How to teach your dog to love the crate

Crating a dog is a great way to keep both a puppy and your belongings safe when you are away from the house or cannot watch your pup. A crate keeps your dog safe during car trips. For those planning on doing dog shows or trials, your dog must be comfortable in the crate, and dogs used to being crated are more relaxed if they have to be kenneled at the vet or boarding. Dogs with separation anxiety who destroy things or potty in the house may need to be crated when left alone. In most cases, the crate is a temporary training tool. Once your dog is reliable and potty trained, she can have the run of the house--or part of it--quite safely.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Appropriate sized crate
• <br>Chew toys
• <br>Water and food dishes
• <br>Crate pad or blanket

1. If you are crate training a puppy, bear in mind dogs are social creatures and a new puppy is confused and missing her littermates. Remember, a dog learns very little by sitting in a crate. All she is learning is how to be quiet while caged, so don't overuse a crate. A crate should be placed where the family spends its time, not in a den or empty room. Dogs are social animals and it is unfair and scary to socially isolate a dog by caging it away from the rest of the pack. Leave the crate door open. Put treats and food in the crate. It is OK to feed your dog in there. In fact feeding your puppy in the crate is a great way to make it a happy place for her. Let the pup go in and out of the crate, leaving the door open. If your pup likes to chase toys, throw the toy into the crate for her to retrieve.

2. Have a command for her crate and use it each time she goes in (e.g., "Crate up!"). Reward with a treat, toy or praise each time. If you use a treat, make it an extra special one that she only gets for going into her crate. Once she is used to it, encourage her in and close the door. Sit next to it and tell her how good she is. Gradually lengthen the time she is closed in. Start leaving the room for short periods of time. Expect some barking and whining--remember, this can be quite confusing for dogs. Imagine how you would feel if you were randomly locked in a small, confined space with no explanation! A good time to start closing the door is when your pup is already tired from play and you are sure she doesn't need to potty.

3. To get your pup acclimated, it is extremely important to ignore barking, whining and howling. Wait until she is quiet for a few minutes to let her out. When you let her out, don't make a fuss. You don't want to give her the idea that she is being “let free.” Leave the crate door open--many dogs will start going in there to sleep or to settle down with a chew toy, because it's a comfortable place for them.

4. When you leave your dog, make sure she has water--you can buy buckets that attach to the crate so they won't tip over--and something to chew on. An excellent and stimulating chew toy for crates is a Kong, one of those dog toys that you stuff with food that your dog has to work hard at removing. Make sure you leave your dog only with safe things to chew--nothing that she may bite into small pieces and choke on. A crate pad, dog bed or old blanket lets her make a comfy little nest for herself.

5. Dogs and puppies who are left alone in crates too long become frustrated and bored. Make plenty of time for your pup to be out with the family, learning and interacting. Crates are for our convenience and for the safety of the dog. If your dog is stuck in the crate for 8 hours while you're at work, then in the evenings when the family is out, then again all night--that is too much! Limit its use to when absolutely necessary. The most common defense of crating is “the dog is like a wolf and they sleep in dens, so it's natural.” Yes, but wolves are pack animals and aren't alone in their den. And wolves spend a great deal of their lives being very active hunting, traveling and interacting with other wolves. They don't stay in their dens 16 hours a day.

Tips & Warnings

• Puppies cannot “hold it” for more than 3 or 4 hours. Leaving a pup in the crate too long often results in willingness to soil their crates--something they will not do naturally--and coprophagia (poop-eating).
• <br>Make sure the crate is large enough for the dog to stand tall, turn around and stretch out. For growing puppies you can buy dividers for a large crate to minimize the space and adjust as she grows.
• Never use the crate for punishment. Using it for “time outs” is great. Always praise for quiet behavior!
• <br>Never physically force a dog into a crate. Use encouragement and rewards, not force.