We’ve all heard that dogs are den animals – that they like to be in small spaces and this makes them feel safe and secure. So why is it that Casey freaks out every time you put her in her crate? She is supposed to be happy to go in and spend hours at a time there. But instead, she tries to slink away from it, puts on the brakes and refuses to go in. Once you have finally gotten her in (usually by lots of shoving and pushing) she barks, cries, howls, digs at the floor, scratches at the door, bites at the wire and has even injured herself in her efforts to escape. If she’s very determined, you may even find her greeting you at the front door and the crate partially destroyed when you get home from work. This certainly doesn’t sound like a dog that is happy to go to her “den.” What’s wrong with Casey????

In short, nothing is wrong with Casey. It is true that dogs are, by nature, den animals. In general they do like to find small spaces where they can sense the walls/ceiling near them. You may have noticed that your dog will often choose to relax under the kitchen table, or under a chair. She may take a nap in the bathtub or in the small space between the back of the recliner and the wall. But still, she refuses to get in her crate and stay there calmly. The difference: choice. Casey has chosen to get under or behind furniture. She chose to climb in the tub. These are small spaces that she feels are in the right place, of the right size and most importantly of her own choosing. The crate, on the other hand, may seem to her to be an arbitrary place that was brought into her home. It doesn’t smell like the rest of the house. It’s strange to her and doesn’t feel secure (even shaking and moving a little if she jumps around). She certainly didn’t choose it. And since we have, for weeks, been physically insisting she go into it, we have unintentionally created a very unpleasant association for her, She is being forced into it – against her will – and that means it’s not a safe place. Now it’s a prison. A punishment. A place to be avoided at all costs.

So how do we help Casey come to love her crate? Well, the first thing we need to do is accept that Casey may never LOVE her crate. Our goal in this is not to create a loving relationship with an inanimate object. Our goal is to help Casey become comfortable spending extended periods of time in that specific space. If we keep our goals realistic, we will be in a much better position to achieve them. Let’s help Casey accept her crate and learn that it is not a threatening place to be.

First thing is first. Put the crate in the space with the door open. Put a favorite bed of Casey’s in there, or some old blankets, towels or dirty clothes of yours. We want to help the crate start to smell like the rest of the house. Once you’ve put the item/items in the crate, leave the crate door open and ignore the crate for a few days. Give Casey a chance to investigate the crate without you being involved. If you see her sniffing at the crate whisper some quiet encouragement: “Good girl, Casey. It’s not so scary.” Even if she is 10 feet away and just sniffing the air in that direction, praise her. If she is actually physically investigating the crate, even better. If she actually steps inside the crate – GREAT!

FIRST STEPS OF CRATE ACCLIMATION

After about 3 days of ignoring the crate altogether, you will begin the actual acclimation process.  Move Casey’s food bowl over near the crate. You may need to start several feet away or you may be able to start just a foot away. This will be determined by Casey. You must start this process with her food bowl far enough away that she is not distracted by the crate at all. We do not want her to have any tension or anxiety, so watch her body language. If she is relaxed in posture, ears or forward and erect or soft off to the sides, if tail seems relaxed and either still or wagging lazily just a little, then you are doing well. If, on the other hand, her body is stiff, if she is leaning way forward to reach her bowl, but seems scared to be right over it, if her ears are pulled back, if she is cowering (bent at the knees and elbows), if her tail is down, tucked between her legs or wagging in a quick, nervous fashion (yes tails wag when dogs are scared too), then the bowl is too close to the crate – so move it about a foot further away and see if she calms down.

What are we doing with the food bowl? We’re going to feed every meal near the crate. Put the bowl down at the distance that is as close as you can put it to the crate while still being far enough away from the crate that she is comfortable. Let her eat the meal and then remove the bowl. While she is eating with her normal body posture and energy, quietly praise her. After 5 or 6 meals, move the bowl about 6 inches closer to the crate. If this is too close, back up to the original location for another 4 or 5 meals and then try moving the bowl just 2 or 3 inches closer. Always remember BABY STEPS TO SUCCESS.

Every 5 or 6 or 8 meals you will inch the bowl a little closer to the crate – so long as she remains calm and comfortable. Each move will be based on how comfortable Casey is in the current location. The rule should be: when she completely ignores the crate and eats as normal, feed her there 3 more times before moving the bowl any closer. This will help to ensure her level of security before you push her a little further.

