Crate Training

L

liowkc

New Member
Crate or obedience training may be required for a dog that chews on objects while his owner is away. Placing your dog in a crate while you are at work may save your home from being chewed up. Place your dog's belongings, food and water in the crate so that he will feel more secure.
 
I always thought crate training is just the "easier way".
Locking the dog in a crate is mush more easier than theaching him that he shouldn't do something.
Imagine that you have a child, and you lock him in a box when you go away, instead of telling him that he shouldn't open the door to strangers.
 
but if ur not there to teach aren't setting ur pup up to fail?? i agree that a crate is not a babysitter and that 3-4 hours is the max a pup should b e crated w/o a significant break. i do also prefer to teach/reward what i do want but leaving a pup loose in the house would be asking for trouble. did i misunderstand--miss something??
 
I believe in crate training myself. All 3 of my dogs are crate trained, and go to their crates on their own, and when I'm ready to go to work, they are in the crates waiting for me to close the doors. The longest they are in is about 4.5 hours, then I'm home for lunch and play with them and have them go potty for 40-45 minutes, then it's back in the crates for another 3-4 hours. Then at night, they sometimes sleep in their crates on their own terms, with the doors open. Or they sleep on the bed with me. Their option.

Another thing to add about crate training, you really need to make the crate a FUN place. You don't just put the dog in until they get used to it, or not like it at all. I played lots of games with my dogs and their crates and it's not only a safe haven for them, it's a place of fun as well, and a place to relax.
 
I crate trained my pug, which was pretty easy and like your dogs he likes his crate and goes into it whenever he pleases. He would much rather sleep with us than in his crate though. But I was wondering what type of games you played with your pups in their crates. I have a new puppy who is not taking to the crate like my pug did. He is now generally quite through out the night, but during the day when we leave to go somewhere he gets upset at going into his cage. Any suggestions? I realize though, we have only had our new pup, Diego, for about a week and he is three months old, and was a stray, so it may take more time for him I guess. My pug, stan, came froma breeder who kept the pups contained in a large crate because she had about 8 adult dogs (!!!), so my guess is he was already kind of accustomed to this practice and didn't need a whole lot of incouragement to enjoy it. Anywho.... any suggestions are welcome!
 
Put a to die for treat in his crate every time he goes in. Esp if you'll be gone for a while put a kong full of goodies in it and freeze it for longer fun. If you are worried about calories it can even be his meal mixed with some broth or something that will freeze. Plug the ends with non sweetened peanut butter.

Start training by putting a treat in the crate and have him get it and come right back out. Then when he does that 80% of the time use a word cue like kennel. After he gets the word you can say the word-if he goes in then you hand him the treat. You just went from lure to reward!! Very important. I always hide food in the crate or put something great in there. Sometimes with a kong I'll put a piece of turkey lunch meat (which is the BEST) and she's usually waiting to go in eagerly.

There is a great DVD called Crate Games that is also a good way to train. I think it's on Amazon, if not then on Dogwise. There's a good vid about the difference between lure/treat/shaping that demonstrates too a nice way to get your dog to go to his crate. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag6qFN1j7es&feature=related[/media] IMHO he would get faster results with a clicker but this works too. Nice demo and clear.

Kong recipes (just google kong recipes or kong recipes puppy
http://blueboychihuahuas.com/nutrition/kong_recipes.html
http://dogs.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/dog_recipes_for_kong_chew_toys.php
http://www.labmed.org/catalog/kong2.html
Or just google kong recipes. Just be aware there are some human foods dogs should not eat. If you're not sure you can google that or ask back here for help. Examples are
grapes/raisins. The first link blueboy, has a bad foods link at the bottom it wasn't working today, maybe under construction. This one seems pretty comprehensive http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/Foods-poisonous-bad-dogs.htm

Realize too he's going to cry and SCREAM a bit because he's a puppy. Esp the younger he is when you get him the harder it is to self entertain. His crate should be in the bedroom at night so he can hear you and you can hear if he needs to go out. And he may need to go out 1-2 times a night until he's 6-9 mos, longer if a small breed dog. They don't have control over those muscles until 9 or so mos. I have two crates. One in the bedroom and one in the family room for when we eat or cook etc and I can't watch 100% but puppy is still in with us and can see and hear.

Last suggestion is an X-pen sold at most pet stores. It's a bit bigger but no bottom so a tile floor with a pee pad would be a good idea if you use it. Either that or wait until puppy is older or be sure and take him out often enough.
:dogtongue2:
 
thank you for all of that info! the video was very helpful too. i realize now that i was definately doing things wrong with my pug, so if i would not have asked you about these things i would be sure to do them wrong with my new pup! thank you so much.
 
Rest assured that most of my advice and others is there because we made our own mistakes. I surely do my share but have learned to laugh at them with time when all goes wrong. Asking for advice and not having to reinvent things is always easier.

You're very welcome. :dogsmile:
 
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