crate training and learning them to be on their own

[kerry]

hello, was wondering if you can help me out. we are in the process of crate training Koda, he will quite happily sleep in it at night time, but only if it is in out room. We have to move it here at night other wise he just crys. he will be fine up until one of us gets up and leaves the room, then he just howls for about 5 mins eventually calming down, but for that 5 mins he just wont stop crying. how can we stop him from behaving like this?
during the day the crate is in the living room, where he quite happily walks in and out of it,(usually looking for a treat) we try and reinforce the idea that any interaction with the crate is good,, he evn understands the phrase go to kennel, does is 1 out of 10 times we are closing the door for a min or two, with a few whimpers from him but nothing major, but anything above that we get crazy koda. we are trying to leave him alone, but he just never calms down to reinforce that being quite is good. Can you please give us some advice on training him to remain calm on his own in the crate. as we dont want to end up going backward and him not even going near the crate.

thank you.

[Lindy]

I'm no expert but with my dogs when crate trainig them I have been very lucky one thing i would try is to ignore crying and increase the time you shut the door, as he has possibly realsied that if he crys you will give him attention it's a bit like ingoring a baby that won't settle down to sleep on their own if you keep going in to settle them then you have made a rod for you back as they will constanly want you to comfort them, Dogs are similar and if you ignore the crying and don't give any attention then he will soon realise that doesn't work anymore and settle down. When he does that make a fuss and reinforce that behaviour each time, if her crys in the livivng room don't even look at him turn your head i do that with dora when she barks at me for attention and it works a treat she quietens down straight away.

Good luck and I'm sure you will more helpful advice from everyone else.
Lindy

[John Thomson]

Lindy,

your advice is spot on.

You must make the crate a positive thing. If he does not go in every time you tell him..throw a food reward into the crate.........he will then happily go in every time, don't let him decide if he will or won't go in, that is your decision.......You house should now run like a dictatorship.........you make the rules and he follows!

Slowly build up the time he is in the crate (door closed) leave the room then come back in if he is quiet praise him, if not ignore him...he must learn that crying etc. will not get him attention of any kind.

I'll look for some crate training articles and will post the links.

John
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John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[kerry]

yeah thats the only reason he goes in, for a treat, but he won`t eat it in there, brings it back out. Also i`m worried we might end up turning him into a tubby puppy if we treat him to much, we are giving him carrot bits now, is there anything else we can use ?

[kerry]

also when you say come back in and praise him, would that be as soon as he is quite? or does he have to remain quite for a certain lenght of time? and praise him by letting him out and play with him, or give him a treat? sorry to ask such silly questions, just want to get this right.

[Lindy]

If you are feeding dry food then use some of the daily ration for the purpose of training then that way you will not over feed, also have you got a KONG? they are great toys and can be used to keep the dog amused for ages as they try to eat all the taasty treat you put in there, it might be a good way of keeping him amused whilst in the cadge with the door shut

[kerry]

we bought him a kong, he sniffed it, tried to get at the food then gave up going to try it with another treat , maybe he just didnt like what was in it. problem is all the treats out there that i find are for pups aged over 4 months, and he is just coming up on 3. so we are really using some dried food and carrots at the moment.

[Sheryl]

What about filling a kong with raw mince, like cheap tesco or asdas own mince!!
That way hes getting raw and Ive not met a dog yet that doesnt like it!
xx
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Kindest Regards,
PRINCESS Sheryl, Keano and Coby.

[Lindy]

you can use cheese, and meat paste as long as there are no onions in it, and even chiken slices, peanut butter (my dogs lovel it). Patience is key don't give up with this you will get there

[kerry]

thank you for your help,. i`ll give it a go when i get home. is the mince ok to give him when he is young, if so what amount is ok ?

[Sheryl]

I don't imagine that it would be OK, its what they would eat in the wild!!! And that's what the raw diet is based on!!
For example I feed my two 5oz a day each so I would give 2.5oz in morning and maybe 1.5 oz in the kong (raw mince) and the other 1oz of there normal food! Therefore there still getting the right amount of food but just differently (does that make sense!). You can put carrots and broccoli through the mince if you want but just no onion or garlic!!!
xx
_________________
Kindest Regards,
PRINCESS Sheryl, Keano and Coby.

[Sheryl]

p.s Im not an expert though, but sometimes its about trial and error!!

Ive made alot of errors with my two but you only learn!!
x
_________________
Kindest Regards,
PRINCESS Sheryl, Keano and Coby.

[Marie & Norman Scoon]

The word "CRATE" would appear to have replaced the correct term "CAGE".

"A Crate by definition is a slatted container made from wood to give additional physical protection to its contents when in transit."

Our practice for puppy training in a cage is that from the time of obtaining the pup, the cage becomes its "BED".

Of course initially the pup will whine and subsequently possibly bark but you must persevere and experience says sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

Under no circumstances should you use the cage as "Punishment".

We are not believers in always giving dogs treats to get it to do what you require of it.

Marie always trains pups on a PRAISE and REPRIMAND basis and only resorts to treats when they are very young. (Puppy Mini Bones).

The PRAISE/REPRIMAND method achieves the dog doing what you require of it because it wants to please its you.

Please remember you are trying to train a pet or a domestic dog and you should avoid comparing it to the habits of wild dogs.

[Sheryl]

To Marie and Norman,

I believe this forum has been set up for us all to help each other and cant help but get the feeling that you are sometimes having a go rather than being encouraging, we are all learning together here and I'm the first one to admit that what you say makes sense however the way in which you say it comes across as a lecture rather than advise!
"Please remember you are trying to train a pet or a domestic dog and you should avoid comparing it to the habits of wild dogs."

Regards,
Sheryl
_________________
Kindest Regards,
PRINCESS Sheryl, Keano and Coby.

[Fiona]

I have to agree with Sheryl here. The points you are trying to get across are helpful and informative but the tone could be more suggestive. I think that each owner has to make their owned informed decisions on how they wish to proceed to bring up their dog. If they wish to call it Crate training rather than Cage then what is the harm in this? If they wish to feed raw as I do then that is their decision not to be criticized, I am sure the decision was not reached lightly and Kerry and Paul both researched the facts.

Obviously a puppy crying can be as stressful as a baby at times, stick with it you will get there in the end