Eventually you will be feeding her with the bowl on the floor right up against the open crate door. GREAT! We have crossed the first major hurdle – getting her comfortable next to the crate. Now it’s on to the second (and much larger) hurdle. After at least 8 meals with the bowl on the floor right next to the open crate door, you will move the bowl just inside the crate door. Meal time may look like this: Bowl is just inside the crate door. Casey will approach hesitantly (most likely), tentatively sniff at the food, eventually “dive” into the bowl to grab a mouthful of food, and then she will either step back or move to an entirely different area to eat that mouthful. There may be several meals that look like this before she decides that it’s actually safe to stand there and eat. BE PATIENT. HAVE AS MANY MEALS AS NECESSARY IN THAT SPOT UNTIL SHE WILL EAT CALMLY AND IN A RELAXED FASHION STANDING AT THE OPEN CRATE DOOR. Once she will eat calmly, standing at the open crate door, make sure there are at least 3 more meals in the spot before moving on to the next step.

THE NEXT STEP

The next step will be to move the bowl just one inch further into the crate. Now we are back to the 6 or 8 meals rule. The bowl should remain at each distance inside the crate for at least 6 or 8 meals (to her clear comfort, plus 3 more meals) before inching it further into the crate. Only move it one inch at a time in the crate. If you move it too far too fast, you may end up having to back up to the point that the bowl is outside the crate. Remember we are trying to help Casey overcome a fear – it’s not the same thing as just learning a new skill, so go slow and be patient with her.

The goal is to eventually have the bowl all the way at the back of the crate so that Casey must climb all the way into the crate in order to eat her food. Don’t forget to praise at each stage. Again, as she has to climb further into the crate to eat, she may take a mouthful of kibble and leave the crate to eat it. In the beginning that’s OK. Whenever you hear her munching while still in the crate, praise her. Stay silent if she takes the food out of the crate. Once she has eaten at least 5 meals staying in the crate the entire time, we will move on.

Once she’s eating in the crate without trying to leave repeatedly during the meal, you will close the crate door. Do not lock it closed at first. Simply stand there, holding the door closed. If she turns around, encourage her to “keep eating, Casey” in a sweet tone. Have some treats with you during this and you can even offer her a treat through the grate of the door – you can even try to toss one behind her so that she’ll turn around again to go get it. Encourage and praise while she remains calm and eats her food. As soon as she’s done eating, open the door so she can come out. After at least 8 meals like this, with no fretting from Casey, you can do the exact same thing, only this time you will actually lock the door closed. The difference in this experience is Casey hearing the spring of the door latch, or the slide if it’s that kind of closure. It just adds a little bit of the experience for her while we continue to associate it with a happy event – eating.

OK, so she’ll eat in the crate, but she still doesn’t want to spend time in the crate….

IT'S NOT JUST EATING, WE HAVE OTHER WORK TO DO AS WELL....

In between meals rotate between a couple of favorite toys, keeping one in the crate all the time. You may also toss a few tasty treats into the crate (halfway to all the way back). Use hard treats that will be OK sitting for a few days if left untouched. Leave the crate door open and unattended. You may find Casey occasionally checking out the crate to seek out a treat or get her toy. Always praise quietly if you see her interacting with the crate.

Play games that involve the crate. Sit with Casey near the crate. Play tug or fetch with her in the room for a bit, and then every now and then toss the toy toward the crate so she has to go near it while playing. In the beginning, you will not toss it into the crate, just near it. When you see that she has no fear or hesitation going toward the crate with you nearby, then you can start tossing the toy into the crate for her to retrieve. Just like the bowl, at first you will only toss it so far that she has to stick her head in to get it, then as she is comfortable, you can toss it further and further into the crate. Make sure you are sitting in a position that allows you this access, but that you are not sitting next to or directly in front of the crate. In fact, it may be necessary that your back is to the crate when you start these games so that Casey feels you are not going to suddenly lunge at the door just because she’s gone near the crate. Remember, up until now, you two have carried out an unfortunate ballet of push and resist and force to get her locked in that crate. So we want to make sure she feels safe and secure in the game.

Once she plays comfortably with you and the crate, you can start a game of tossing treats for her into the crate. Again, at first you won’t even touch the door. Just be super pleased every time she goes in after a treat. Never give her a treat when she is outside the crate. The treat is in the crate for her. If she turns around, but stays in the crate, treat her while all 4 paws are still in the crate. After a few rounds of this game where she does not hesitate to go after the treat every time you toss it for her, start incorporating the door. Toss the treat in, when she goes in to get it, close the door (do not latch it), wait for her to eat the treat and turn around. Give her a treat through the grate and then immediately open the door for her to leave. Do this many, many, many times. A few dozen times at this level. Then do the same thing, only latching the door closed. You will still promptly let her out of the crate as soon as she takes the treat from you, but now she’s got the noise of the door latching. Do this several dozen times as well.

