom so we need him to sleep downstairs. We have close neighbours either side so any advice would be a great help!
Hey Lynne, if you can eliminate the need to go potty as a reason for the barking, it could be a case of your dog wanting to be with you. There are ways to get your cat and dog to get along, as outlined in this post.
Apart from that, your dog might just be barking for attention, play-time, etc. in general and the only thing that’ll help is ignoring it if letting him sleep in your bedroom is not an option (great for bonding though). Even negative is attention, so you should just straight ignore the barking if there’s no reason for it (potty, pain, etc.)
Hi Danielle this has been good reading wish I had seen it before doing although it’s not that bad. Louie is 16wks he was crate trained at night no accidents I would get up middle of night and take him out I’ve gradually made this longer he doesn’t soil anywhere during day or night goes outside. A couple of wks ago he started to not go into his crate as he would, more protest which I had never had so we decided to transition him to a bed, he sleeps ok in bed during the day. In my head I thought putting him in our bedroom in his own bed would be better than in the kitchen where he’s been sleeping. However he gets out of his bed and wakes me every hour to two hourly. He doesn’t need a wee as I indicate him to go back to bed and he does but again couple of hours later wakes me, no barking just sits by my bed or stands up to wake me. I’m shattered and about 3 am do take him out in case he needs a wee and then put him back. Should I put him back downstairs in the kitchen where he has slept at night from 8wks I feel I’ve confused him and worried I have caused more separation anxiety as I’m struggling with leaving the house at the moment, he doesn’t settle although ok to be in another room.
Thank you,
Hey Lisa,
first of all, you can definitely keep your pup in your bedroom. My dog was whining a lot as a puppy, especially when separated in another room in the crate during the day. But at night, she always slept in the bedroom, first in the crate and then the bed and she has absolutely zero separation anxiety. Of course, every dog is different but there are other things that’ll help far more with preventing separation anxiety.
With 4 months, your pup’s still pretty young and he might not be ready for this freedom. I’d suggest changing one variable at a time, meaning you let him sleep in the bedroom but try the crate again if he’s wandering around too much otherwise. Usually, one should transition the dog when the dog is ready, not when he wants it :). Sounds like you gave in to your pup refusing to go in the crate and now he thinks he can take it further, he might just want to be entertained if he went potty and everything.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle thanks for your reply since messaging you Louie has been sleeping for longer periods last night it was from 9.30-5am took him downstairs for toilet then back to bed till breakfast, it seems to be getting g later every few days so think his getting used to it. First time mum and dad and I still sometimes feel I’ve done the wrong thing and should have kept him downstairs so his used to his alone time. He will go to another room without me for short periods and does play in the garden alone but dont like it when I go out, he hasn’t been left alone since we got him 8wks ago so this is something I will have to work on and build up. He will stay with my son and husband if I go out just not alone…. his done so well with everything else, oh except walking on a lead lol but again working on this with praise, treats. Great off the lead but not always practical.
Lisa x
Hi Lisa, as mentioned, every dog is different and some dogs definitely appreciate time spent alone, but sleeping isn’t among that. Let’s say it this way, I’ve never seen a dog who really prefers sleeping alone over sleeping with his humans (unless it’s an independent working dog like a livestock guardian). During the day, some dogs definitely like having a little save-haven especially if it can be busy at home (lots of guests, children running around, etc.). That being said, my Rottie never goes into other rooms to sleep, always wants to be around when people are here and yet she’s good when left completely alone so I wouldn’t worry about.
Glad to hear about your progress!
Danielle
Hi
We adopted a small mixed dog who was crate trained but we are not able to have a crate . His previous owner passed away and he was moved from house to house for a few weeks. We’ve had him for about a month now and he’s slept on all our beds every night (as does our bigger dog every now and then . We I first tried to pick him up and put him in a new bed he tried to bite me .
Lately he’s been peeing on my bed when I try to get him down .
I am now getting him into his bed on top of our bed with treats .
He’s obviously anxious ! I’m trying to be sensitive and was wondering if you had any advice !?
