Crate Training Made Simple

Giving your dog a safe area to relax in and call their own is something a lot of owners struggle to get right. A lot of discussions start with “he’s never liked his crate” or “she gets super lonely in there and barks and whines for me”. In most cases your dog can learn to absolutely love their crate, so if you’re one of the owners who’s ready to give up or even if you’re an owner who’s ready to start, follow these steps to make sure your dog is all set.

Build a positive association before hand

Making their crate a nice place to be in is absolutely crucial from the dog’s point of view. How could they relax inside if they don’t even like being there? Make it welcoming by...

• Using comfy bedding

• Placing some of their favourite toys inside

• Using high-value treats to lure them in when it's ready

If you’re dealing with a puppy, then ideally we’ll be starting this on the very first day they arrive home. It’s important this is some of the first real training that they do because the quicker this happens, the less room for toileting mistakes or mischievous behaviours there are to take place.

The crate should never be used as a “timeout” area or for any other type of punishment if they’ve misbehaved. First of all, the idea of a “timeout” is a pretty alien concept to a dog and they most likely won’t understand what’s happening, creating confusion and anxiety. Second, forcing the dog into their crate when you’re angry and/or frustrated isn’t going to be very fun for them. Both of these go a long way to creating a negative association, making our job here even harder.

Let’s start the actual training

Some dogs might take to their crate immediately whilst for others it could take weeks for them to fully accept it. Either way it’s important to take it at your dog’s pace and not to rush anything...remember that negative association we’re trying to avoid? Follow these steps to set yourself and your dog up for success.

• Lure them with treats-leave the door wide open and allow them to sniff around if they feel like it. Then start by throwing in some super tasty treats (chicken, bacon, cheese, etc...) to entice them to go inside.

• Allow them to come straight back out-we’re taking baby steps here, so as long as they’ve stepped inside that’s all that matters.

• Don’t quickly slam the door behind them!-Trapping them like a wild animal is a great way to start tearing down any trust your dog has in you, especially if it’s a pup.

• Be generous with the treats-once they’re comfortable walking in and out, start feeding even more treats to encourage them to stay inside for a bit longer, even if only a few seconds.

• Ask for certain behaviours-sit, stay, lie down are great for keeping them from walking straight back out again without being overly forceful.

• Start slowly closing the door a bit at a time-see how they react, if they seem unsure then go back a few steps.

• Close, treat, open-use this routine to close the door all the way over then feed a treat to them while they’re inside. Immediately open the door back up again and let them come out.

• Increase the time they’re inside-start with just five seconds and see if you can incrementally work your way up to 1 minute.

• Do other stuff around the house-stay within sight of your dog but don’t fully interact with them, after about 30 seconds, or however long you think your dog can handle, come back, give them a treat before letting them back out.

• Allow them to walk in and out as they please-during the day keeping the door open and letting them go in and out on their own terms makes them feel more comfortable.

• Regularly encourage them to sleep in their crate-after a play session or walk, they’ll probably be pretty sleepy so encourage them into their crate and as they’re about to drift off, start slowly closing over the door, being careful not to startle them.

Eventually your dog will start seeing the crate as a reward in itself just as they do with lying on the couch or your bed, so treats won’t be necessary any more and closing the gate over won't be an issue. This is the positive association you’ve worked so hard to build and now hopefully it should all be paying off. How long you decide to keep your dog crated, whether it be just for a few months or as a regular part of their life, is up to you.

"I've tried all these but nothing seems to be working!"

If you're finding yourself saying something along those lines, then don't give up hope yet. It might be the case that your dog just isn't okay with being left in their crate for whatever reason. A solution to this could be using a play pen, this can be more suitable for a dog who feels they need more space than a regular crate could provide. When using a play pen it's important to pick the right size so they can't just use it as a hurdle in their own private agility course.

So let's (very gently) close the gate on this...

If there's only one thing you can take away from this hopefully it's that building the positive association is key. If you keep that mind and have a little patience then everything else including all the other steps should just naturally fall in line. Reinforcement, calmness, and consistency are critical, if you stick to these ideas then you'll be making the whole process as smooth as possible for both you and your dog.