Want to teach your best friend how to ‘keep it together’ & handle time in his crate?
First here’s Magic with Dogs team member Desmond with a few words on the subject
“So what do us dogs think about crates? It depends! Depends on whether or not we can understand what’s happening! Depends on whether the crate’s comfy…by that I mean whether it’s big enough…ie. tall enough for us to stand up without hitting our heads on the top and wide enough for us to spin round a couple of times and get that that nice blanket or crate mat our humans kindly provided for us arranged really comfortably. We may have to dig around a bit… even though that doesn’t make sense to you it does to us! Good if the crate’s away from nasty drafts…some of us like blankets over the top & some of us don’t…a window or sliding door view’s often appreciated.
Something important for you humans to understand. Door open versus door closed. When the door’s open we can come & go as we please… and many of us do choose to retreat into our crates for an hour or two...when we need a bit of privacy. However when the door’s closed that’s a completely different matter! This is because we can’t just leave when we want…we’re stuck there till our humans decide to let us out…which is generally ok for experienced chaps like me who’ve had a chance to learn & understand the process.
But for young puppies & rescues, closed crates can be pretty darn terrifying! One of the reasons for this is that whilst they’re small & vulnerable - for their own protection & to avoid getting eaten by predators - Mother Nature hardwires them to stick closely with the family group. Separation isn’t something positive for them at all. What’s more, our humans know their houses are safe places but puppies & rescues take a little time to learn this! What if something scary comes along and they want to bolt…but they can’t because they’re locked in eek? Worse still what if their humans leave and never come back??? You get the picture!
Poor girl in this video’s very upset & miserable…not what we’d want to happen at all :-( If seeing a scared pup is too upsetting, please scroll down to my solution for crating issues.
Now I’m gonna step back and let my favorite human & fellow Magic with Dogs team member Marie-Claire take over to explain how to do this right”
Phase 1 - Starting out right - first make sure the crate’s tall enough for your puppy or dog to stand up & turn around and settle comfortably.
Hang out with crate ‘newbie’ close to the crate. Toss a treat into the crate as you ask him to “crate up” - when he’s eaten the treat - open the door and encourage him to come out - as he runs out close the door so he can’t run back in - lots of praise but no treat - throw in another treat - but before he can run in after the treat immediately close the door - wait for a few seconds then open the door so he can run in and eat the treat - if you have a wire crate you can throw the treat in from the top - just make sure he sees you do it - repeat this simple sequence several times - making sure always to close the door afterwards - so that while you’re playing the ‘treat game’ he only gets treats when he’s inside the crate.
Hang out with your crate newby’ close to the crate - lots of pets & kind words. Toss a super delicious treat into the crate “crate up” so that they run in - find the treat, eat it & run out again - more praise & more treats! Remember a treat can also be a quick game of fetch! Do not shut the door!!! Repeat this little sequence many times daily - for at least one full week.
Phase 2 - extending her success
Begin to extend crate time very sloooooowly - only by a few seconds each time! Repeat lots of times daily. Build up very gradually - until she’s able to stay calm inside - once you’ve built up the crate time to 5, 10, 15 minutes - reward after playing the game by taking her outside for a fun game of fetch or something else she really adores.
Remember!
There is no ‘one size fits all’ so patience is key! Resist the temptation to skip steps or to try and rush this process in any way! Remember you’re in it to win it and so it takes as long as it takes! Always take your cues from your individual dog and move forwards at her pace. If you’re willing to work this way - although she’s not thrilled with closed-door crate time & trust me she’s not - most dogs can still learn to come to terms with it without distress and gradually learn to stay calm….eventually even chill out enough to doze off...which is the best possible scenario. This will be because you’ve taken the time to help your girl build up positive experience and learn that whilst she’d rather not be in that closed crate nothing bad happens to her when she’s there…and her humans always come back. Furthermore some pretty nice things happen when they do…so maybe this is something she can learn to live with after all!
Bish-bash-bosh! (look up meaning at https://www.lexico.com/definition/bish-bash-bosh)