What to Do About a Puppy Who Resists Crate Training
Monday, September 3, 2018
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The crate is one of the best and safest places for your puppy when you cannot keep 100% of your attention on the puppy. It will also prevent your puppy from developing unwanted problem behavior like chewing on your shoes or furniture, peeing on your carpet or jumping up to greet visitors. It also prevents the puppy from getting into life threatening situation like chewing on electrical wires!
Many puppies will make a fuss about being confined in a crate and this tears on the heart string of their new owners who tend to give into the puppies cry and release the puppy or try to comfort it in the crate. This is exactly what every new puppy owner should avoid doing when crate training a puppy as it will make the whole training process tough when it shouldn't be.
Here are more things to avoid doing when working on puppy crate training:
Never use the crate for punishment
Never use the crate to confine the puppy for long periods of time while you are away right off the start.
Never give your puppy attention, that means looking, talking, or releasing the puppy when he/she is crying in the crate
Never force your puppy into its crate
If you have done any of these things stop it right now or you'll never get your puppy to love the crate.
Here are quick steps to follow when crate training even the most resistant puppy:
Make the crate nice and comfortable for the puppy with a soft pillow or blanket.
Place the crate in a high traffic area like the kitchen and drop yummy treats in the back of the crate when the puppy isn't looking for the puppy to discover. Try also making a treat trail for the puppy from the outside of the crate to the back to tempt he puppy to go in the crate and discover the really good treats in the back of the crate.
Feed the puppy its meals in the crate always with the door opened.
With a heavy rope tie yummy stuffed chew toy, like the Kong, or a marrow bone, to the back of the crate so that the puppy has to stay in the crate to enjoy the chew toy.
After a few days of this type of crate training start teaching the puppy to go in on cue, I like to use "Go Bed", and throw a yummy treat into the crate, praise the puppy as it goes into the crate and eats the treat, then order the puppy out with a cue of your choice and praise the puppy when he/she exits. Do not give treats here just verbal praise and affection.
Repeat this a few times and then change the order of events. Cue the puppy to "Go Bed", Do Not throw the treat in and do not cue a second time! Wait for the puppy to go in. Patience is a virtue here if you wait long enough the puppy will go in eventually, only give your puppy the treat when he/she is in the crate.
If puppy doesn't go in end the session and try again in about 10 minutes. Go through step 6 again and when the puppy goes in (they all eventually go into the crate) give the puppy a double or triple treat, one at a time. Repeat this a few more times and end the session leaving the puppy wanting more, always leave them wanting more.
When your puppy goes in and out on cue start closing the door for a few seconds and treating through the crate door and then order the puppy out of the crate and repeat a couple more times keeping the crate door closed a bit longer.
Watch a movie or your favorite TV shows with your puppy. Prepare some extra yummy chews in to the crate and place the crate right next to your TV watching chair. Cue the puppy to go into the crate, when he/she goes in give your puppy the chews, lock the door and start the watching you movie or TV show.
Leave a few times to get some refreshments or popcorn but be sure to return in about a minute or so. This is your puppy's first experience at being locked in and it should be an easy and a good one.
Ignore any noise, whining or tantrums from the puppy, not a peep from you!
When the movie or show is over and if the puppy is quiet and settled in the crate open the door and let him out. Do not make a fuss, and offer no attention to the puppy.
Never open the door is the puppy is acting up, scratching or misbehaving in the crate otherwise you will condition this behavior in your dog.
For the next few days work on locking in your puppy in the crate while you are at home going about your business for moderate periods of time, up to an hour or two. Ignore your puppy when it starts to fuss, always make sure there are lots of fun chews in the crate and always release you puppy when it's sitting or lying quietly in it's crate. Remember all the good things should happen in the crate and being released should be an anticlimax of the whole crate training experience.
There you go crate training that will even work on the most resistant puppies. Also be sure that the crate is a special fun and safe place for your puppy. Never use it as punishment or let children to taunt or bother the puppy when it the crate.
Many puppies will make a fuss about being confined in a crate and this tears on the heart string of their new owners who tend to give into the puppies cry and release the puppy or try to comfort it in the crate. This is exactly what every new puppy owner should avoid doing when crate training a puppy as it will make the whole training process tough when it shouldn't be.
Here are more things to avoid doing when working on puppy crate training:
Never use the crate for punishment
Never use the crate to confine the puppy for long periods of time while you are away right off the start.
Never give your puppy attention, that means looking, talking, or releasing the puppy when he/she is crying in the crate
Never force your puppy into its crate
If you have done any of these things stop it right now or you'll never get your puppy to love the crate.
Here are quick steps to follow when crate training even the most resistant puppy:
Make the crate nice and comfortable for the puppy with a soft pillow or blanket.
Place the crate in a high traffic area like the kitchen and drop yummy treats in the back of the crate when the puppy isn't looking for the puppy to discover. Try also making a treat trail for the puppy from the outside of the crate to the back to tempt he puppy to go in the crate and discover the really good treats in the back of the crate.
Feed the puppy its meals in the crate always with the door opened.
With a heavy rope tie yummy stuffed chew toy, like the Kong, or a marrow bone, to the back of the crate so that the puppy has to stay in the crate to enjoy the chew toy.
After a few days of this type of crate training start teaching the puppy to go in on cue, I like to use "Go Bed", and throw a yummy treat into the crate, praise the puppy as it goes into the crate and eats the treat, then order the puppy out with a cue of your choice and praise the puppy when he/she exits. Do not give treats here just verbal praise and affection.
Repeat this a few times and then change the order of events. Cue the puppy to "Go Bed", Do Not throw the treat in and do not cue a second time! Wait for the puppy to go in. Patience is a virtue here if you wait long enough the puppy will go in eventually, only give your puppy the treat when he/she is in the crate.
If puppy doesn't go in end the session and try again in about 10 minutes. Go through step 6 again and when the puppy goes in (they all eventually go into the crate) give the puppy a double or triple treat, one at a time. Repeat this a few more times and end the session leaving the puppy wanting more, always leave them wanting more.
When your puppy goes in and out on cue start closing the door for a few seconds and treating through the crate door and then order the puppy out of the crate and repeat a couple more times keeping the crate door closed a bit longer.
Watch a movie or your favorite TV shows with your puppy. Prepare some extra yummy chews in to the crate and place the crate right next to your TV watching chair. Cue the puppy to go into the crate, when he/she goes in give your puppy the chews, lock the door and start the watching you movie or TV show.
Leave a few times to get some refreshments or popcorn but be sure to return in about a minute or so. This is your puppy's first experience at being locked in and it should be an easy and a good one.
Ignore any noise, whining or tantrums from the puppy, not a peep from you!
When the movie or show is over and if the puppy is quiet and settled in the crate open the door and let him out. Do not make a fuss, and offer no attention to the puppy.
Never open the door is the puppy is acting up, scratching or misbehaving in the crate otherwise you will condition this behavior in your dog.
For the next few days work on locking in your puppy in the crate while you are at home going about your business for moderate periods of time, up to an hour or two. Ignore your puppy when it starts to fuss, always make sure there are lots of fun chews in the crate and always release you puppy when it's sitting or lying quietly in it's crate. Remember all the good things should happen in the crate and being released should be an anticlimax of the whole crate training experience.
There you go crate training that will even work on the most resistant puppies. Also be sure that the crate is a special fun and safe place for your puppy. Never use it as punishment or let children to taunt or bother the puppy when it the crate.