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I'm posting this as part of a series of helpful articles for common problems. If you have more information to add (or disagree with anything in this post) please do so in this thread, but if you have a specific question relating to your dog, please start a new thread.
This article is written by the very highly regarded behaviourist Emma Judson of Canine Consultant, and posted with permission. It is long, but the process is really much simpler than it may seem at first.
Crate Training - Step By Step Guide to A Distress Free, Force Free Crate Trained Dog or Pup
Please sit and read this guide thoroughly before making a start, as it is important that every single step of this is carried out and nothing is skipped.
It is also important to understand, before you start, why it is important to crate train your dog.
Crates are often seen as a place to lock a naughty dog, or a place where dogs are left shut away for long hours, and it is true, they can be misused just like any other item of dog related equipment.
However, properly trained, your dog can find being crated reassuring and a visual cue to relax and go to sleep.
Crates can be used to aid in toilet training, dealing with fear or reactivity, introducing new dogs, in rehabilitation from illness or injury. Crates are commonly used in transporting dogs, in groomers and of course, in a veterinary surgery or hospital.
Unless you can guarantee that your dog is never going to travel, be groomed, go to the vets, require strict and confined rest - something you can only do if you can see the future - then your dog needs to know how to handle being crated!
CRATE TRAINING WILL NEVER INVOLVE YOUR DOG BEING SHUT IN AGAINST HIS WILL, THERE WILL BE NO CRYING OR WHINING OR SCRABBLING OR BARKING IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET OUT OF THE CRATE - IF THERE ARE ANY OF THE ABOVE SIGNS, YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS CORRECTLY.
You will need:
1 Wire crate appropriately sized for your dog with a bed or blanket inside - if you have a large breed puppy who is currently tiny, a small crate is ok for training purposes as long as its big enough for your dog right now.
1 pot of very high value treats - try cheese, hot dog, chicken, whatever your dog likes best
1 food dispensing toy such as a Kong or similar
Step 1: Crate = Treats
Sit beside the open doorway of the crate - you want the door to be wide open as far as it will go and ideally you sit to the other side, so you are sat beside the edge of the crate where the door would latch shut.
Have your pot of treats with you and of course, your dog or puppy.
Show your dog the treats if necessary, and then toss into the crate, one treat.
Your dog should follow the treat into the crate to eat it.
At this point, IF you have a dog or pup who has never seen a crate before OR who has and is generally ok with the idea, they will go straight in.
If you have a dog or pup who has already been terrified of a crate or is generally nervous, they may not go straight in. If this is the case, put the treat right by the door and start with just rewarding them for approaching the crate.
It is really important to note, your dog or pup CAN come straight out of the crate once they have eaten the treat - it is entirely THEIR choice.
The rule is super simple. Going in the crate earns a treat. Not going in the crate, or coming out of the crate, earns no treat.
Even the daftest of dogs can work out the very simple maths here - in crate = goodies. Out of crate = 0 goodies.
Play the 'treats are in the crate' game for a few minutes - if you only get a pup zooming in and out of the crate happily for treats, that is fine at this stage. If you get a pup or adult dog who goes in and hovers to see if more treats will happen without them having to come out and go in again, reward that, put more treats in BEFORE your dog comes out again.
Ideally we want the dog to hang around inside the crate, hoping for more treats - if he does that, he has chosen to be in there, of his own free will! So reward that, keep tossing in treats and praising your dog - but don't be tempted to shut that door yet!
Step 2: Crate = More Treats
Hopefully your dog was starting to think by the end of the first session or two, that hanging around in the crate might be an easy way to earn more treats.
If he isn't, carry on with step one!
For step two, sit slightly to the side of the crate and when he goes in for his first treat, start popping a treat or two through the bars (this is why we are using a wire crate and not a fabric one!).
Your dog is probably still going in the crate and remaining standing, so now I would put in two or three treats, further back into the crate and see if he lies down to eat them. If he DOES, reward that with a small handful through the bars, ideally delivered so that he doesn't have to get up to reach them - lots of praise for this!
When he is going in and lying down and clearly expecting treats to be delivered you can begin to pause for just a fraction of a second before doing so - this is the beginnings of building up the time he stays in the crate for.
