Crate Training
When bringing a new puppy, or a dog of any age into your home it is vital to provide your companion with a safe place to call their own. Similar to a bedroom, the crate experience should make your dog feel safe and relaxed. Unfortunately many dogs experience stress, separation anxiety and fear with their crates as they are typically used only when their owner leaves the home. During the crate training process it is extremely important to start puppies as early as possible to set them up for success. However, if you have adopted a dog and don’t know their past crating experiences, or you wish to begin teaching an older dog crate skills you can start at any age with a little bit of patience!
Benefits of crate training:
- In case of emergency, your dog is easy to locate in the home
- Limits destructive behavior due to boredom
- Safe space to decompress
- Creates healthy separation from owners to encourage independence
- Ease during travel – promotes calm car manners
- Aids in potty training
- Creates routine and structure
How to introduce crate training to your home:
- Purchase a crate that is appropriate size for your dog
- If you have brought home a new puppy, purchase a crate for their predicted size and use a crate divider to make it smaller/larger as the puppy grows
- Your crate should be large enough that your dog can stand up, turn around and lie down
- For new puppies, do NOT put potty pads in their crate – this will communicate to them that peeing in their crate is allowed
- Start by setting up the crate in an area of your home that your dog can see you
- Allow your dog to explore the crate on their own before asking them to interact with it
Teaching the cue “Crate”
- Using a high value reward to get your dog’s attention, begin by throwing treats into the back of the crate – this will make a sound that will be interesting and motivate your dog to enter the crate to investigate
- Allow your dog the freedom to go in, retrieve the reward and come right back out
- Repeat this step multiple times
- After a number of repetitions, introduce your “cue word” (ex: crate, kennel, bed, etc)
- When you throw the treat into the crate, introduce your cue – “Rover, crate”
- Repeat numerous times so that your dog is learning: action = word association
- TRY – Attempt to ask your dog to go in the crate but do not throw the reward, wait a few moments to see if he/she enters on their own. If they do then offer the reward following the completed action
- If your dog does not enter on their own, continue conditioning
- Once your dog has achieved entering the crate, close the door for brief periods of time in between the rewards – this will allow them to get comfortable with the door closing on them – gradually extend the period the door is closed
Crate Tricks
- Ensure your dog’s crate is comfortable (i.e. bed, blanket)
- Provide them with mental stimulation in the crate (i.e. bone, chews)
- Try placing the crate in different areas of your home to find where your dog is most content
- Take your dog on a walk or play with them when you know they will have to be in their crate for longer periods of time to ensure they are physically exerted and their needs are met
- Cover the crate with a blanket to make it feel safer but leave a portion open to ensure proper airflow
No matter what, don’t get discouraged. Teaching your dog new skills requires a bit of patience to set them up for success but with repeated action and conditioning your dog will be crate trained in no time!