Crate training your dog is a useful way to help her deal with anxiety and feel comfortable in your home.
Discover the benefits of crate training and a straightforward way to teach your dog to love the crate. In this episode, learn how to help your dog enjoy the safety and comfort a crate provides.
Show Highlights
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- Not everyone crate trains their dog.
- Crate training is a useful tool for many reasons, including potty training – see episode 63.
- Crate training can be used as a timeout for dog and owner.
- When you crate train your dog, the size of the crate is very important.
- Your dog should be able to comfortably walk in, turn around, and lay down.
- Make sure it is not too big for your dog, as she can poop in one corner and then lay in another.
- Your dog needs to feel that her crate is a safe haven.
- Covering the crate with a blanket while she is in it and it will make her feel more safe.
- Some dogs have anxiety being crated.
- Some major anxieties will cause teeth to fall out or become loose because she attempts to eat her way out of the crate or she can loosen nails because she attempts to dig out.
- If this happens with your dog, talk to a behaviorist and do some basic training to show your dog that it is ok to go into the crate.
- Why crate your dog?
- There are many things in your home that can harm your dog – see Episode 023 Common Household Items that Can Hurt Your Dog.
- Keep your items in the home safe as well.
- Always remember to keep safe things in yir crate to play with.
- If you travel – it can keep the anxiety down for your dog by teaching them to be safe and secure in the crate.
Homework
- To crate train your dog you want to allow them to go into the crate on good terms and with positive results
- Most people use the crate as a negative situation and a positive situation which creates confusion with your dog
- The point is to create the crate as a good thing – awareness building exercise
- You need to be aware of what happens and how you as the owner is reacting the situation
- Give the crate a name – Bennie likes the name “house” make sure it is a positive connotation in your head
- When you put your dog in the crate, put a highly-valued toy or treat in the crate and give her lots of praise
- Always give your dog positive attention when she goes into the crate
- Never give your dog big attention when she exits the crate
- When you and your dog are hanging out around the house, hide a piece of kibble or treat in the crate so it becomes a positive place where she eats and gets treats and lots of affection
- This helps to reaffirm for her not to soil her home
- Never put water in the crate because it increases the likelihood of her soiling her crate
- When you come home and have left your dog in there for a long or short period of time never give them attention for about 30-40 seconds and once you let your dog out wait 15-20 seconds then give her attention because she can have anxiety in the crate if you come home and love on her immediately when you return home
- Practice throughout the day to put your dog in the crate for 1-5 minutes and show her that the crate is positive and give her praise but when she gets excited walk away and give no attention
- Only give snippets of praise and don’t let them out when she is excited
- When an accident happens in the crate – episode 51 – this is different because you don’t know when she did it. Make sure your dog is outside the room when you clean up the area in the crate
- If you have a pad in the crate make sure you are checking on it on daily basis because by the time you smell it she’s probably peed on it for awhile
- If she has soiled it, take it out of the crate immediately because it can create a permanent space for them to soil
- Do not use the crate to teach your dogs to hold it as it speaks about a negative tone
- Always talk to your vet about how long they can hold it based on their size and weight – see episode 63
- When the crate is used as a tool to take a time out
- Bennie personally looks at time out as a negative connotation
- He tells clients that they are really doing to take a break
- It cannot be used as a punishment because every time your dog goes in there they will think it is negative
- Every time your dog goes into the crate it should be positive – see episode 70 about changing your mental attitude – take your time to put the dog in the crate in a positive pleasing way so we can have a break from each other
- Put your dog in and walk away
- This gives you the opportunity to have a break and your dog is in the crate while you are home with a treat in it and affirmative verbiage “come on buddy – lets go in your house”
- If your dog is showing anxiety it may be because of your attitude and body language
- Keep your body language routine so your dogs don’t get confused
- Leave the crate door open during the day and you are home so your dog doesn’t have to fight to get in or out
- Make the crate a positive result even when you are using it for a break time or a timeout
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