crate training - thoughts and feelings

[tiernan]

Thank you both for the suggestions, I think we have decided to buy a gate and corner off the kitchen and dining room area, there is nothing within reach and she will have some room to run around and not be so confined ... she may have issues with being in a closed crate as she is a rescue. Also I will place her crate in there so that she can sleep if she wants ...

Hopefully that will be a little better. And, I will give her a few good bones and her favourite toys ...

We will see if this works!!

[Terrie]

Boy, isn't it great being a new parent ?
This is separation anxiety... I know that when I first got Kuma, I used to hate leaving him because he was alone all day but my Mom kept telling me that you have to leave him alone so that he gets used to it... He cried and barked for a bit, but now, he's almost pushing me out the door. ( I think he has parties when i'm gone
Try leaving a radio on or the tv on so that she hears voices.Make sure that you give her toys so that she can play with and keep herself busy while you are away.. Crating is NOT cruel, it will keep her safe while you are away and give you a peace of mind...


Good Luck

[TobsterMom]

I didn't read every post, but I just wanted to post my experience with crate training.

We brought Toby (golden retriever) home at 9 weeks. I borrowed a medium sized plastic crate from a friend, and Toby would sleep in this the first few nights by our bed, and gradually moving downstairs. I had an old playpen belonging to my son, this came in handy when we were watching T.V, doing dishes...etc. He would be in view and had lots of room to play, and couldn't get into mischeif. When Toby grew bigger (which seemed like 3 days later) We purchase a large metal crate. Each night, or if we had to go out, we would put a treat in the crate and he would happily go in. After a while, he would see us getting a treat and automatically go in.

We NEVER left Toby in the crate for more than a few hours, if we couldn't get back, we would always have someone to phone who would come to our house and take him out to pee.

We had rules. Toby was to be taken out to pee
first thing am
1/2 hour after eating
after play
after naps
as soon as we got home.
he was never to be left out of sight.

We had a couple of minor accidents, but other that that, he was a dream to housetrain. Consistency and schedule + crate = success for us.

We weaned Toby from his crate, as we really didn't have a convenient place for it. Baby gates were the best purchase we ever made. Toby still does not have the run of the house , he is gated in the kitchen/dining area when we aren't home or can't watch him, as he is still very much a pup at 16 months. Every dog and family is different. Good luck!

[meb999]

First of all, thank you Lucy for starting this thread.
Me and my husband have been arguing about this for 2 months. We plan on getting a puppy this summer. I grew up with dogs, and we always crate-trained them. All the books say to use a crate for house-breaking.
I believe that crating a dog is just like putting a baby in his crib or playpen. You do it for their safety, so they don't get into anything dangerous. My husband, on the other hand won't hear of it. He believes it is the most cruel thing to do. Especially since we dogsat my dad's puppy last week. He is 3 months old and on a strict crating schedule -- the cries that came out of him when we put him in his crate were HORRIBLE
It's nice to read the different opinions on the subject. I think I'll sugest to my dad that he give Harry (the most gorgeous springer spaniel puppy ever!) a treat when he puts him in the crate.
I've sort of come to the conclusion that crating is the best tool for housebreaking. but once my puppy will be houesebroken, I plan on giving the pup an enclosure big enough to play in when we're not home (maybe the kitchen...)

[db7]

Some great points Tenderfoot. You've got to introduce the crate for short times with a dog unfamiliar with them. You've got to set the dog up for success, progress will come so much easier that way. I would add that you should feed and water the dog in the crate.

I would be a little careful about rattling the crate. It could scare the **** out of a soft dog and you don't want any negative associations with the crate itself.

[mona_b]

Well I have never crated.To be honest,I really never heard of it when I had my previous GSD.He was with us for 13 years.That was 8 years ago.Then when I got Got Yukon and Tron,same thing.Never crated cause It wasn't a big thing.I blocked off the kitchen.They were both 3 months old.There was nothing they could get a hold of.I made darn sure of that.

They had some of there toys they would play with.When they did get a hold of something and started to chew,I would re-direct them right away.I grabbed 2 of there toys.Called them both by their names and gave a stern "NO".When they stopped,I gave them their toys and then praised them.It didn't take long before they got the hang of what they could and couldn't chew.

They key thing is to stop them when they are chewing on something they shouldn't,and re-direct them to what they could.I had to take their training very seriously,considering I was training Tron for the K9 force.

And I do know a few people who have had abused the crate training.Yes they were crating because of chewing.But they were doing nothing to teach the dog/pup not to chew.So all I did was show them how to correct it.They kept up with it.Now the crate is only used for place to sleep.Door was taken off so they go in when they want to.