Once Casey is completely cool with this game, start asking her to stay in the crate for a little longer. Start slow. At first you will be leaving the crate latched closed for just 2 or 3 seconds. Build up very slowly: 3 seconds, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 60…. THE RULE IS THAT CASEY MUST REMAIN CALM AND QUIET THE ENTIRE TIME BEFORE THE CRATE DOOR OPENS AGAIN. If, at any time, she begins to vocalize or scratch at the door, tell her “quiet” or “eh-eh”. Wait until she stops and then open the crate door without a word. If Casey will play the game and stay calm and quiet for 45 seconds, but when you jump to 60 seconds, she starts to freak out before the time is up, back up to 40 seconds – a time at which you know she is successful. Then build up more slowly. Instead of jumping from 45 to 60, this time slow down a little and go from 40 to 45, 47, 50, 52, 55, 57, 60… REMEMBER BABY STEPS TO SUCCESS.

Our goal at this stage is for Casey to be in the crate for 2 full minutes without fussing. Once she can do this on at least 6 separate times, then we can start to really get down to business. That is having you leave her line of vision. Keep in mind, as soon as Casey can no longer see you, she may immediately regress and start to panic. So back up the time to zero. What that means is that you will get Casey in the crate during the game, close and latch the door, step out of her view and immediately return – literally just a fraction of a second of out-of-sight time. As soon as you return, give her a treat through the grate and open the door. Remember, she must be quiet this entire time. No enthusiastic greetings from either of you. Build up how long you are out of sight slowly just as you did before. Back up if necessary, just as before. This is the real training here. She must go into the crate willingly, and she must stay in the crate quietly until you let her out. If she begins to vocalize, scratch or otherwise panic, without coming into view, tell Casey, “Quiet” or “eh-eh” and then wait for her to be quiet for 2 seconds. Then return, do not treat, but let her out without a word – so long as she continues to be quiet. If, upon your return, she starts to vocalize or scratch, turn your back to her and wait until she is calm again. Then, without a word and without a treat, let her out of the crate.

THIS IS CRUCIAL – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER OPEN THE CRATE DOOR WHILE SHE IS CRYING OR SCRATCHING. If you ever open the door while she is crying or scratching, she will learn that crying and scratching are successful tools for getting what she wants. This will increase the vocalizing and digging/scratching/panicking behavior. Instead, ONLY EVER OPEN THE DOOR WHEN SHE IS QUIET AND CALM. This will teach her that calm and quiet behavior are the ONLY tactics that will achieve her desired goal – freedom from the crate.

You can have treats ready and offer her one through the crate door while she is calm, before opening it. Never give her a treat or immediate love upon her exit. A treat through the grate and a little calm sweet-talk “hello, Casey. Did you have a good day?” is fine while the door is closed, but do not get her riled up while she’s in the crate. When she is calm and you are ready to allow her out, open the crate door and walk away – ignoring her for at least 5 minutes. Then, as long as she is calm, invite her to you and give her all the lovin’ you want. This is a major part of training her to her crate. If she has the habit of getting very wound up immediately upon her exit from the crate, then she will begin to get worked up and start acting out her excitement before you open the crate. This will undermine all of the work you’ve been doing. So make sure that you wait anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes after letting her out before you interact with her. You may let her out immediately and take her to the yard for potty, then back in the house and continue to ignore her for a few minutes. You may even come home, put your stuff down, look through the mail, then let her out, then go check your email, make some food or a phone call, and then interact with her. By not always letting her out the second you walk in the house, you will also help her learn that your arrival does not necessarily mean immediate exit from the crate, and she must remain calm and quiet until you open the door. Just don’t sit down to watch a movie and forget to let her out…

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

1.Make sure Casey has had a potty break before going in and immediately upon coming out of the crate.

2. You might want to have particularly yummy treats that go in the crate when you leave so that she has something to occupy her – Kongs loaded with reduced fat peanut butter or low fat cream cheese are great. You can freeze these so that they last longer. (if you’re going to do this regularly, cut back on her regular food by about 10% so that we don’t over feed). Real marrow bones are great, other long lasting chews such as Nylabone are good options as well. I try to avoid raw hide as they do not break down well in the digestive system and can cause intestinal blockages.

3. If the crate is in your bedroom, you might put Casey’s bedtime bed in there and encourage her to sleep in the crate – with the door open during all this training. Sleeping in there will go a long way toward her feeling it is a safe and comfortable place to hang out.

4. The ultimate goal is for her to be in the crate and you out of sight for 20-30 minutes. If she can do that, then she is much more likely to be able to stay in there for several hours while you are at work without feeling trapped.