Hey Shannon,
crates can provide a safe space for dogs and the lack of security can cause the peeing. Apart from that, there are other reasons like separation anxiety (maybe a certain ritual like setting him down before you go?), submissive peeing, not yet potty trained (or rather, still getting used to house rules in the new home) and, of course, possible medical issues.
The fact that he bit you when you tried to pick him up also points towards a lack of confidence. Although not all dogs like being picked up, biting is not the desired response but it’s not yours or your dog’s fault, you just need to build up the confidence and the bond. It’s generally not advised to invade the space of dogs that are no totally confident.
Instead of using force and getting bitten/pee on the bed, luring your dog with treats probably the better idea. Keep training and stay patient, just clean up accidents and make sure you use a lot of positive reinforcement when he does well.
Let me know how it goes,
Danielle
Our 5 month kavapoo naps and sleeps at night well in her crate because I put the house on lock down and want absolute quiet so we won’t wake her up. My husband wants her to get used to the noises around her and sleep through them. I tried letting her nap outside the crate but she wakes up when she hears us and our 12yr old dog moving around and gets up. This makes her overtired. Do I continue trying to let her sleep outside the crate hoping she will sleep through any noise? Help, my marriage may depend on this answer!
Hi Brenda, so I’ve had the same issue with my puppy at night. During the day it wasn’t as bad but once it was bedtime, you could only breathe and everything else had to be quiet. I’d say it was the right decision to do it that way because otherwise, you wouldn’t get any sleep at all, even if it’s just for a couple of days. With all the potty training, socialization, etc. fresh puppy owners have enough going on.
Everything being quiet is also a good sign for your dog to settle down. That being said, you definitely want to be able to live during the day and when we’re talking about naps, just try to accommodate your pup so that you’re not vacuuming next to his ear immediately after he fell asleep. He definitely should get used to the regular noises, especially during the day.
Tire your pup out with proper physical exercise and especially mental exercise and he’ll fall asleep sooner or later. If not, you still have the night to let him regenerate. Would only change one thing at a time because sleep is essential for puppies.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi! We took our pup’s (7 months) bed out the crate and removed it for the first time last night! As he’s getting bigger and is toilet trained we thought it would be better for him plus he’s quite reluctant to get in it most nights.. sadly he cried and wouldn’t settle at all. Do you think he actually preferred the crate or will it take some time? The bed/crate was in the kitchen downstairs and we placed the bed exactly where the crate use to be. Thank you, Beth
Hey Beth, if your pup is crying despite the bed coming from the crate (so it’s familiar) and standing in the exact same spot as the crate did, yes that could mean your pup is not ready yet. But it could 1) be an isolated incident meaning he did have to go potty or whatnot or 2) it just takes a couple of days to settle.
From what you’re describing, he didn’t love the crate before so even though we might think it should be a relief now, it still takes time getting used to :). Just FYI: I’m usually recommending people place their dog’s crate/bed in their bedroom, but you might not want that for various reasons. I’ve just found it helps tremendously with overall anxiety and bonding.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi we have a 6month old English bull terrier and we want to start transitioning her to our living room (she is crate trained which is in the kitchen and sleeps/ naps during day and night) she is excellent during night 8pm – 7am with a toilet let out around 11pm. During day we have a good routine of out of crate and in crate with a long sleep after walk and lunch but as our kitchen has a door and baby gate to living room we want to bring her in living room. We are thinking of getting an additional crate and putting in living room where we would like her day bed to be. And introduce this during day in small steps. As she is used to settling almost immediately in the crate it’s been tough to do this in a bed as it’s all too exciting/ overwhelming. We most evenings open the crate door around 10pm and she hops into her other bed for between 20mins-2hours before she goes back in her crate. What are your thoughts ?
Hi Claire,
so if the problem is just that she can’t settle immediately, I’d say keep trying with positive reinforcement and see where it goes. If she doesn’t have access to you during the day from the kitchen, getting something into the living room is definitely a good idea.
