Hi, I have a 7 m/o jap chin whom needs to be crate trained during the night. He went in one night and didn't make any noise the next night he cried and cried all night, I finally just let him out. I had bought some compressed air (the kind you use to clean the keyboard) and thought that may be an option when he cries to blow some air in his direction. Is that okay? I don't want to be mean, but I want him to just lay and go to sleep...He is active all day and he goes to the park daily too. So, he is tired, he just is opposed to the crate. (as you may have read my past post, he had been sleeping in my bed, but started to pee in it) He is completely house broken...Thank you in advance for your replies!

Crate training can make you suffer, specially since you want to let the puppy out to stop the crying. I have read some relly good tips and I will share with you what I can remember:

- You shouldn't just jam your dog in the crate right away. Get the puppy to get familiar with it by having it get close. Try feeding him next to the crate.

- If you have treats, put one at the crate door so the puppy gets close to get it. You should be able to put the treat inside the crate in a couple of days so the pup can get it.

- Leave the puppy in the crate for a couple of minutes at a time. With time you should be able to leave him in there the whole night.

Maybe the problem is that he is used to sleeping in your bed, and that is a place for the leader. I think your pup think he is the pack leader and when you take him out of his element, he doesn't like it.

I wouldn't use the compressed air if I were you. You want the pup to learn to be quiet in the cage and not scared. The puppy will get used to the crate, but it takes a couple of days. What I suggest is that when the puppy starts to cry, walk to the crate and say "No!", and really mean that no. The puppy needs to know that you don't like that behavior. If he starts crying after that, ignore him. He will get tired eventually and will go to sleep. Pups want attention, and if everytime he cries you let him out, you will have a puppy that will be crying all of the time.

Hope this helps, and hopefully you get some tips from more experienced dog ownres.

I agree with not using compressed air. Be firm, and take control, but let the dog get used to the crate slowly. Do you cover the crate when the dog is in it? When I first brought my puppy home and put him in his crate, he cried and cried until I was ready to cry. All the books I read said that he'd be fine as long as he could see us! After about 5 hours of this, my husband had the bright idea to put a blanket over the crate, but still allow plenty of room for ventilation. He was quiet almost immediatly, like a bird! Crate training can be hard, but with patience it will pay off. Good Luck!

Compressed air is not just air! It has some kind of chemical in it that is very harmful. There have been stories about idiotic kids getting high and ODing on it. If it can kill a teen, it can definitely kill a toy size puppy.