Crate Training

by **Dan+Bec13** » October 10th, 2009, 1:43 pm

Hey everyone. I am looking for advice on how to crate train our foster rose. When in the crate she is fine, she doesn't whine or cry and she doesn't try and break out. The problem we are having is that she does not like to go in on her own. At first we were able to "trick" her by putting treats in there and she would go in to get them, but that doesn't work anymore. We have to physically pick her up, take her to the crate, and put her inside of it. I really don't want her to think that the crate is a punishment and I thought she was getting better at getting into the crate, but the past week seems to have set us back. When we first got her to the house we had the crate in the living room for her to go in, but since we thought she was doing better we moved it into the guest room and soon after is when she started to be very reluctant.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I think our little foster rose had a tough life of being in her crate for long periods of time before we got her. We just want to get her to realize it isn't a "bad" place and get her ready for when she is adopted out.

by **Malli** » October 10th, 2009, 2:13 pm

I don't have a lot of training experience, but here's what I'd do.

Move the crate back to the living room.

teach her a "kennel" command. Start by putting food in the crate and saying the word, she can run in, get the food, and run out. Then get her to go in, and keep her in with treats (and praise). Eventually work to her "stay"ing and and being able to shut the door for a few seconds, then a little longer etc.

I would think it would be better if she wouldn't spend extended periods of time in there right now, though that may not be possible.

In the end of it all she knows YOU aren't going to leave her in the crate forever like the last people did, she knows you are not the same. My dog doesn't like his crate, but IMO he doesn't have to, he just have to go in an be relatively quiet. I'd prefer he like it and he did used to moreso, but sometimes things don't work out that way

by **mnp13** » October 10th, 2009, 6:31 pm

And I'd also feed her dinner in her crate.

by **dlynne1123** » October 12th, 2009, 1:42 pm

Anything fun, should be in the crate waiting for her, bones, food, dinner times always in the crate. And, a no nonsensical attitude. Eventually the pouty face will be replaced with, great its dinner time then nap time!! No bones or food out of the crate for now. She has to be in the crate to get it. Keep picking her up or dragging her to the crate. She thinks pouting and resisting is gonna lead you to giving up first. AFter enough reps of it not working, she'll give up and just go in. Then, the food and bones allow it to release the bad place with good place frame of mind.

Use your dinner schedule with your crate training for now, and apply a command.

Good luck!

by **TheRedQueen** » October 12th, 2009, 4:08 pm

Crate training articles:

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/crate.htm

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/58

by **jmashaney** » October 12th, 2009, 6:43 pm

mnp13 wrote:And I'd also feed her dinner in her crate.

This definitely works. We've had several fosters that were not fond of crating, and once they figured out that dinner was served there, the "kennel" command was a breeze!

by **Dan+Bec13** » October 14th, 2009, 4:51 pm

Thanks everyone. I think we are going ot move the crate back until she becomes a little more friendly to getting in without us shoving her. The biggest problem with dinner in the crate is it takes her forever to go in and eat and she takes a mouthful then runs out. She is a funny little dog. Then we have one more big problem, keeping Maddie from going in there and "helping" Rose finish her food. Maddie is a huge bitch.

by **maberi** » October 14th, 2009, 4:53 pm

Dan+Bec13 wrote:Thanks everyone. I think we are going ot move the crate back until she becomes a little more friendly to getting in without us shoving her. The biggest problem with dinner in the crate is it takes her forever to go in and eat and she takes a mouthful then runs out. She is a funny little dog. Then we have one more big problem, keeping Maddie from going in there and "helping" Rose finish her food. Maddie is a huge bitch.

Won't she eat if you just close the door?

by **katiek0417** » October 14th, 2009, 4:56 pm

maberi wrote:
Dan+Bec13 wrote:Thanks everyone. I think we are going ot move the crate back until she becomes a little more friendly to getting in without us shoving her. The biggest problem with dinner in the crate is it takes her forever to go in and eat and she takes a mouthful then runs out. She is a funny little dog. Then we have one more big problem, keeping Maddie from going in there and "helping" Rose finish her food. Maddie is a huge bitch.

Won't she eat if you just close the door?

That's what I was wondering....

And, I mean, honestly, not to sound harsh...but she's not going to starve herself....if you shut the door and she doesn't eat, just feed her the next meal in there...she'll figure it out....

