# New crate training!



## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

Charlie hates crates. She's had the same wire one since she was a pup so she's more used to it than anything and it is still a bit of a hassle when i tell her to get in it; she acts like she got distracted my something (which i know is always a lie) or takes the "long way" there.

But, I got a new crate (plastic one for flying) and she's taking to it pretty well I think! 






I've had it set up in the living room for about a week. I forced her in twice last night and gave her some smelly dog treats, then left her to do what she pleased to get over the traumatic experience. Then today I told her "get in" and she did right away. No treats around or anything, I'm proud as heck! 

Most dogs I know love their crates and never have a hitch with them so when I discuss this with their owners I can tell they are thinking "what the heck is wrong with your dog". Remi loves her crate because she was taught that when she got in it, we were going for a run. Now she gets in it whenever we say crate or kennel. But Charlie has always been afraid around them and I've always done positive reinforcement for it and never used it as punishment. Maybe it's just the wire type she doesn't like but who knows. Either way I'm super proud! 
















Ps; I just had my wisdom teeth removed and almost uploaded a pic of my face 2x the size it normally is, silly me


----------



## SuperPug (Mar 5, 2013)

Emma's never really liked or disliked her "jail". I think it's because when we leave she has to go in it. But often times I find her randomly snoozing in it. So I think it's a love hate relationship she has with it.

I personally wouldn't have forced her into the crate. But regardless, she got over it and I'm happy she's enjoying it like all dogs should


----------



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

You have to make the crate the best place in the world. Throw treats in there when she's not in the room, that way if she does go over to it she may find a surprise. Also feed everything you can think if in the crate, this can include treats, dinner, stuffed kongs, bully stick...pretty much anything she likes she gets the best treats!

Even better you can desensitize her to the crate. Get a clicker. Every time she even just looks at the crate, click and treat. Then touching the crate, click and treat. Then one foot in the crate, click and treat. And keep going using baby steps until she's running in the crate, the more rewards she gets surrounding the crate the more history of reinforcement she will have regarding the crate, the more likely she will enjoy the crate.

I agree with superpug, forcing her is not the answer, and in the long run may not end up helping with her crate issues.


----------



## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

I tried clicker training with her. It didn't work. I know that sounds stupid and silly but she just relied on it too much and became dependent. She didn't listen unless I had the clicker and I didn't want that so that was out for us. I wanted her to listen to me because she wanted to, and not just because I had a clicker and that meant she'd get a treat. We rarely use treats for training any more. Usually for the first few lessons on something, and as a surprise every now and then when doing something older but I try to use them as little as possible so she listens to me and doesn't just rely on the treat to do things as many clicker trained dogs (that I am around) are very dependent on treats. I don't always have treats on me and I need her to listen even when I don't.

The whole forcing her in there was only twice that one time. And forcing is probably a strong word. It was moreso me guiding her in because she wouldn't get in on her own. Have you heard of the term "flooding" when it comes to training? It works pretty well for Charlie. She just acts scared of things because she doesn't know what it is and doesn't know what she should do so usually after I tell/show her she's fine with it.

I caught her sleeping in the kennel today after I got out of the shower  Clearly I am doing something right!


----------



## SuperPug (Mar 5, 2013)

Maybe you were using the clicker incorrectly? The clicker is used to mark behavior and shaping for complicated tricks. It's not really used to reinforce your dog listening to you. When using it for marking/shaping you then fade the clicker out while adding the cue for trick training.

I do quite a bit of clicker/treat training and my clients/my dog aren't dependent of the clicker/treats. If they are, then we went wrong somewhere on fading the tool out.


----------



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

It's all about history of reward with training. If your dogs has no history of rewards with a cue and a behavior than chances are they have no clue what your asking of them. I find lured dogs much more treat dependent than clicker trained dogs. Avery has a ton of cues but most are relatively new so I don't expect them without a treat. But things like sit and down have a history of reinforcement, therefore when I say it I expect him to do it...

For dogs, if let's say you trained your dog to sit in the living room and only the living room...then you went outside and asked for a sit--$10 says your dog would not sit. Because to a dog just changing the room or your location/posture changes the cue. They also cannot perceive language the way we can, which is why it's sometimes easier to use hand signals..

Anyways, I don't believe in flooding as a method of training, sure it works, your giving them no other choice...


----------



## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

My Baxter didn't really enjoy going in his crate at first. Especially the first couple of nights after I brought him home. Sometimes I did have to treat him to go in but I always made it very positive when he did go in there and made sure to always make it seem like it was something good. Now, every night when Baxy goes to bed, he follows me into my room and sits just outside of his kennel and waits for me to pet him and "shake" with him before running into his kennel, spinning around and popping his head out to get a couple more pets and a kiss on my cheek. Then he backs in to the kennel and I close it up for the night. Sometimes it does just take a bit more work with certain dogs.


----------

