What is the best way to crate train an adult dog?
My husky is deathly afraid of crates but we are moving into an apartment and I'm worried about her destroying the carpet when we're out. I, very irresponsibly, traumatized her with her first crate. I didn't understand, at the time, that adult dogs don't take to crate training as willingly as puppies. Whenever she was crated, she cried, howled and barked the entire time. She also urinated in it. And those were the times she didn't break out of it.
I desperately need some tips that have worked for people when crate training an adult dog. She won't even go near a crate if she sees it so it's going to be a long process. I've done research about it online but many sites don't apply the information to dogs who already have a negative association with the crate.
Just as some added information- she can't be confined to a room. That's what we've already done with her. She damages the area around the door to whatever she's confined to. If she's in one room, she'll scratch the door up and the carpet around the door to that room. If she has the run of the apartment she'll scratch the door up and the carpet around the door to the apartment.
First thing to realize - dogs can be trained, even adult dogs who have had bad experiences. You are right in trying. A crate will become the dog's den, their safety zone. In the beginning, leave the door open, and put a favorite toy or treat in the crate. Don't force the dog to go anywhere near it, but make sure she sees you when you put the goodie inside. It will take a while for her to realize nothing bad will happen when she's in the crate, and you need to make sure no one goes near the crate or makes any loud, unexpected noises when she's around it. Only give her this special toy/treat inside the crate, and at no other time.
She will begin to realize the only way to get this special goodie is inside the crate. Keep the crate somewhere out of the way, however, close to where the family typically hangs out, i.e., near the sofa/TV, or in a bedroom, or by the kitchen table, wherever the family typically is.
As she begins to go inside the crate to get her goodie, very quiety and calmly tell her she's a good girl, use a special word such as crate, house, bed, a single word that she will begin to associate with the crate. For example, tell her quietly "Good Girl House".
This will help in the future when you want her to go to the crate, you can tell her "house" and she'll know what you mean.
Never use the crate for any type of punishment.
Once she is comfortably going in and out, starting closing the door, but not locking it. Always use her special goodie whenever she is in the crate.
If she whines, ignore it. Hard to do, I know. However, if she whines and you let her out, then she has control and gets what she wants, not what she should do. Make sure the crate has a couple of toys, bones, blanket, something that will make her comfortable (physically). also be sure the crate does not have any sharp metal edges, so if she does try to dig or claw her way out, she will not get hurt.
Once you start closing the door, she will get comfortable with this stage. The next step is locking the door. In both of these stages, only leave her in for a very short time, 5 minutes or so, with you in eye sight of her. Don't pay attention to her, just be where she can see you. Gradually increase the amount of time she is left inside the crate.
Although it will take a while to build up her confidence and the time length required, it will be well worth it. A crate will become her house, her safety net. Make sure whenever she is in her crate, with or without the door open, that she is left alone. This is especially important if you have children around, as they need to understand as well as the dog that the crate means she is to be left alone, and they can play with her later. She will see her crate as a place to go to rest, get away from noise and commotion, and be happy.
Nov 17, 2008 | | puppy and dog training online
September 21st, 2007 at 11:24 am
I don't usually recommend feeding in the crate, but since this is an adult and he's afraid, try feeding him in the crate, while it's open. Put his bed in there; give her a kong toy filled with cream cheese, or peanut butter. Make that crate is safe haven and HER place, rather than a cage.
It will take time and patience, but you cannot give in to the whining. Take it from me, no dog goes into a crate willingly. They have got to become used to it and you have to follow through.
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September 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
it was hard to crate train my dog too. at first we put a toy and some water and food into her crate and put a treat in there so she would go in. she soon got the hang of it and went in when we opened the door. if your worried about him peeing in there then put something in there to absorb the pee. she will howl and bark but you just have to ignore it no matter how hard it is. good luck
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September 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
What I have found when crate training my adult dogs is to slowly introduce the crate to them. I have put my dogs on a leash and walked them to the crate and let them look it over. I have put treats in the crate as well so they will walk in there on their own. If they manage to get through that part, don't just shut the door on them, pet them to let them know that they have done a good job. Let them come in and out of it a few times. I find that if you leave the crate door open while you are there, the dog will eventually go there on their own. They will eventually know that that is a good place and they will possibly use that as their bed. Mine have done so in the past. So, just introduce slowly and don't make a huge deal about it.
References :
September 21st, 2007 at 11:31 am
Since she's already scared of it, maybe it would be easier to try confining her to a certain room. You could put her in the kitchen or bathroom with a bed and stuff while you're gone. There are also baby gates and doggy playpens. Maybe that wouldn't scare her so much.