[tenderfoot]

db7 - thanks for the reminder.
I should have emphasized that you use just enough energy to get the job done. Don't be so intense that the dog is scared, but not so little that you are ignored. Find what works for your dog's sensitivity. Use your word "Quiet" in a short and sharp tone - then that will be all you need as the 'correction' will empower your word and you won't actually need it after the first few times - your word will be enough.
Feeding & watering in the crate are great tools too. It helps to create a positive association with the crate - but do not leave food in the crate all day. Meals should be quick - dog eats what he can in 10 minutes and then its taken out. Food in the crate all day will just make housetraining harder and encourage soiling the crate.

[db7]

I agree totally on the feeding. Give your dog a 24/7 buffet and you have 5 times the effort to get the dog to pay attention to you, never mind a fat dog. And before you can teach a dog anything it has to be paying attention to you. You want respect? Let that dog drool in front of his food before he gets it! My girl won't even drink after her run until she sees I have a glass of water in my hand for myself and I didn't teach her that. It's just that she relates it to her food, or should I say MY food that I share with her when I'm finished eating. Not that I eat the dog food, but she doesn't know that.

NEVER have to use a NO command. She doesn't even know what it means. Anytime I want to change her actions I just call her and she comes running.

Don't worry, she's very well feed.

[layla]

Since we are on the crate subject. My baby will be a year old at the end of the month, and when she's left alone she's a bad girl...ya know because of boredom and so on.....she chews on my window sill and part of the stairs. We confined her in an area but she found a way to destroy the house anyways....We didn't train her with a crate, now I wish I did. Is it too late? I went and bought one today and will use it tomorrow for the first time. Should I make her go in it first before leaving her alone in it? How should I proceed to make this transition for her easier?

[Copper'sMom]

Originally Posted by layla

Since we are on the crate subject. My baby will be a year old at the end of the month, and when she's left alone she's a bad girl...ya know because of boredom and so on.....she chews on my window sill and part of the stairs. We confined her in an area but she found a way to destroy the house anyways....We didn't train her with a crate, now I wish I did. Is it too late? I went and bought one today and will use it tomorrow for the first time. Should I make her go in it first before leaving her alone in it? How should I proceed to make this transition for her easier?

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure whether or not now is a good time to start crate training but I'm sure other people will have their suggestions! I do wonder.......is your dog getting enough exercise?? This would lead to destructive behaviour while you are away from home because the dog would have built up energy and needs to expel it some how! Plenty of toys might help as well.

[layla]

she has toys, bones everything a dog desires... I let her out in the morning to do her thing and at night she'll spend more time outside playing running and so on....she only does these things when we leave her...except for that she's an amazing dog, very intelligent. When we tell her it's bath time she jumps in the bath and waits to get washed...isn't that neat?

[twinmommy]

I'm not sure either if it is a good time, but I would maybe try 5 min. at a time. When you said you want to try it tomorrow, you're not going out just yet are you? I would stick around see how she is in it, see what happens when you leave the room, and work up to an hour slowly, before I would actually leave the house.

Maybe see what Tenderfoot has to say about her age....

[Copper'sMom]

Number one rule for crate training:

Never crate your dog as punishment!!! This will associate negativity with the crate and the dog will become fearful of the crate!

[layla]

we have tried the crate tonight, we told her to go in her house and we praised her and gave her a treat, all the while staying with her...at one point I even went it to see how big it was ha! both dog and husband laughed at me...ha! she even went in it at the same time as me without me asking her...the crate is in the living room and she has been going in and out of it since we have put it up so....we will try the leaving her alone thing for 15 min. tonight too while i go fold my laundry downstairs, we'll se how that goes...

[momofrhonda]

Hi! We just folded up our Goldie's crate last week. (She's 8 months old now.) If I had to do it all over again, I would crate train in a snap. When we were gone during the day, we didn't have to worry what sort of mess our house would be in when we got home. We enjoyed Rhonda so much more! She was only in her crate for 4 hours max as my husband would come home at lunch at let her run in the backyard. At night, she would sleep in her crate and never wake up once! It made housetraining a breeze. Rhonda may have messed 6 times in our house total! When she was really little, even for naps, we would set her in her crate and she knew when she woke up that we would take her outside. She has a pet pillow now that she loves to sleep on, but I think her favorite spot is anywhere our feet are! If not abused, crate training can be very beneficial and enjoyable. I think dogs tend to respect your house more too...

[LavenderRott]

IMHO, there are way too many things that a pup can get into when no one is home and the dog is loose.

Some 20 years ago, I had a GSD pup. She was never crate trained, but was confined to the kitchen when we were not home. One day I came home from the store to discover that she had eaten the electrical cord off of my refrigerator! Thank goodness, it didn't kill her. You can bet the next pup I get will be crate trained from day one.

[layla]

just a quick update....we have left her alone in her crate tonight and when we got home she was sleeping!!! She was happy to see us gave her a treat and sent her outside...thanks again for the input