How to Train Your Small Dog to Like a Crate
Introduction
Nothing is more heart wrenching than listening to your lonely or bored puppy or dog cry inside of his crate. Having a dog that is crate trained is very important, but getting there can seem heart-wrenching. What if your dog could learn not only to tolerate his crate but perhaps even to like it?
Defining Tasks
Crating your dog when you cannot supervise him, while he is still learning proper house manners, can drastically increase the chances of your dog being trustworthy enough to be left alone in your home, outside of the crate, later on.
It is important to remember while training your dog to love his crate that you must go as slowly as your dog needs you to, for him to feel comfortable. While you are training this, it would be helpful to set up another enclosed area that you can place your dog in when you cannot watch him, until he is accustomed to his crate. If you are home often with your dog, you can also attach your dog to yourself with a leash to keep him from getting into trouble.
For all three methods, you will need a hollow chew-toy that you can stuff with kibble or treats. Something such as a Kong will work well for this. There are a couple of different ways to stuff a Kong or similar toy.
First, you can place dry dog food inside the toy, then cover the majority of the toy's opening. Do this by wedging a large treat in the opening, leaving just enough space in the opening for one to two pieces of kibble to fall out at a time.
Second, you can place your dog's food into a bowl and add water, then let the water absorb into the food over time. Once the water has absorbed into the food and the kibble is soft, loosely pack the food into the toy. When the food is packed inside, place the stuffed toy into a zipper bag and freeze the entire thing. Freezing the toy will create a time-released food dispenser that will keep your dog entertained for longer.
Getting Started
The Feeding Method
The Fun and Games Method
The Surprise Method
Success Stories and Training Questions
Training Questions and Answers and Success Stories
Ariel
We just started crate training our dog last week and started at 5 minutes of leaving her alone in the house and now we are at 12 minutes and 30 seconds. She is barking a lot today and we wanted to know if we can move the time we leave her alone back or should we continue adding time?
667 Dog owners recommended
Hello Farheen, You can move the time back. I suggest something in between like 8-10 minutes, instead of all the way back to five minutes. Also, know that if you continue at 12 minutes and are firm not to let her out until she is quiet, she should adjust too. The most important part of all of this is not to let her out while she is still barking (wait for a few quiet seconds - even if that means you go past 8-12 minutes). If you let her out while she is barking, you are teaching her that barking gets her out and she will bark even more. If you reward and let her out when she is quiet, she learns that being quiet is a good thing, and should do more of that. Either way, it takes most puppies a couple of weeks to adjust, so don't get discouraged if the barking continues some for a little while. You should see very gradual improvement along the way. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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We have had our puppy home for about a week now. She continues to cry for hours at night and it progresses to barking. Even when let out potty and put back in she immediately starts crying. What should we do? Also is it bad to place a blanket over her kennel?
667 Dog owners recommended
Hello Shakira, First, know its still normal for a puppy to cry for the first two weeks. Some puppies adjust within 3 days, others take 14 easily. You can certainly help her adjust though! Follow the Surprise method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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We brought her home two days ago. Unfortunately we did not have a crate the first night. She got in fine last night but would not stop barking. She ate her food in the crate this morning but continues to pull the bone and treats out to eat somewhere else. Should we leave her in the crate all night even when she barks? Will she become more comfortable as we follow the steps? Should we make her eat the treats in the crate?
85 Dog owners recommended
Hello, the guide you have read and are referring to is exactly what I would recommend. Keep doing what you are doing, and yes leave Granite there even when she barks. She will eventually learn that this is her sleeping place at night. Continue to feed her there but don't worry about making her eat the treats in the crate. Keep placing them there, though as it gets her going in and out. Try giving her a frozen kong toy - take a kong and add softened kibble and a smear of peanut butter (natural only - no xylitol as it is toxic to dogs!). Freeze the kong and give it to her in the crate during the day as a way to show her the crate is good. You can extend the time in there during the day and this may help her adjust. But, you can also follow the steps you are doing already and she will eventually get used to it. Patience and consistency like you are doing is great. This guide may have advice, too: https://wagwalking.com/training/not-cry-at-night Good luck!
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Our puppy's crate is in the bedroom. Should the crate be moved to where she can see us (that is in the open space between the kitchen and dining room) or is it ok for her to have her quiet time crated alone
91 Dog owners recommended
Hello! If she isn't barking or whining excessively or showing signs of destructive behavior which can indicate separation anxiety, I would leave her where she is at. Some dogs do better being secluded in their kennels. When they can see everyone moving around, they become anxious.
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