If you want to try the crate, try bringing it in the house at first and just leaving it there. Don't make her go in. Put a bed and some toys in it, and see if she adjusts to it. You can eventually try to get her to go in and give her a treat if she does. This might help. Just take it slow and let her get used to it so she won't be scared.
References :
September 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am
First thing to realize - dogs can be trained, even adult dogs who have had bad experiences. You are right in trying. A crate will become the dog's den, their safety zone. In the beginning, leave the door open, and put a favorite toy or treat in the crate. Don't force the dog to go anywhere near it, but make sure she sees you when you put the goodie inside. It will take a while for her to realize nothing bad will happen when she's in the crate, and you need to make sure no one goes near the crate or makes any loud, unexpected noises when she's around it. Only give her this special toy/treat inside the crate, and at no other time.
She will begin to realize the only way to get this special goodie is inside the crate. Keep the crate somewhere out of the way, however, close to where the family typically hangs out, i.e., near the sofa/TV, or in a bedroom, or by the kitchen table, wherever the family typically is.
As she begins to go inside the crate to get her goodie, very quiety and calmly tell her she's a good girl, use a special word such as crate, house, bed, a single word that she will begin to associate with the crate. For example, tell her quietly "Good Girl House".
This will help in the future when you want her to go to the crate, you can tell her "house" and she'll know what you mean.
Never use the crate for any type of punishment.
Once she is comfortably going in and out, starting closing the door, but not locking it. Always use her special goodie whenever she is in the crate.
If she whines, ignore it. Hard to do, I know. However, if she whines and you let her out, then she has control and gets what she wants, not what she should do. Make sure the crate has a couple of toys, bones, blanket, something that will make her comfortable (physically). also be sure the crate does not have any sharp metal edges, so if she does try to dig or claw her way out, she will not get hurt.
Once you start closing the door, she will get comfortable with this stage. The next step is locking the door. In both of these stages, only leave her in for a very short time, 5 minutes or so, with you in eye sight of her. Don't pay attention to her, just be where she can see you. Gradually increase the amount of time she is left inside the crate.
Although it will take a while to build up her confidence and the time length required, it will be well worth it. A crate will become her house, her safety net. Make sure whenever she is in her crate, with or without the door open, that she is left alone. This is especially important if you have children around, as they need to understand as well as the dog that the crate means she is to be left alone, and they can play with her later. She will see her crate as a place to go to rest, get away from noise and commotion, and be happy.
References :
Obedience trainer for over 20 years.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:44 am
I'd feed her in the crate. I'd always put her food down in the crate, and not even close it at first. She'll probably try to eat the food and leave ASAP for a while, but then she should build up some positive association with it, and not mind it as much. Then you can start closing it for short periods of time.
I'd make sure that every good thing I give her, I give her when she's in her crate. Any time you want to treat her, give it to her in her crate. Even if she wants to play with you, throw the toy in the crate. Since she has been traumatized, you need to build up a positive association with the crate. I think food and toys is the way to go.
For a while, my dog started to hate her crate, and I had no idea why. I finally realized that I was leaving her ear medicine on top of the crate (and she hates the ear medicine). So I started leaving a jar of peanut butter on top of the crate. Everything changed. The crate represented something she loved, not something she hated. You could try that too.
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September 21st, 2007 at 8:12 pm
the crate should be her little personal space that she can run and hide in w/o anyone bugging her. try putting treats in there and just let her take her time. once she can go in for a quick second on her own, try tying a toy to the other end, like a bone. so she can lay down and chew for awhile. i put my doberman's dinner in there so he knows its safe and no one will steal anything of his. you could leave the radio on, a chew toy or something to take up her time, keep her busy. dont force her in, and when she is locked in, dont stick around and tease her about it. put the crate in a calm room, little to no distractions. make the crate fun, calm, safe.
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September 21st, 2007 at 9:54 pm
You know it sound like your problem has nothing to do with the crate. I'm not a supporter of the crate theory to begin with, as it does little to teach your dog to be a better member of your family. I want to very seriously suggest that your dog suffers from separation anxiety. And no crate will help that.
Have you tried getting a walker to come during the day? Doggy Daycare?
Give your dog something to look forward to while you are gone. Something to occupy her time, and help not feel so lonely.
Stop worrying about the create per say, and start looking at your dog's emotional needs.
References :
I make dog videos and have rescued the star of my web series,
http://www.canineinsurgency.com , from the pound. He has since partially recovered from over 10 years of neglect.
I'd take a look at some books like these
http://downloadsonline.org/v/topherx/a1dogcom