If you’re going ahead, she has two things to adjust to at once (new bed & new spot) but that’s the way to go if you want to try the bed. It should only get better because she probably loves being near you so it’s just the usual transition. If you want to go slowly – instead of buying a second crate, you could just set the one you have in the living room during the day, couldn’t you?
Cheers,
Danielle
Hello
I adopted a 2 year old sweet pittie mix two weeks ago. She is ok sleeping on her bed at night. I tried leaving her alone and she ate shoes and wrecked blinds. She whines when I leave and think she’s a bit anxious. Tips?
Hi Nina, first of all – congrats on the new furry family member! It doesn’t sound like your problem is transitioning your dog at night, it might be more of a separation anxiety issue (I have linked a very extensive guide, you should be good with following these tips). I’m assuming you mean she destroys stuff when you’re out of the house during the day (even if it’d be during the night when she’s separated from you, the issue can be similar).
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
Our German Shepard Puppy is 3 1/2 months old. When he is 6 months we are planning on free-roaming him in the house.
Our problem is our cat. She and him love to play and unfortunately that gets him excited and he poops almost every time before we can catch it and he does it without warning. I’m worried this is going to be a problem outside of the house.
We plan on doing what your tip is suggesting by starting out for small durations and troubleshooting what is needing correcting.
Do you have any suggestions for the future?
Hi Kodi, if your pup is still pooping inside the house, I’d suggest you fully potty train him before leaving him outside the crate. Since occassional accidents are not unusual at this age, there’s a fair chance it’ll be resolved when he reaches 6 months.
However, there are definitely excitement poopers but that happens during the day too and your case sounds like the fact that he can’t hold it that long at night yet just collides with his excitement, so no worries :).
Cheers,
Danielle
Our pup is almost 14 months old (in a week). She slept like a dream since day 1 in the crate but recently she has started complaining. We tried letting her roam around the house, she settles in the stairs landing but middle of night hears sounds from outside-there are lots of deers, rabbits and coyotes around, and starts to bark. Either we put her back in crate or in our older ones room, where she sleeps. Our bedroom is not an option. Any suggestions?
Usually, I recommend just letting your dog sleep in the bedroom which can alleviate these issues (as it seems to be better when she’s in a crate/room) while providing comfort. Your only other option is giving her the other room (not sure if she’s alone there or if your older son is there too – if she’s alone she might not enjoy that). You could also stick with it and see whether or not she’ll keep barking or if it becomes common enough that she’ll ignore it.
My 1 year old cockerpoo howls constantly when I have left him
Out of the crate… I would now like to get rid of crates but not sure how to go about it
Hi Danielle,
I have a 15 month old standard goldendoodle. She sleeps perfectly in her (huge!) plastic crate. She is fully potty trained, day and night. The crate is near the kitchen, and we sleep upstairs in our room. Zero issues. She goes in at about 9 or 10 pm, and does not make a peep – I get her out at about 8 or 8:15 am and even then she is happy to just snuggle before going out. During the day, I only use the crate if I go out. The problem is that I really don’t want to mess with this, but it the crate is a problem if we want to go away, either with her, or without her. No one can take a crate this big (I have a duplicate in our second home and she transitions to the same crate easilyl from house to house) and I can’t bring it anywhere – it is the biggest plastic crate i.e. 48+ inches, and I am having trouble finding someone to stay at our house for us to go away over the weekend. I assume if I let her stay at a neighbors or somewhere over night without sleeping in the crate, she won’t want the crate when she comes back home. If I take her with us, she would be without the crate also, and I have the same worry – that she won’t want it when she gets home. But my main concern is that if we give up the crate, she will not sleep through the night and settle like she does in the crate. She might bark at things (she doesn’t in the crate) or want something if we get up at night, which we do. Any suggestions?
Hi Julie, so since you’re not facing any issues currently, it might be time to evaluate whether or not your dog can sleep outside the crate.
