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Dog Training Article: Crate Training Your Dog Dog Training Article: Crate Training Your Dog
By Jess Rollins
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Teaching your dog to go willingly to his crate and rest there is an important part of raising your dog. Initially you will appreciate that the crate gives your dog a safe place to relax (and give you a break). In the future it will be a great benefit that your dog has been crate trained if he needs surgery or will travel. The ease or difficulty of crate training depends on the dog's feelings about the crate. Most likely your dog will like the crate if you do not push him too quickly. However, if you try to push too quickly you may end up making the situation more difficult for you both by convincing your dog that the crate is an unpleasant place.
Place the crate nearby where you will be relaxing and let your dog see you place a few treats in the crate which span from the front to the back. Leave the crate door open while you watch TV or read. Eventually (or in a few seconds) your dog will get the treats and explore the crate. When you see him go in there, get up and put a few more treats in the crate. Repeat this a few times until he is unhesitatingly going in for the treats and not rushing to "escape" it.
Next, say "kennel" and take your dog gently by the collar and toss a treat in the crate. Most likely he will follow the treat into the crate with no problem. Block him from leaving the crate gently with your body and feed him treats in a steady stream. Once he relaxes and lays down, continue to do this, but space out the treats a few seconds apart. Now, continue to feed treats about every 10 seconds and when he seems especially calm. Let him out of the crate when he is nice and calm and take a break.
Repeat the previous step, but this time instead of blocking with your body, close the door to the crate. As above, feed constantly at first and then space them out until you are feeding an average of every 10 seconds for the most relaxed behavior. Release him (when he is calm) and take a break.
Prepare a chew toy by filling a Kong or something similar with some peanut butter, cream cheese or frozen dog food, rawhide or bully stick. Say "kennel" just before grasping your dog's collar and walking him into the crate. Once he is in the crate, give him the chewy and close the door. Once he is engrossed in chewing, get up and walk around occasionally going out of sight. Release him from the crate before he finishes chewing (or before he wakes up from dosing off) and only if he is calm.
You should leave your dog in the crate for no more than 4 hours at a time (unless overnight). Each time you leave your dog in his crate repeat the procedure in the previous step. Eventually your dog should begin going in his crate by himself when you say "kennel". If your dog should fuss in the crate you must always ignore it (unless he seems truly hurt) and release him only when he is calm, otherwise he will learn to fuss in order to be released and this is quite difficult to get rid of.
Tips: Leave soothing music on for your dog while he is in the crate. Feed him meals in the crate to help him further associate it with good things. Make sure the crate is comfortable.
Dog Park Dos and Don'ts
Don't: Leave a chain/choke or prong/pinch collar on your dog, he may get it caught on a branch, fence or another dog. The safest option especially for dogs who wrestle is a Break-Away collar.
Do: Expect to get jumped on. Turn your back and ignore the offending dog if this happens. Give her a pat when she sits.
Don't: Feed or pet dogs while they are jumping up or pestering you.
Do: Keep your dog from jumping on other people. Do this by teaching him to sit for attention using treats or by using a short leash (1-2 feet without a handle) to walk him away from the object of his affection.
Don't: Bring food for yourself that will create crumbs – dogs may fight for this "treasure".
Don't: Bring your dog's favorite toys from home. He or another dog may decide they are worth fighting over.
Do: Intervene if your dog is "bullying" another dog or is being bullied. A bully pesters another dog to play and does not take no for an answer. Humping can also be bullying and should be interupted by walking your dog away and having him cool down for a minute or so.
Do: Leave a 1-2 foot leash (without a handle) on your dog that has a tendency to "come on too stong" or be a bit of a bully. Use this leash to remove him from play for a "time-out" when he needs it.
Don't: Force your dog to interact with other dogs.
Do: Leave if your dog is uncomfortable or is being a "brat".
Don't: Bring a dog that you don't know to the dog park.
Don't Bring a pup under 4 months of age.
Do: Use extreme caution if bringing small children to the park.
Do: Bring treats to reward your dog for good behavior.
DON'T: Feed treats to other dogs without asking for permission.
Do: Bring Direct StopTM Citronella spray. It is the easiest and safest way to break up dog fights.
Do: Supervise and protect your dog! Dog trainers know of many dogs who were adversely effected by going to the dog park and can no longer have doggy-friends. An ounce of prevention…
Leave the nose loop completely unadjusted for the first several days. Start by holding the nose loop in one hand and a treat in the other. The "game" is for the dog to reach through the nose loop to get the goody.
Once your dog is eagerly shoving her nose into the nose loop to get the scrumptious treat simply let go of the nose loop and offer your dog a treat so that she tilts her head up. Have a handful of treats and keep treating. The object of this part of the game is to keep the nose loop on!
If your dog lowers her head and shakes the loop off, take a short training break while you ignore her. Then begin again. Your dog will very soon learn to shove her nose into the loop for the treat and keep her head tilted up so the nose loop doesn't fall off.
When you reach this stage and it could be in a few hours to a few days, you are almost home free! The next step is to fasten the loop strap and jackpot your dog for allowing this. The nose loop should be adjusted some so that it is not falling off her nose or obscuring vision but not completely snug.
Practice having her wear the GL on for 2-3 minutes and feeding tiny treats and then taking it off and ignoring her for a few minutes. Do this several times per day. Practice putting the leash on while inside and leading her around while you feed her treats. For the first walk outside, put the GL on, but continue using the original collar to attach the leash. On the following walk, attach the leash to the GL for the last Gradually extend the time you are attaching the leash to the GL until you are using it exclusively.
If your dog tries to paw or scratch the nose loop you can redirect her attention and offer her a treat or if it isn't too bad, you can ignore it. Be sure to reward her when she stops and is calm. Usually this goes best if the shaping process has been done slowly with lots of treats.
Other tips to help your dogs make a positive association to the Gentle Leader:
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Put the Gentle Leader on and feed your dog her dinner
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Put the Gentle Leader on and take her for a walk!
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Put the Gentle Leader on and play ball.
I'm sure you can think of many more examples too!
The fit is key to the way this collar works so be sure you understand the instructions. Common mistakes when owners first use this collar include trying to adjust the neck strap too loosely which causes them to adjust the nose loop too tight.
The neck strap must be very snug so you can only get one finger between neck and collar. This allows the nose loop to be adjusted properly. The GL should always be used with only a few feet of slack between the collar and your grip on the leash to prevent injury in case your dog should lunge.
