How to Train Your Dog to Use A Crate

Hello Tatiana, If Cutie was left out of a crate in your home while you were gone before you got Guaro, Guaro does not seem aggravated by Cutie when he is in the crate, and Cutie is not pestering him through the crate walls, then Cutie is fine to be left out while Guaro is crated. If you have never left Cutie out while you are gone, then leave the house for five minutes and see how she does. If she does okay, then leave her out for ten minutes another day. If that goes well, then leave her for thirty minutes. Gradually increase how long you leave her out for while you are gone. A long trip to the mailbox, a walk around your neighborhood, or a short trip to a nearby store are good times to do this. Keep adding more time until you have reached two hours. If she does alright for two hours for a week to two-weeks straight, then try leaving her for a normal work day or day where you are gone. Just be sure that you are not gone for longer than she can hold her bladder for. If she handles the full amount of time consistently, then she is ready to be given freedom in your home while you are gone. If she destroys something or begins having accidents, then you need to wait another three months and then try again using the same gradual process. If Cutie is fine being left out but seems to aggravate Guaro when she is free and he is confined, then confine Guaro in a part of the house that Cutie cannot get to. For example, put Guaro's crate in a bedroom and close the door so that Cutie cannot come in, or use a baby gate on your stairs if you have multiple levels in your home, and place Cutie downstairs and put Guaro's crate upstairs, so that she cannot get to him to bother him. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Kien, If he is not having accidents in the crate during a normal day, then he is likely just testing limits because of his adolescent age. He probably thinks that being out of the crate is more fun and so he is protesting being crated. Stay firm and if that is the case the phase should pass. You can reward him by going to him when he is quiet and quietly dropping a couple of treats inside. You can also give him a hollow chew toy such as a Kong, stuffed with kibble dog food and a little peanut butter when you put him in there during the day. Check out the video that I have linked below and add some structure to going in and out of the crate to establish a calmness and respect related to you and the crate. Generally spending some time every day or so doing a bit of training in general should help to build his respect for you at this age. Be sure to be consistent with your rules and enforcing them at this age also. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7lyzbgTXjU Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Audrey, If you are home during the day you can use the "Tethering" method for potty training, and use an exercise pen with chew toys in it to keep her safe when you cannot watch her. If she does not tolerate an exercise pen, you can also screw an eye-hook into your baseboard in a central area, where there is hard-floors and not carpeting. Attach a chew proof leash to the eye-hook and hook her to it. Vir-Chew-Ly makes such chew proof leashes. The leash and eye hook are best for when you are home but in a different part of the house and can't have her attached to you. When you are going to be gone for longer, I suggest trying an exercise pen, and if that is not tolerated, dog proof a room with hard-floors as a last resort. Tethering method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside If you have to be gone for more than 2.5-3 hours before she is potty training, I suggest setting up an exercise pen somewhere that you can block her from getting to later, such as a heated garage, guest bathroom, laundry room, securely fenced deck (if it's warm outside), or basement room. Purchase or create a disposable grass toilet and place that in one end of the exercise pen for her to use as a toilet. Spray the grass with a potty encouraging spray (Hurry Spray, Go Here, or something similar). If you can't use an exercise pen, you will have to place the grass pad in the room she is confined in - but this will lead to more accidents in the process so it's not ideal. The goal is to keep her close to the grass which smells like somewhere she should go potty and resembles the grass you will be taking her to outside when you are home. The exercise pen will keep her from getting into mischief also. Give her food-stuffed chew toys in the exercise pen to make it a pleasant place. You will probably need to choose a more sturdy exercise pen or anchor it to the walls in a corner because of her size. Check out the article that I have linked below. Pay attention to the "Exercise Pen" method. The article mentions litter box training, but the training works for grass pads also. Since you are primarily potty training outside, not all of the steps will apply but there are some tips for helping her learn to go potty on the grass pad, if needed. https://wagwalking.com/training/litter-box-train-a-chihuahua-puppy Make sure you choose a grass pad with real grass and not fake turf. Here is one grass pad: https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Patch-Disposable-Potty-Grass/dp/B005G7S6UI/ref=asc_df_B005G7S6UI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309763115430&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18051296575568864591&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015431&hvtargid=pla-568582223506&psc=1 You can also build your own grass pad and control the size more easily. To build a grass pad: purchase a wide, shallow plastic storage bin, and cut a piece of grass sod so that it fits inside. Place the grass sod into the box, scoop the poop to keep it clean and replace the sod as needed. