How to train your dog to stay in a crate?
Question by Bethenny: How to train your dog to stay in a crate?
i just adopted this two year old dog, he is a chihuahua mixed with a breeder.. we need to go to the store and stuff but we need him to stay in the crate..he is in there right now crying and barking..do you have ANY tips on how to train him to stay quite in the crate?
Best answer:
Answer by ladystang
time
What do you think? Answer below!
Looking for:
August 12th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
It takes a while, NEVER take him out while he is whining! My suggestion is to bring him out to potty and put him in his crate before you leave. He WILL cry but a little tough love is good for him at this point. He will get it sooner or later, have patience!
August 12th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Nothing you can do. He’s just going to get used to it. You could cover the cage with a blanket to help though and turn off lights. And don’t keep him in the same room as you.
August 12th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Honestly, he wont until he gets used to it. Put a bone, a toy or a few of his favorite treats to help him understand that he is not being punished. Also, leave the room so he cannot see you, if he can he’s only going to cry harder. My dog cried ALL night, but about after a week or so it’s his spot now. If he KNOWS he’s in trouble or..sleepy or what ever he runs right in there.
We call it his room.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
I put a thin sheet over it so my dog couldn’t see through it. He usually stayed quiet when the sheet was over it. Then when he did bark or whine I’d tell him no. I also trained him to go in the crate when I told him to and I give him those Beggin strips when he does. Dogs love those and it makes him anxious to get in the crate rather than being afraid of it. My dog’s a pomeranian. I adopted him too:)
August 12th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I have seven dogs who are all crate trained. You just need to be patient. Put your pup in there when you’re going out or even if you’re going to be out of the room for a little bit. When you come back be sure not to make it such a big deal (for example dont go “OH I MISSED YOU HOWS MY LITTLE PUPPY” and so on, it will just get them excited and not want to be in the crate when you’re gone.) just come in unlock the crate, get down to there level and praise them with a treat, and even when you are there leave the crate door open and soon enough they will go in there to take naps. After a while (nothing happens over night, be patient.) they will learn to love their crate =)
August 12th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
I crate my 1 year old dog when I’m at work. I get a treat and tell her to “Kennel up” and once she is in there she gets the treat. You could try giving him bones to chew on while he is in there or toys to play with. He will eventually learn that you are not leaving forever. Kongs work great and keep dogs entertained for a while. When I need her to be entertained for a REALLY long time I plug the hole with peanut butter and put some on the inside, wrap the bottom and sides with plastic wrap and then fill it with something such as cheereos or old bread pieces. Then fill it up with water and freeze it. The plastic wrap is so the water doesn’t leak out.
Good job adopting a dog! I adopted mine too.
August 12th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
The only thing I can tell you is you have to give it time. Dogs don’t like being locked up and away from you. Make sure the crate is not near you when you sleep because if he can hear you, it could make him whine more because he wants to be near you. Also never take him out while he is whinning because this tells him that if he whines he can get out of the crate. Also start small. Leave him in for an hour, then take him out. Then make it a couple hours. Then so on, until you have worked up to a day. You only take him out until after he stops whinning because this will show him that when he’s good, he gets to come out. Also give him a treat whenever you put him in the crate or take him out, that way he will see the crate as a good thing, and not a bad thing.
hope it works out for you
August 12th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Before you start putting him in the crate over night, you should start training him to love his crate. Soon enough that will be like his own bedroom, and he will enjoy being in there, a safe, personal space just for him. Start by hiding treats in the bedding for him to wander in and find. Anytime he goes into him crate on his own, say “good crate” and “good dog” to reward the behaviour. When he leaves the crate say nothing. Don’t ignore him, but you want going in to the crate to be a great thing, and leaving it a neutral thing.
At meal times, feed the dog in the crate, you want him to associate good things happening in the crate. He should get his food in there, and his favourite toys should be found in the crate. Also, give him a treat if you see him lying in the crate, and it never hurts, at any age, to continue to hide treats in the bedding once in a while; like a little surprise for him to find.
