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Crying in Crate

Behavioral Issues
  • T

    Hi everyone! Watson is our 1 year old male basenji. We have always had some issues with prolonged whining when he is in the crate, which we attributed to him being a puppy, but he has yet to outgrow these. He goes in his crate on command and always gets a treat for going in, and he eats his meals and sleeps through the night in his crate. Sometimes he does fine and goes in without complaint, but other times he will whine and cry for about 15 minutes, but sometimes up to an hour. This happens often enough that we know it is not because he has to potty or because he is not getting enough exercise, and since there are plenty of times when he does not cry, we know it is not because he is afraid of the crate. Does anyone have any advice on whether this is puppy behavior he will (eventually) outgrow, or if there is something else we should be doing to discourage him from whining/crying? I should add that we never give him any attention while he is making noise in his crate and we only let him out once he has quieted down and remained quiet for several minutes. Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

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