Again, remember, keep AWAY from that crate door, forget it even exists for the time being!
Article continues in following post...
This article is written by the very highly regarded behaviourist Emma Judson of Canine Consultant, and posted with permission. It is long, but the process is really much simpler than it may seem at first.
Crate Training - Step By Step Guide to A Distress Free, Force Free Crate Trained Dog or Pup
Please sit and read this guide thoroughly before making a start, as it is important that every single step of this is carried out and nothing is skipped.
It is also important to understand, before you start, why it is important to crate train your dog.
Crates are often seen as a place to lock a naughty dog, or a place where dogs are left shut away for long hours, and it is true, they can be misused just like any other item of dog related equipment.
However, properly trained, your dog can find being crated reassuring and a visual cue to relax and go to sleep.
Crates can be used to aid in toilet training, dealing with fear or reactivity, introducing new dogs, in rehabilitation from illness or injury. Crates are commonly used in transporting dogs, in groomers and of course, in a veterinary surgery or hospital.
Unless you can guarantee that your dog is never going to travel, be groomed, go to the vets, require strict and confined rest - something you can only do if you can see the future - then your dog needs to know how to handle being crated!
CRATE TRAINING WILL NEVER INVOLVE YOUR DOG BEING SHUT IN AGAINST HIS WILL, THERE WILL BE NO CRYING OR WHINING OR SCRABBLING OR BARKING IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET OUT OF THE CRATE - IF THERE ARE ANY OF THE ABOVE SIGNS, YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS CORRECTLY.
You will need:
1 Wire crate appropriately sized for your dog with a bed or blanket inside - if you have a large breed puppy who is currently tiny, a small crate is ok for training purposes as long as its big enough for your dog right now.
1 pot of very high value treats - try cheese, hot dog, chicken, whatever your dog likes best
1 food dispensing toy such as a Kong or similar
Step 1: Crate = Treats
Sit beside the open doorway of the crate - you want the door to be wide open as far as it will go and ideally you sit to the other side, so you are sat beside the edge of the crate where the door would latch shut.
Have your pot of treats with you and of course, your dog or puppy.
Show your dog the treats if necessary, and then toss into the crate, one treat.
Your dog should follow the treat into the crate to eat it.
At this point, IF you have a dog or pup who has never seen a crate before OR who has and is generally ok with the idea, they will go straight in.
If you have a dog or pup who has already been terrified of a crate or is generally nervous, they may not go straight in. If this is the case, put the treat right by the door and start with just rewarding them for approaching the crate.
It is really important to note, your dog or pup CAN come straight out of the crate once they have eaten the treat - it is entirely THEIR choice.
The rule is super simple. Going in the crate earns a treat. Not going in the crate, or coming out of the crate, earns no treat.
Even the daftest of dogs can work out the very simple maths here - in crate = goodies. Out of crate = 0 goodies.
Play the 'treats are in the crate' game for a few minutes - if you only get a pup zooming in and out of the crate happily for treats, that is fine at this stage. If you get a pup or adult dog who goes in and hovers to see if more treats will happen without them having to come out and go in again, reward that, put more treats in BEFORE your dog comes out again.
Ideally we want the dog to hang around inside the crate, hoping for more treats - if he does that, he has chosen to be in there, of his own free will! So reward that, keep tossing in treats and praising your dog - but don't be tempted to shut that door yet!
Step 2: Crate = More Treats
Hopefully your dog was starting to think by the end of the first session or two, that hanging around in the crate might be an easy way to earn more treats.
If he isn't, carry on with step one!
For step two, sit slightly to the side of the crate and when he goes in for his first treat, start popping a treat or two through the bars (this is why we are using a wire crate and not a fabric one!).
Your dog is probably still going in the crate and remaining standing, so now I would put in two or three treats, further back into the crate and see if he lies down to eat them. If he DOES, reward that with a small handful through the bars, ideally delivered so that he doesn't have to get up to reach them - lots of praise for this!
When he is going in and lying down and clearly expecting treats to be delivered you can begin to pause for just a fraction of a second before doing so - this is the beginnings of building up the time he stays in the crate for.
Again, remember, keep AWAY from that crate door, forget it even exists for the time being!
Article continues in following post...