Crate Training

Crate training is GREAT! Crate training allows owners to confine their dogs to one small area. Which allows for the owner to leave the dog, give the dog a place to sleep, give the dog a place to be comfortable (like you feel about your bedroom), potty train the dog, etc.

Why We Crate Train

When people ask us to train their dog to be “crate trained” it means one of two things:

1) They haven’t crate trained the dog

2) They have tried to and their dog doesn’t like the crate

Tips For Crate Training

Here are some common tips for crate training:

1) Toss kibbles in the crate and have the dog go in the crate to get them.

2) Feed the dog their meals in the crate.

3) Put a blanket in their. Put some toys in there.

Steps For Crate Training

1) Toss some kibbles by the crate

2) Start by getting the dog to take some steps in the kennel

3) Get the dog to go all the way in

4)

Note: Pair the dog going in the crate with a word. Ex. “Kennel Up” “Crate”

Common Crate Issues

Whining. Lots of times when first learning about the crate, dogs will whine. This is a behavior that will likely go away if it isn’t reinforced. This behavior is best to be ignored, but if it can’t be by the owner, it can be taught to go away.

Barking. Slightly louder and more annoying than whining, this is also common with some dogs when learning about the crate. This behavior is best to be ignored, but if it can’t be by the owner, it can be taught to go away. We may have to us a remote collar or a bark collar for this.

Scratching. This is commonly a sign of stress with dogs going in the crate and can be taught to go away. This behavior is normally paired with a bark. Normally dogs don’t scratch and not bark, normally the two behaviors are paired. The best way to fix this is normally with the remote collar.

Won’t go in the crate. Sometimes if dogs really hate the crate, they can make going into the crate a really hard thing to do. Put the crate up against something and try to put the dog in. Another thing you can do is feed the leash through the back of the kennel and have someone pull the dog in from one side as a way to get the dog in the kennel.

Running away when it’s time to go up. When dog owners are getting ready to go to work and the dog isn’t ready to go up, the dog will run around the house often leading to the owner chasing the dog around. When dogs do this, it is because they have picked up on the pattern of the owners. The best thing the owners can do is to get the dog about 15-30 minutes before it is their time to leave and put the dog up.

Pottying in the crate. See “Potty Training” in this same training unit for how to fix and deal with this.

Send Dog To Crate

Owners will often times want to be able to send their dog to the crate from a distance. Assuming the dog likes the crate, the best way to do this is by leading the dog to the crate, giving a command, and then motioning the dog towards the crate. Do this over and over, but have the dog go to the crate from distances that are further and further.

When you begin crate training it is important to not use the crate as a punishment. This does not mean you can’t not use the crate as a punishment, it just means in the beginning you shouldn’t use it as a punishment. We just don’t want them to view the crate negatively so we can use it as a helpful training tool later in training.

How to Use the Crate as a Training Tool 

The biggest thing to note is that the punishment is not in sending the dog to its crate. The punishment is removing the dog from the situation it wants to be in because it is not behaving correctly.

Calming Technique 

 If your dog is overly excited due to company or overstimulation and your training methods are not working sometimes the dog just needs to calm down. Ideally we would take the dog outside, play a game, or give them the exercise they need to refocus. However, sometimes we are not always in the ideal place to do so.

 For example, if your dog is so excited that guests are over the first thing we want to do is train through the situation. We want to use our training tools at our disposal (depending on the program) such as pet corrector spray, prong collar, or remote collar. If the efforts are not working, and you or the guests become frustrated it may be best for everyone to take a break.

 By placing your dog in the crate you are showing them that the behaviors they were demonstrating were not what allows them to visit with guests. Place them in the crate and ignore them. Once they calm down they can be let out of the crate to say hello, and the training process can resume/start over. If they are visiting the guests more politely/with improvement and are listening to your commands they can stay out of the crate and join the fun since hopefully the break in the crate allowed them to calm down. 

Pottying 

It is hard to train a dog to not potty when you are not home or supervising the dogs. When the clients aren’t home, the dogs need to be in some sort of confined area. Like a kennel or crate.

One big tip for using a crate as a potty training tool is space. Often times people buy a kennel that will hopefully be big enough for their puppy once it is full grown so they do not have to buy multiple crates. 

If a crate is too big for a puppy who is not potty trained they may go in one corner of the crate as long as they can sleep on the other side. 

A crate divider is essential in this case. Your puppy should have enough space to stand, turn around, and lay down comfortably with little extra space. 

Dogs are typically clean animals and prefer not to spoil when they sleep and eat. 

Another great way to use the crate is to use it to restrict their freedom in the home if they have not pottied outside. 

Sometimes when you take your dog outside, they do not potty. Then they immediately potty once they are inside. This dog has not made the connection that they are supposed to go potty outside, or they just got too distracted once they were out there.

A way to use the crate for this is to take the puppy outside. If it did not potty then we bring them in and immediately put them in the crate. We wait 10-20 minutes, and take them back out. If they potty GREAT. Then they can come in and have free roam of the house. If not then they need to go back to the crate and repeat the process.

Anxious Dogs

Dogs can have anxiety about different things just like people. Separation anxiety is a more common thing we see with some dogs. What is separation anxiety? Simply put, Separation anxiety happens when a dog that's hyper-attached to their owner gets super-stressed when left alone.

For more detailed information on separation anxiety please visit this link https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/separation-anxiety. 

When treating a dog with separation anxiety, the goal is to resolve the dog’s underlying anxiety by teaching him to enjoy, or at least tolerate, being left alone. 

If a dog views a crate as their safe place this can be a useful tool to help your dog feel more at ease when you are not there. However, for other dogs, the crate can cause added stress and anxiety. In order to determine whether or not you should try using a crate, monitor your dog’s behavior during crate training and when he’s left in the crate while you’re home. If he shows signs of distress (heavy panting, excessive salivation, frantic escape attempts, persistent howling or barking), crate confinement isn’t the best option for him. Instead of using a crate, you can try confining your dog to one room behind a baby gate. 

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