Crate Training is not Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The issue of crate training has sparked controversy among dog owners
for decades...but, we've come a long way in recent years. Now,
the majority of dog fanciers recommend using crates, particularly
for puppies or older, rescued dogs.

There are pros and cons to using crates, just as with any other
training tool. The biggest problem seems to be that people tend
to either mis-use the crate, or, they tend not to teach their dog
that it's a safe place -- just putting the dog in, shutting the
door (most of the time, leaving food and water, but nothing to really
occupy the dog!) and leaving. Sometimes for truly extended periods
of time! My personal feeling on this topic is: if you feel the
desire to crate your dog for longer than the period you are away
from home (normally 8 to 10 hours, for those who work outside the
home), then why do you have the dog, in the first place? My own
dogs are not crate-trained -- but not because I feel it's wrong
to do this. I am at home with them, so it's not necessary. I do
feel, though, that if I travelled with them regularly, a crate would
be very useful -- say, in a hotel room. It would give my dogs that
"always at home" feeling. A crate can give your dog a quiet place
to nap, away from the kids. A crate can be used to confine your
puppy during housetraining, if there is no possible means to install
a doggie door, or to keep him from eating the house when unsupervised.
It can be the safest place for your dog to be, while travelling in the car.

To properly train your older dog to the crate, you have to teach
the dog that his crate is the best place for him to be -- that he
should WANT to be in there. So, the absolute WORST way to do this
is to just toss the dog in, and close the door (try THAT with a
St. Bernard!! {grin}). You've just created a fear-response for
your dog -- to the place you would like for him to go into willingly.

When training your dog to accept the crate, the location of the
crate is of some importance. His crate will act as his den, a quiet
place to get away from it all. The size of the crate is also important.
Choose a crate that has enough room for your puppy to stand up,
turn around and lie down. If you use a crate that is too large,
you may find that the puppy sleeps at one end and urinates or defecates
at the other. If you own a puppy that will grow into a 100+lb dog,
you may have to buy two different crate sizes or purchase a crate
with a divider, or, simply put a box in one end, to reduce the interior size.

It should be understood that the crate is to be used for limited
periods, not for the course of a workday. And, the dog should get
lots of exercise with an opportunity to socialize. As a general
guide, your puppy can stay in his crate comfortably for as many
months as he is old (in hours), plus one hour. For example, if
he is two months old, he can remain crated for 2 hours + 1 hour...
making three hours in his crate. Older dogs shouldn't be crated
for longer than 8 or 9 hours during a 24-hour period... if you need
to be away longer, consider doggie daycare, pet-sitting, or even
whether you can provide for the dog's best interests at all.

Methodology: Teaching Your Dog to LIKE His Crate

Once you've selected your crate, and found a place for it, you're
more than half way there. To train your dog to crate use a single-word
command. Examples might be "Kennel", "Crate" "Room". Once you've
issued the command, entice him in with a treat that you toss into
the crate. Make it a treat that he really likes, not his kibble
(it's not interesting enough). Begin the exercise before he has
eaten. If he has just finished dinner, he won't be too interested
no matter what the treat is. When he enters, praise him and close
the crate door. Gradually increase the time that he spends in the
crate before you let him back out. Don't scold him if he makes it
only half way in. Instead, continue to work at this level until
he's more comfortable. Some dogs are natural skeptics and take
a little more time. They may require breaking it down, first the
head, then the front feet and so on. You want him to associate his crate with good things.

1) Take the door off his crate. Put the crate in the kitchen (or
whatever room the family tends to congregate in) so that he'll be
able to be near you, whenever he's in there (this will make him
alot more willing to spend time in there). If he's past the teething
stage, you can put a crate pad, or blanket in there (Saints prefer
the cold floor), to make it a little more comfortable. Start feeding
all his meals in the crate. Take his VERY FAVORITE toy, and tie
it to the back of the crate, so that he has to lay in there in order
to play with it. Occasionally, toss a really good treat in there,
as you walk past. When he goes in after the treat, say "Crate".
This will, eventually, condition him to enter the crate when you give the command "crate".