Dogs rarely outright reject the crate just because they slept outside of it once (in fact, your dog might not even like it in the beginning). However, it can happen that your dog will be confused if he has to switch between inside/outside crate but usually, that’s not too big of a worry. Soon enough, you might not need the crate at all anymore.
If you have the choice between taking the dog with you and letting him stay with somebody else – both without crate – I’d definitely suggest you just take him with you. Try a couple of nights without the crate at home though so you don’t change too many variables at a time.
Cheers,
Danielle
Can you offer more help than this? My pup, 6 months, has been house-trained for 2 months. She is comfortable and used to being around the apartment during the day – I just use the crate for sleeping at night, and for when I leave her alone. She is calm in her crate, but it is getting small, and I want to transition her to a dog bed (beside mine) so that she has more room to stretch out. Despite putting her favorite bed beside mine and closing the bedroom door so that she would stay in my room, my pup has been anxious both times I tried the new arrangement. I don’t understand why, or how else to help her — I tried chew toys, leaving the bedroom light on while I read for a bit and talk to her, etc. She just roams the room, and doesn’t settle down to sleep.
Hi Michelle, sounds like training went well so far, congrats on that! I’d just suggest you keep positively reinforcing her every time she’s in the bedroom and especially in the bed itself and give her some time. If you close the door, she’ll probably settle down in the bed sooner or later.
Roaming can be a sign that she’s anxious, yes, but it might just be that she’s not yet accepted the new sleeping spot. Took some time for my dog too even when I’m just switching beds. It’ll eventually click in most cases.
Hi Danielle,
I have 2 pups that I’d like to transition out of their crates. Fenrir a husky Shepard wolf mix and Floki a husky malamute wolf mix. Fenrir is 1yr and Floki is 7 months. Fenrir has gone through fear training as he was neglected by the breeder and is still learning to cope and trust people. He has learned “place” and has a bed to “place”in to feel safe. Do you recommend using the place command in the bedroom where I’d like him to sleep? Also when he is not placed and playing with Floki he will have an accident if something has made him too nervous to ask to go out. Any suggestions on how to prevent this when he’s out during the day alone?
Floki dislikes his crate and will actually go into the crate to potty 😩. So I’d like to leave him out as well. But he is still chewing a lot. Also him and Fenrir ruff house soo much the furniture is everywhere. Any suggestions on calming them? Any suggestions are appreciated!
Hi Nicole,
it might be hard to transition both dogs at the same time. Since one dog seems to need to pee after playing, you could try to restrict playing right before bed inside the house, assuming that’s what you mean with the accidents. Could be difficult at night if you do both at the same time though. Might need a couple of nights to establish a calm routine.
If your other dog is actually seeking out the crate to pee, it seems that it hasn’t really been established for him as a sleeping spot since most dogs avoid this, even if they need to go potty until they absolutely can’t hold it.
Would maybe suggest starting with the night to see how they handle it since chewing during the day can be a serious issue.
Tonight is my first night transitioning my girl from her crate to her bed. I put a gate around the crate with her bed just outside the crate. I left the crate inside the gated area so she can go back in if she feels more comfortable. She is a two year old pom and has had a few potty issues so I am trying this slowly before I allow her full run or sleeping with me, I have a multi poo who sleeps with me he has never been crated and always been great with his potty training he is 6 yrs old. I know my pom will catch on I just want to take it slow so I don’t overwhelm her. Thanks for the great advice.
Hi there. Yeah trying to transition my lab female 3yr old. At first very good. Except coming in and she’d be on settee. Instead of being on her dog bed.
Then I tried to leave her on her own while I went to work. Came back to a couple of things being ripped up.
My fault, I left the things out.
But I couldn’t understand why she didn’t chew her toys instead.
I would like her to be able to stop out of crate but….. Behaviour and commands are being ignored. I suppose slowly slowly.
Hey Lee, it’s best to set your dog up for success (i.e. not leaving things out as you said) and go slowly. However, if your dog feels anxious when left alone, you may need to read up about separation anxiety.
