· By Minou Tpain
Author: Denise Partlow
Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas
One of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make when it comes to crate training is they put the puppy in there themselves, shut the door and walk away. This leaves the puppy feeling trapped, they don’t know that it’s a positive space just yet. Instead what we should concentrate on is getting the puppy to walk in on their own four paws.
It’s important to also keep in mind that since he is a puppy, he’s used to being with his littermates and being solitary is really hard for any puppy at first; adult dogs too, dogs are social animals and being along can be difficult for some, but training can help them feel less anxious about it.
The first thing to do is find ways to get him to go in the crate on his own whether you throw treats in, guide him in with a leash or lure him in with a treat but then you let him come right back out and repeat. Don’t throw something in and then shut the door and walk away. That will just confirm his suspicions. Take it slowly.
Your dog will most likely cry or whine. That’s normal but it is really important that you don’t let him out when he’s crying or whining. In fact, don’t give him any interaction at all. Don’t look in his direction, don’t talk to him-not even to tell him to be quiet-you have to act like you don’t even hear it. He needs to see that the whining literally has zero affect on you otherwise if you give him any attention at all he will learn that whining gets your attention whether it’s negative or positive.
Once you can successfully get your puppy to go in and out of the crate, start attaching a verbal cue and/or hand signal to it. Say your dog’s name then the word such as “crate” “house” “bed” and repeat several times.
If your dog is doing this happily, then you are ready for the next step.
Tomorrow, I’m going to give you a template that you can use to get started.
