How to Train Your Small Dog to Like a Crate

Hello Leila, I am so glad it's helping! So at night time I would not give treats while practicing, just during daytime practice. Since the other dog is going in looking for food, I would move onto the step where the crate door is closed with her inside and treats being sprinkled in, instead of leaving treats in there with it open for her to find. This is for daytime practice. I would teach the other dog the Out command and use Out to enforce him giving her space while in the crate. Out: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ When you are ready to leave her downstairs, I would close the door to the crate with her inside. When you correct, use a pet convincer (the kind with unscented plaid air, not citronella), and while she is still barking, go to her, then calmly tell her "Ah Ah" while spraying a brief puff of air from the pet convincer at her side through the crate wire, without letting her out of the crate. After correcting, leave to go back to bed again, so pup isn't being given any additional attention for barking. She will likely stop barking at soon as you enter the room. You may want to tell pup "Ah Ah" calmly when you first enter while pup is still barking, then quickly get over to the crate to correct - so the correction is better associated with pup's barking. If pup is quiet a good bit before you actually correct, then you might need to use something like a vibration collar or stimulation based collar to correct, so you can time it where the correction happens while pup is actually barking and not as delayed. Give treats for quietness during the day! You don't want to give treats at night, but the daytime practice will help pup understand why they are being corrected at night and how to be quiet instead. At night, give a treat for continued quietness and after a few minutes, you can let pup out of the crate also as a reward. At night, you will simply correct or ignore the crying unless it's time to go potty, but not let out of reward. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Leila, For the surprise method, I would start with you being in the room when you first sprinkle the treats in with the door open. When you get to the steps where it's time to close the door, after pup can handle five minutes with you in the room while you give treats for being quiet, then start walking away and coming back, so you are actually leaving. Since pup will just be in the crate about five minutes, at first, you will just be walking back and forth out of the room, then back in to treat if pup stays quiet or gets quiet, so not staying out of the room for long at all. As you increase the time pup is in the crate for then eventually space out your treat rewards too, that will automatically mean you are in the other room for longer and longer. The end goal is for you to be in the other room the whole time for the 1-2 hours while pup is crated and entertaining themselves with the dog food stuffed kong. When you start the surprise method, during daytime practice simply practice it with the crate in the area where you want the crate to live in the future, like if you want the crate in the den downstairs perhaps, start the daytime practice with the crate in the den downstairs (or whatever room downstairs you have in mind). So if pup will stay in the crate in the den when you are back at work, then practice in the den and go into another room like a kitchen or bedroom or office, where pup can't see you, so pup is practicing being alone in the den. You can either wait until pup is good with being alone during daytime practice before you start having pup sleep there at night too, and just go straight to pup being in the den. You will end up having to get up to correct some still at first most likely, but if pup is already used to being in the crate alone in the den from daytime practice, it shouldn't be all night you are having to get up, probably just at the beginning of the night at first, and maybe once in the middle of the night too. If you want to go straight to pup being in the crate at night, while you are still working up to longer periods alone during the day too, often it will be easier to have pup sleep in your room, or a room connected to your room, like master bath or walk in closet in the crate, so when you get up to correct pup you don't have to go all the way into the den, since the more abrupt transition will probably mean more correcting and noise at night at first. Personally, if you have a master bath or similar room that's connected to your room but where pup can't see you, I would choose that option opposed to actually in the room, because that will make the den transition later go easier. Once pup is good in the den alone during the day and in the crate near your room alone at night, then if your end goal is pup sleeping in the den in the crate, at that point, I would finish the transition to pup sleeping in the den, knowing you might have a couple of rough nights again but that transition will generally go pretty quickly if you stick to the training. Some dogs won't have issue transitioning at all since they will be used to being in there and in the crate during other practice at that point. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lui Lui, For those who don't have time to gradually ease into the crate, how you are doing things is often how its done and pups tend to adjust just fine. As long as pup is being given enough potty breaks so they aren't being forced to have accidents in the crate, there isn't anything unsafe pup can tear apart and choke on, and pup is being given times to play and train to provide mental and physical stimulation, pups do tend to adjust well, and most puppies learn this way just fine. I would just make sure of a few things... 1. make sure pup is being taken potty frequently (a puppy probably can't hold its bladder overnight consistently and you don't want to force pup to have an accident in the crate. Check out the potty schedule from the Crate Training article I have linked below. Skipping to the steps where pup is in the crate with the door closed. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside 2. Make sure pup is getting a lot of breaks playing or training after going potty before returning to the crate, even if pup is sleeping and chewing a lot in the crate between. Young puppies will sleep a lot so many don't mind being crated more when really little once they adjust as long as you wear them out between with some play and/or training. 3. When you catch pup being quiet in the crate, sprinkle treats in occasionally to encourage that quietness. You can also feed pup part of their daily kibble in the crate via a dog food stuffed kong with a larger treat biscuit covering half of the opening - so only a couple pieces of kibble fall out at a time. Or make frozen kongs for more determined puppies. Place pup's food in a bowl with water the night before. Let the food turn to mush, poke a straw through the Kong's holes, loosely stuff the mush around the straw, freeze the entire thing, then remove the straw and give it to him. Add a bit of peanut butter or liver paste to the mush if he needs help being interested in it - don't pack it tightly or he won't be able to get it out. You can make several of these ahead of time to have on hand. Just subtract the food in the kong from his dinner kibble amount, to avoid overfeeding. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Evan, Often pup will have to cry it out during the night in most situations, with the exception of potty trips outside at night. With gradual practice during the day with food rewards also though, like the Surprise method, pup tends to adjust to the nights, as well as the days, and learns more quickly how to calm themselves and entertain themselves with a toy in the crate; overcoming the initial dislike of the crate. Essentially sleepiness can help pup eventually calm down at night, and practice with treats can help pup calm themselves when less tired still during the day too. Almost all puppies will cry for the first two weeks though. It is normal and most dogs adjust when you are consistent. Very few people have the luxury of actually starting the crate out completely gradually - that is something a breeder has to begin for you before you bring pup home in most cases, which is why it may seem confusing in your case. Although you weren't able to start out that gradually, the method is still beneficial and pup should still adjust. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, Ozzie is young and attached - this is common and a lot of Dachshunds have a tendency to have trouble being left alone. But it is good that he likes the pen and crate in general when you are around, so now to have him relaxed and calm when you are not there. Start with intervals of leaving him for 10 minutes, then 15, then 20 to get him used to you going out and knowing you'll be back. I recommend a toy that is hard to resist: the kong. Prep it this way - fill the kong with moistened kibble and a smear of peanut butter (no xylitol as it is toxic to dogs!). Freeze the kong in a zip lock bag. Give Ozzie the treat before you leave. Keep one always prepared in the freezer so that when you go out you can give it to her. I once had an anxious dog who destroyed things so he had to be crated every time I left. Once I started giving him the kong, he would run for the crate as soon as he saw the kong being taken out of the freezer. Then, when he got older, I would just give him a couple of biscuits in the crate when I left and that was just fine. Good luck and happy training with Ozzie!