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Kien, You can definitely crate him while you are eating. Just give him an interesting chew toy in the crate and continue to work on the "Quiet" command with him. It will be easier for Lucky to stay if both dogs are laying down but letting your Chihuahua roam while he stays is also fine. It will just take longer to teach because it requires a bit more self-control from Lucky. That level of self-control is your goal in the end though. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Kien, Whenever you put him into the crate give him a command which means he should go in, like "Crate", then toss a couple of treats in there and shut the door behind him. Also, you can toss a food stuffed Kong chew toy in the crate with him, which should help him not be so bored and learn to like the crate more. Continue to walk down with him if he needs it, because he still needs to go in whether he wants to or not, but giving him the treats can help him want to go in on his own eventually. Most dogs also do not start going in the crate just to relax until they are a bit older. I used treats and stuffed Kongs with my own youngest dog, and she didn't mind going it, but it wasn't until she was about three and had less energy that she started going into the crate to simply take a nap when the door was open. Make going into the crate more pleasant with treats and food-stuffed Kongs, then give him time to mature and calm down also. Being rough with him probably did damage your relationship some, if he does not seem always anxious and worried about you, I wouldn't say he it traumatized though. The best thing you can do is what you are already attempting to do, practice training him and try to be more patient and kind to him to re-build his respect for you. That doesn't mean that you cannot correct him, tell him no, or be firm when needed, but when you do so try to be calm, patient and firm. Think about the calm people whom you respect. They say what they mean and back it up, but they are patient, calm, and you still know that they love you when they do it. The discipline and the fairness and patience often help you respect and appreciate them even more - even though you might like not getting in trouble and having a consequence. When you teach him new commands like "come" try to make those fun and rewarding. Behavior issues sometimes require corrections to address (often in combination with positive reinforcement for doing the correct behavior after too), but when teaching new commands like obedience and tricks, you can use more positive reinforcement and make it fun. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Kien, Working on the basics is always good. It helps him understand you better, develop better self-control, learn how to learn, and it's great for your relationship with him. I highly suggest continuing with the basics and gradually building on those with him. For the crate, check out the article that I have linked below. I suggest following tips from all of the methods to make the crate as fun as possible, but especially work on the "Surprise" method, dropping treats into the crate when he is quiet. The more pleasant you can make the crate, the more you give him something interesting to do in the crate, like chewing on a food-stuff chew toy, and the more you practice being in there with pleasant things, like treats being dropped in while he is being quiet and food-stuffed chew toys, for shorter periods of time - such as thirty-minutes to an hour during the day, the more he should get used to going in there and learn to relax in there. He may not go in there just for fun until he is older though because at this age he is busier and wants to be in the middle of everything. When he is older and likes to take naps more, the crate will probably become more pleasant if you have done things to help him get used to being in there while younger. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Gianna, First, continue to practice the crate regularly. Crate Training can actually HELP prevent separation anxiety, even though it can be hard at first. Giving him a food stuffed Kong is great, continue doing that. Second, how long has this been going on for? Most puppies take about two weeks to adjust to being in the crate, up to a month is still normal. Some puppies figure it out in just three days. If it's been less than a month, then more extreme measures aren't needed yet. Try to make the crate routine calm and not a big deal - meaning try not to act sorry for him or cuddle him in the crate, even though that's hard to do. He will feel less nervous if you seem confident about it though. Third, continue to ignore the crying. When he gets quiet, return and sprinkle treats inside, then leave again. Follow the Surprise method from the article linked below. Liking the Crate: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Also, work on the Crate Manners protocol from the video linked below for exiting the crate, to make the crate a calmer place in general. Crate Exiting: https://thegooddog.net/training-videos/free-how-to-training-videos/learn-to-train-the-good-dog-way-the-crate/ Finally, give it time. If you stay consistent and don't let him out while he is crying and work on crating him for at least an hour each day most puppies will learn to settle down in the crate within two weeks. If the behavior continues there is a more intensive separation anxiety protocol that you can follow to stop separation anxiety or destructiveness in the crate. If it continues past two weeks, comment on Wag! again and ask for the separation anxiety protocol, reminding me of his history. At this point, his behavior is normal puppy behavior though and it simply takes time and consistency. It sounds like you are generally doing a good job. Work on the Surprise method and the crate exiting manners. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden