Crate Training Your Dog

Child-proofing || Crate Training || Toys || Separation Anxiety || Housetraining || Bite Inhibition

Providing your dog with an indoor crate satisfies your dog’s need for a den-like enclosure. Besides being an effective housebreaking tool (dogs have a natural reluctance to soil their sleeping area), it can also help reduce separation anxiety and prevents the destruction of your possessions as well as keeping the dog safe (can’t chew electrical cords or eat poisons in the household).

But keep in mind, while crate training prevents your dog from learning bad habits such as chewing your belongings and soiling all over the house, it does not teach the dog to go potty outside or to only chew its own toys. It is your responsibility to teach your dog proper household etiquette, by supervising him, so he cannot make mistakes, and by using positive reinforcement when he gets it right. This means you click and treat for eliminating in the right place, click and treat for picking up his toy, and yes, click and treat, when he quietly settles at your feet.

Consider this:

Crate training allows your dog to be fully integrated into family life, because the dog can be with its family in the house. Dogs are pack animals. They suffer if they are isolated in the backyard where they then develop bad habits such as chewing inappropriate items, excessive barking, digging and escaping in search of companionship. A backyard dog does not learn proper manners on his own, nor will he outgrow any bad habits.

If you have acquired a dog that you expect will guard and protect your house and family it is useless to have it in the backyard where it barks while the burglar is inside the house safely going through your possessions. If you think of your dog as protection, your dog needs to be where it can protect you and your family -- in the house.

Still don’t think you need a crate? A crate can also come in really handy if you are going to travel with your dog. The crate will give your dog a familiar place to rest in, especially when you have to leave him behind in a hotel room by himself, while you are going out for dinner or sight seeing. Or what about if you want to bring him along on a visit to your not-so-dog-loving family? They may be more inclined to agree to keep the dog inside the house if you can assure them that your dog will not be causing any problems.

Furnishing the crate:

Provide one toy, preferably a safe chew toy such as the "Kong" or one of these new hard rubber toys that will hold treats. Check out Toys. These toys will keep your dog entertained for a while. Use a water bowl that cannot easily be tipped over. In addition place a blanket or some other bedding in the crate to provide the dog with a comfortable sleeping area. Please note that some dogs, especially the longhaired types, may prefer to sleep without a blanket.

Location of the crate:

Keep the crate in an area where the dog can see what is going on. This will prevent feelings of isolation and loneliness. If possible the crate should be in your bedroom at night.

Introducing your dog to the crate:

Teaching your dog to go in its crate can be just as much fun as teaching him any other trick. If you aren’t using a clicker to mark desired behaviors, you can use a verbal "yes" or "good" instead of the click, during the following exercise.

There is no specific time frame for this exercise. Some dogs don’t have a problem with going and staying in a crate at all, others need more time to adjust. Let your dog’s comfort level be your guide as to how fast you can move. It is better to err on going too slow than to push too hard.

Show your dog a treat and then throw it into the crate. Let the dog investigate and click when it goes into the crate. The treat is already there. Repeat this several times.
Now act as if you are throwing a treat in the crate and then wait quietly. Don’t try to coax your dog to go in, let HIM figure it out. Most dogs will go in within a short while. Click and toss a treat into the crate. Then let your dog come back out. Repeat this several times. Only move on to the next step, if you are successful.
The next step is not to act as if you are throwing a treat into the crate anymore.
Just sit in front of the open crate and WAIT. Now initially this may take 30 to 60 minutes, which may seem an eternity to wait, but please be patient. Give your dog a chance to figure this out. Click and throw in a handful of treats if he goes into the crate. If he absolutely cannot figure it out, go back to the last step. Now you need to practice going into the crate for several brief sessions. Always let your dog come back out after you click. You can however start to delay the click a little bit at a time, to get your dog used to staying in there. If your dog’s behavior becomes very reliable, that means, every time he comes out of the crate, he immediately goes back in, you can start introducing your cue that will let him know what you want him to do. I say "in the box", but you can use any word you like, examples "night, night", "kennel up" etc. -- just be consistent. Initially you will say this just before your dog enters the crate, and then gradually you say it a little sooner until your cue becomes the signal for your dog to go into the crate.
You can now close the crate door for a brief moment when your dog goes in. Click and treat before he gets a chance to get upset, then open the door and let him out again. Gradually increase the time you keep the door closed. Don’t walk away from the crate in the beginning. First we work on increasing the time. Once your dog is comfortable to stay in there for 15 minutes with you nearby, you can start adding distance to the exercise. That means you go away briefly, maybe to the door, then come back, give your dog a click and a treat. Make sure your dog sits quietly before you let him out. Slowly increase your distance; this probably means you will be going out of sight. Keep those out of sight training exercises short in the beginning. There is nothing gained if you push it too far and your dog gets upset. If he starts barking and whining you will have to wait until he is quiet again, before you return and let him out. If you rush back once he starts complaining, you are only teaching him that this is the fastest way to bring you back and to get him out of the crate. It is much easier to prevent this problem than to cure it.

Important Reminders:

Puppies under 4 months have little bladder and sphincter control. Younger puppies have even less and should not be left in a crate for more than 30 minutes to 2 hours. If your puppy needs to be alone for longer periods of time it is better to provide a puppy proof area which gives the puppy a place to eliminate without soiling its sleeping quarters.

Always remove collars when crating your dog to avoid injury or strangulation.

Do not keep your dog in a crate outside where it could be subject to the elements, such as rain, cold or hot weather.

Make sure that your dog has relieved itself and had adequate exercise before you crate it. Always provide fresh water.

Do not allow children to play in your dog’s crate or to handle the dog while it is in the crate. The crate is your dog’s private sanctuary. His rights to privacy should be respected.

Do not crate your dog if it has diarrhea or is vomiting.

Do not crate your dog for an excessive period of time. The dog should not live in the crate. If it has to be in the crate while you are at work then you should try to avoid crating it for another 8 hours while you sleep. A puppy 6 months or older may already be able to have the crate door open at night while in your bedroom.

Make leaving and coming home a casual affair. If you do not make a big deal out of it, your dog will learn to look at it the same way. Put your dog into the crate 10 minutes before you leave and do not pay any more attention to the dog. When you come home, keep it low key. Ignore the dog for 5 minutes or until he is quiet, then open the crate and casually take your dog outside to relieve himself. Then break into a play session or take him for a walk.

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