To start training him to not care if the door is closed, start slow. When he is in there poking around for treats, close the door when his butt is facing it. When he turns around, open the door. Slowly increase the time the door stays closed. When you are up to a few minutes, leave the room. If the dog starts to cry, wait until he stops for 30 seconds before returning. Working from 10 minutes up to an hour, with the door closed will help the dog understand you WILL come back to let him out when the time is right.
Another way for him to get used to the door being closed is to hide treats in the crate and close the door. Then the dog will want to get IN the crate with the door closed; so you can let him in for the treats and close the door behind him as he eats the treats. Then you just need to work up the time he is in there with the door closed, eventually leaving the room for a bit too. It’s important to remember that when you start, try him in the crate for 5-30 minutes with the door closed, but you in the room, in plain sight. Again, then the door being closed won’t only mean you are leaving the house/going to bed.
For the first while the dog will cry, but after about 10 minutes he should calm down. It just takes patience and strength on your part, It’s really hard to not go running to your crying puppy, but he will not learn any other way, and you will have a very loud/crying gown dog.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
It is tough when you adopt a dog, since they think you are abandoning them. Leave an old tee shirt with your scent in the crate, with toys and bones. Leave on the radio or tv when you leave. Practice leaving on a day you have time. Gather up keys and things, open the garage door, what ever is your routine. When you leave say “not this time” and then leave. When he starts barking, pop back in and tell him to “settle down” and when he does, praise him. Then leave again and do the whole routine over as many times as it takes until leaving becomes “no big deal”
August 12th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
It took me about a week of training to crate train my adult dogs. I did not close the door for the first 3 days, I just wanted to make the experience and associations positive. After about 2 days the 2y/o border collie started going into the crate on her own and she knew the crate command and would run in expectantly looking for a treat or her food dish. Now, after 10 days, as soon as I pick up her food dish she goes into the crate. My 5y/o American Eskimo mix is the same way but less eager.
The way I crate trained them was: day 1 tossed treats in the crate had the dog get them, I’d toss another treat before they had the chance to come out, my goal was to get them to sit in the crate waiting for another treat. Next I poked my head in praising and playing and more treats. I fed the dogs in the crate that night. Day 2 did the same except I closed the door for a minute and treated and extended the time gradually over the day while sitting next to the crate treating. That night I went to check the mail and talk to neighbors for 15 minutes with them in the crate and me outside the door. I waited almost 3 days before I left for more than an hour with them in the crate and now they can stay in there for 3-4 hours and be fine. Currently, they spend more time eating in the crate and sitting there rather than locked up. After 7 days, I felt they were solid with the training and it has been a positive experience for everybody, including my neighbors who I’m sure don’t want to hear a bunch of barking and crying.
You might want to draw back and take it slower to make it an all positive rather than tossing him in there and expecting them to “suck it up”.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+crate+train+dog
August 12th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
1. Make sure the crate is comfortable and has a bed, toys, chews, etc. in it. Have things in there to keep him occupied.
2. NEVER let him out of the crate if he cries or whines. That will only teach him to cry and whine when he wants out, and then it’ll be REALLY hard to get him to quit.
3. Keep a radio or TV on when you leave. It can help it to seem like someone’s there.
4. Don’t make a big deal of coming and going or of putting him in the crate. Don’t baby talk to him, don’t apologize, don’t act guilty, etc. If you don’t treat it like a big deal, he won’t see it as a big deal.
5. Crate him for a few minutes at a time while you’re home, so he doesn’t always associate it with you leaving.
6. Leave the crate door open when you’re home and let him come and go from it whenever he wants. He may even start going in and sleeping on his own.
7. Never use the crate as a punishment. He shouldn’t associate it with anything “bad.”
8. Never call him to you and then put him in the crate. Leash him and lead him to the crate and help him in, or physically pick him up and put him in. If it takes awhile to calm him down when he’s in there, you don’t want to give him a reason to not come when you call (which he may do if you always call him to you when it’s time to go in the crate).
9. Be patient. It won’t happen overnight. We’ve had our puppy almost three months and she still cries and fusses when we leave. Eventually she stops once we’ve left. A big part of it is getting the dog used to the fact that you’re coming back and that you haven’t left them.