I often hear the same comments when I suggest crate training to new pet owners, “it’s cruel and it looks like a prison”. If used correctly a crate can become lovely and welcoming for a dog. A crate gives them a safe space that they can go to when they need to relax as well as keeping them safe at times.

The thought that it looks like a prison is an emotion that we humans overlay onto the crate but in truth the dogs see it as a den and retreat. Do you remember the joy as a child of building a fort under a clothes horse or a couple of chairs with a sheet and a blanket and how many hours we could occupy ourselves inside with a book and some snacks? This is more like how the dogs see it!

A crate is not a punishment and should NEVER be used as one. As with any tools, they can be mis-used, causing stress and fear for your dog and frustration for you. It is all about how YOU introduce your dog to the crate to start with and a little bit of planning and understanding of positive training methods will help you.

What would I use it for?

There are many reasons you may want to crate train your dog, for example:

• if it is going through a chewing phase.
• if you need to pop out for a short time and are worried the puppy could injure itself.
• to give your puppy a safe place to go if they get overwhelmed.
• if you will be taking your puppy to different places or in the car, you can use the crate in different locations and your puppy will know what is expected.
• if your dog needs to learn how to calm down.

Picking a crate

There are several types from cloth travel crates, to wire ones they can see out of or completely enclosed ones. We would recommend the wire ones as cloth ones are not very stable for indoor use and and not reinforced. This means in an accident it would be of little use in a vehicle and also is easily chewed enabling the dog to become lose in the area. A wired crate is easy to use and relocate, folds down easily when not in use and is more sturdy. They can see out of it but you can also choose to partially cover it with a blanket to give that “den” feeling.

You should (for indoor use) use the biggest crate you can fit in ideally – to give them the most space possible. At the minimum, the dog must be able to stand up, stretch, turn around and lay down easily as well as have a water bowl in the crate with them. They should not be left in the crate for long periods of time without breaks to toilet and move around. The crate should only be used for short periods of time throughout the day.

How do I introduce the dog to the crate?

Where possible introduce the dog to the crate in a calm environment. Have appropriately sized crate with a comfy bed set up ready before you begin the session. You want it to be a nice environment for them. Ensure you have lots of (small sized) high value treats that the dog likes as a reward, or a toy, whatever motivates your dog. You need to be well stocked.

Training needs to be done when a dog has relaxed and is not wound up, too full from food and un-interested or too hungry to think. Always take into consideration what the animal has, or could have experienced in the day prior to training that could ‘trigger stack’ it. Set the dog up to succeed and not fail.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes!

Start the session by throwing tasty treats around the outside of the crate for them to find. Once they seem happy in the vicinity of the crate, start throwing the odd one just inside so it is easy to get to.

Once they are putting their head in easily, start to throw the treat in a little further eventually getting to the point of having their whole body in the crate. Take time with this step. If the dog seems reluctant to go in – do not force them. It may be best to not cover the crate with blankets at this point so that they don’t feel too enclosed. Take your time and if your dog prefers toys to treats you can use these in the same way to encourage the dog to put their head inside the crate.

Once they are doing this comfortably, send the treats a little further in until the dog is putting a foot in, and then another until they are able to go in and out.

Build up time in the crate

Once you are able to send your dog happily into the crate for a treat, try throwing another treat in whilst they are in there, increasing the duration they are in the crate. (At this stage you could add a vocal queue such as “in your crate”).

Once they will happily wait for another treat to be thrown in for them, you can start to lengthen the duration between treats, although they will need to be rapid to start with. If they need extra persuasion you can use cream cheese or peanut butter (find out what your dog likes and smear it onto the far wall/floor of the crate) You could try a chew stick but be prepared your dog may carry it straight out of the crate! Something smeared onto the wall/floor of the crate will encourage them to stay inside.

After a few sessions of repetition, you can move to feeding meals in the crate. Take them up for breakfast/dinner/nice chew. That will encourage a positive connection to the crate and encourage longer stays.

Closing the door

Feed the dog their meals in the crate with the door still open and when they are comfortable with this, gently close the door while they are enjoying their food. As they finish their meals, slowly drop some more treats into the crate so they enjoy staying inside, waiting for more food to appear.

Build up time spent in the crate after eating by stretching out the time between treats again and only let them out when they are calm and quiet. Do not reward barking or panic. If dog is stressed go back to the beginning and take it slower. Once they have remained calm and relaxed for a short period of time, you can open the door and reward them for coming out calmly.

Leaving them in the crate

Once the dog is happy to be in the crate with the door shut and remains calm, you can then start to work on leaving them for short periods of time. By now the dog should see the crate as a nice place to be and somewhere they can relax. Using a toy such as a kong filled with peanut butter or a paste will give them something to enjoy whilst in the crate.

NEVER use the crate as punishment. Do not ever push a dog into a crate and shut the door – If they see the crate with a negative association it will be very hard to fix in the future and possibly end up in a bad situation.

Using the crate as a punishment will only reinforce a negative association with the crate and will make it harder for you to get them to go in on their own. Using a crate must be done in a positive way. If this is not managed, the crate will be seen negatively. Yes there are bound to be times that you want your dog to have some chill time and they don’t want to be in there because dogs suffer with FOMO too! (fear of missing out).

As long as you are giving them something to do in there and you are managing their time inside effectively you are not being cruel, you are teaching your dog that sometimes they need to take some time out from doing laps of the lounge and you are teaching them how to relax.

Real Life Dog Crate Set Ups

Many thanks to everyone who sent me photos of your dogs and crate set up! Please send us more picture on our facebook page! @gowalkieswithem