2) After about a week of teaching him that this is a GOOD THING,
put the door on. Don't close it, just yet -- you've changed it,
so you'll need to give him a couple of days to get used to it, again.
Just keep doing all the things you've been doing, including tossing
the treat in and giving the command "crate". After a couple of
days, while he's laying in there chewing on something, close the
door. Just 5 minutes. Stay in the room with him, and just keep
moving around, doing things, letting him see that everything is
the same -- but the door. Start doing this several times a day.
Close the door during meals, when you give him a chewy, whatever,
but stay in the room with him. If he starts to bark or whine, ignore
him -- but don't let him out, until he stops. If you let him out
while he's asking to be let out, you've created a problem for yourself
-- you've just rewarded behavior that you don't want to reward.

3) After a few days of shutting the door for 5 minutes at a time,
and staying in the room with him, start leaving the room for the
5-minute period. Everything else remains the same, except that
you leave the room. Depending on his behavior while you're gone
(no barking or whining), you can return at the end of the 5 minutes
and open the door -- if he's been a good boy, tell him so! If
he's barking or whining, don't return until he stops. Then, nonchalantly
enter the room, and open the door. Tell him what a good boy he is!

4) You can now start increasing the amount of time that he's crated.
Make sure he's had a potty break before you put him in there for
any real length of time (more than an hour), and don't leave food
in there for him. You can leave small amounts of water, or a bowl
of ice cubes, some mentally-stimulating toys, and a chewy for him.

Using these steps, you should be able to teach your dog to "crate"
successfully. You can put his crate at bedside, and have him sleep
there at night -- this will allow him to feel close to you, but
also give him his own space. If he occasionally requires some peace
and quiet (or you do!), then the crate is there. If you want to
take him with you on vacation, there are hotels that allow dogs
to accompany owners, if they're crated.

Now that you have successfully taught your dog to crate, remember
that he still needs time to play and eliminate. Make sure he takes
regular trips outside so that you aren't confining him for too long.
If you are housetraining him, take him out at regular intervals
and on leash to the same area in the yard where you want him to
eliminate, following the steps in OSR's Simple Housetraining article.
And don't forget to praise him when he is finished.

For the Tough Customer:

Don't give him his breakfast.... *yes*, you're going to feel like
the wicked witch... but he's going to learn to LOVE his crate.
Instead, take the door off his crate, and sit his food bowl outside
it. Then, every couple of hours, drop a couple of pieces of cheese,
sliced hotdog, liverwurst, grapes -- you get the idea -- INCREDIBLY
good stuff -- into his bowl, and walk away. When he's comfortably
approaching the bowl, start sitting it right inside, and do the
same. When he's comfortable sticking his head in, move it back
a little. Then, far enough that his front feet have to go in.
Make *sure* that, whatever you're giving him, you've giving HALF
the amount in CHEESE (you can even give him a couple of tablespoons
of cottage cheese or plain yogurt) -- this will reduce the chances of digestive upset.

When he's got half his body in the crate, start giving him *half-rations*
of his kibble, mixed with stuff like cottage cheese or peanut butter
-- but put it at the back of his crate. He's gonna be a hungry
boy, because it's gonna take 3-4 days to get to this point. Walk
over and stand by the crate and talk softly to him, while he eats.
When he's comfortable with you doing this, start giving him half-rations
3 to 4 times a day, in the same manner, and start using the "crate"
command when he enters. Talk to him the whole time. Then, put the
door back on, and do it for an extra day or so,
because you've changed it again... he'll need a little more time
(and, you might have to put his bowl back at the half-mark for a couple of feedings).

At this point, once he's comfortable, close the door til he's finished
eating, then let him out. When you've got him back to plain kibble,
entering the crate on command, and staying comfortably to eat, it's
time to start using the cheese-liverwurst-hotdog deal to start getting
him to go in again at night... drop off that last meal, to about
half-ration (at about 6 p.m.), and then use the heavy artillery to get him to crate at night.

You may never need to board him, again.

Brenda & Kim