Hope the transition will go smoothly soon,
Danielle
When my dog Rosie was a year old she was still sleeping in the crate, but she would wake up crazy early every morning with mad zoomies. It was so annoying to have to get up at 6 am every morning and play fetch for an hour. When she turned 1, I was just like “screw it, let’s see what happens if she doesn’t sleep in the crate.” The first night out of the crate, she slept on my bed at the foot, made not one noise, and didn’t wake up until 10 am, calm and peaceful. It was magical. We never looked back.
Hi Johanna, sounds similar to my experience. It’s not like my Rottie got up at 6 am and wanted to play fetch for an hour but she’s definitely calmer outside the crate.
For others, a crate is a great tool, especially during the day but for me, ditching the crate worked perfectly too.
Cheers,
Danielle
My 6 month old Shihtzu-lhasa Apso has been pretty good at sleeping in the crate until recently. Last week he decided he no longer wanted to sleep in the crate spends the whole night barking and never settling down. His crate is in my room so I hear the whole thing and I think the neighbours are starting to lose their patience.
He used to sleep in the crate until 5 when he had a pee, and then he would sleep on my bed with me until the morning, but now he will only sleep if he’s out of the crate entirely. I don’t want him to think my bed is his, but if I leave him out of the crate to wander all night on the floor I wake up with a corner of pee and poo. If he’s on my bed he contains himself.
I’m not sure what else to do. Ive started giving in more and more letting him sleep on my bed earlier through the night, but I would rather him be crated.
Is it possible that he is just not going to be a crate sleeping dog? Should I just give in and try letting him sleep on the floor in my room but with me waking up to take him out more?
I can’t take the barking through the night much longer.
Hi Katrina,
from what you’re describing it does sound like your dog might have learned to sleep on the bed with you and just prefers that. Either you take a step back and stay consistent with the crate or you let your pup sleep on the floor/bed. The bed is often not the best choice unless you’re ready to stick to that even if he’s an adult.
Sleeping in their own bed is a good option for most dog owners transitioning out of the crate, but it sounds like your pup is not ready. At 6 months, your pup is theoretically able to hold it through the night but maybe you want to take him out once or twice until the transition is over.
Choose one option and stick with it. No exceptions, unless you’re willing to do that long-term.
Hello! I have a male golfen retriever almost 9 months old. We are trying to transition him out if the crate (just at night when we sleep) for his benefit. He sleeps in iur bedroom and has dine well in the crate. We would like for him to Be able to sleep in a dog bed with no crate in our enclosed bedroom at night. We are just starting and he usually will sleep on the dog bed for a few hours but will always get bored and start roaming around. Our room is mostly puppy proof but I do not like that he roams around so much when he historically has slept virtually the whole night while in his crate. Is he ready to be out if the crate yet? We are trying to train hik because we are having a baby in about 6 months and the dog crate is big and bulky and it wouod be ideal to just have him sleep in a dog bed without a crate. Sorry for the long comment!
Hi Joe, no worries about the long comment, that’s what this is here for :). Regarding your pup: Assuming you had him since he’s 8-12 weeks and he has done well in the crate, I wouldn’t say that he’s not ready.
Of course, some pups just need longer than others and that’s totally okay. If the bedroom is enclosed and your pup is only roaming around and not getting into trouble (i.e. chewing stuff, hyping himself up for play, etc.) then I’d personally just wait and see where it goes. If it should fail, you can still go back but if there’s no big issue, I’d stick with letting him sleep on the bed.
Make sure your pup went potty before going to bed and that he’s mentally and physically exercised, this will ensure he won’t get out too often due to boredom.
Cheers,
Danielle
I live in South Africa.
Locking your dog in a crate is a totally alien concept to us.
A dog is part of the family and is either allowed to roam freely in the house and garden, or big dogs just the garden during the day. A dog is not your prisoner.
Hi Renee, I agree that living without a crate is the best option but for puppies, it’s extremely useful for house training or avoiding them getting into trouble for short periods of time. However, dogs should always be fed, exercised, and never stay in the crate for too long just because it’s convenient.