Like I said I don't mean to sound harsh (and I don't know her history)...

by **Dan+Bec13** » October 14th, 2009, 5:12 pm

No one is sounding harsh and I understand what you are saying. To answer the question that's a big maybe. We have done that with her and she had ate her food, but also she will just leave it or spill it all over the crate. Maybe it's just been so long since I have had to be kind of a "bastard" to a dog and I'm just playing into her game.

by **katiek0417** » October 14th, 2009, 5:23 pm

Dan+Bec13 wrote:No one is sounding harsh and I understand what you are saying. To answer the question that's a big maybe. We have done that with her and she had ate her food, but also she will just leave it or spill it all over the crate. Maybe it's just been so long since I have had to be kind of a "bastard" to a dog and I'm just playing into her game.

It's all good...I always hate doing stuff like that to my dogs! :wink:

But, I have a puppy that I'm raising, and it's a little different, but he would go outside, then come back in and poop in his crate immediately...and I figured out that he was doing it b/c he realized that by pooping in his crate he got to go back out...so, the next time he did it, I took him out of one crate and put him in a different one while I cleaned the first one out...guess what? That was the last time he pooped in his crate...

So, as soon as I got a little tougher and stopped giving in, he figured out what he should do rather than what he wanted to do....

by **Malli** » October 14th, 2009, 5:37 pm

yeah you can still love your dog and realize that they are manipulative little bastards :devil:

You just gotta manipulate back :wink:

by **madremissy** » October 14th, 2009, 8:55 pm

I found that putting a sheet over Kinzyl's kennel helped her feel more secure about it. Her kennel is in my bedroom up against the wall. It is turned sideways because she has two doors. I cover up the back and sides and leave the front open. When I first started putting her in there, I did what other people had said and fed her in there every night for a week. I would leave her in there for about 30 minutes after. A couple of times during the day she would go in with a peanut butter filled kong. She doesn't mind it at all now. I love the kennel. It is very useful for us when we go to the lake and the racetrack. She has a safe place to stay and rest but still be with us when we are outside of the motorhome. Just my experience. :dance:

Disclaimer. She does not pull the sheet in and Gotty does. He has been crate trained since he was a little baby so he loves his crate. If your dogs shreds anything or will pull a blanket or sheet in don't do it.

by **Marinepits** » October 14th, 2009, 9:09 pm

madremissy wrote:
Disclaimer. She does not pull the sheet in and Gotty does. He has been crate trained since he was a little baby so he loves his crate. If your dogs shreds anything or will pull a blanket or sheet in don't do it.

Excellent point! If your dog ends up eating the shredded fabric, that can end up being a foreign body blockage, an expensive surgery, and long recovery.

by **TheRedQueen** » October 22nd, 2009, 9:32 pm

Clicker training an abused mule to go into a stall...the same methods I'd use for a dog fearful of a crate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCtrtbdXkVw

by **kera09** » October 22nd, 2009, 10:26 pm

when we first got lulu she did not go in a crate. But after eating cat poop, cat food and our food out of cupboards and the garbage i got her a crate! at first she hated it! i did carry her and toss her in there, maybe i was a bit harsh, BUT it did work! :dance:

Now i say "in your crate" and ALMOST all the time she will willingly walk down the stairs to the basement into her crate. Sometimes she will put up a fight and lay on the couch belly up, breaks my heart! Tommorrow im buying her a newer smaller crate (shes in a crate that would fight a 100 lb dog and shes only 40 lbs lol

. We will set up the new crate in the living room! good luck she will get the hang of it very soon!

by **AshleyJade** » October 23rd, 2009, 8:33 am

When I first got Sadie, you could tell she'd never been in a crate before. It didn't take long to get the hang of it though.

What does she get excited about? Sadie is NUTTY for a ball. So I would hold her, toss the ball into the crate, get her REALLY excited about the ball, and then release her. She was CHARGE into the crate to get the ball. No matter what we played with her, it went into the crate. We fed her in there, we played with her in there, we did EVERYTHING in the crate.

Once she was ok with going in the crate, we made it somewhere that she really wanted to be. She's a big woose, and is always shivering like she's cold if she doesn't have a jacket on, or curled up in a blanket, so we put the warmest, fluffiest, pillow blanket combo we could find, and boy did she LOVE to nap in there. We put it where we spent the most time (in the computer room) with the door open, and she'd go in there just to nap, because it was the most awesome place to sleep. We didn't allow her on couches or beds, so that the crate was the most appealing place.

Now a days if you tell her "Crate" she gives me the "i'm so sad, don't you ever love me?" face, but its usually because im kicking her off of my bed, lol

.

Ashley

by **katiek0417** » October 23rd, 2009, 11:56 am

TheRedQueen wrote:Clicker training an abused mule to go into a stall...the same methods I'd use for a dog fearful of a crate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCtrtbdXkVw

Also a very good way to train a puppy to go in a crate! I used a clicker with Axo! And all I have to do is say "kennel" now, and he runs in!

Crate Training

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