Chapter 5

Training to Love the Crate

IN THIS CHAPTER

Presenting the crate to your housetrainee

Helping the crate-hating dog

Using the crate fairly

Looking at other benefits of the crate

The crate is crucial not only to successful housetraining but also, in my view, to successful puppy-raising. Not only does a crate capitalize on your pooch’s instinctive desire not to dirty her den — and thus learn to hold her poop and pee until she can do so in the right place — but it also gives you a safe place to put your puppy when you can’t keep your eye on her, including while you sleep at night. And believe me, a puppy (or in many cases, even an adult dog) needs a human’s eagle eye to prevent her from engaging in mischief such as unfurling the toilet paper, diving into the garbage, or chewing on the legs of dining room chairs.

But the crate’s benefits extend not only to you; they also include your four-legged friend. The crate is a place where your dog can retreat whenever she needs a break from everyday household mayhem, wants a little alone time, or needs to escape from what she perceives to be big, bad, scary machinery such as vacuum cleaners.

Unfortunately, though, the benefits of crates may not be readily apparent to your canine companion — at least not at first. Instead of considering it to be her own special space, a dog may view the crate as a canine prison to which she’s received a lifetime sentence. That’s why you can’t simply put your dog into the crate, shut the door, and walk away any more than you can teach a child to swim by bringing him to deep water and then expecting him to paddle his way back to shore.

You need to introduce your canine companion to her crate carefully. This chapter helps you do just that, and it also gives you some ideas for helping your canine companion change her mind about her crate if she already hates it. (For info on selecting and outfitting a crate and deciding where to put it, go to Chapter 3.)

Introducing the Crate

To help your canine companion appreciate her crate, introduce her to it immediately but gradually. If possible, start on the very same day you welcome her into your home. In this section, I explain what to do as you introduce your dog to her crate. This process should take only a day or two, unless your four-legged friend has had a prior negative experience with a crate. If that’s the case with your dog, expect the process to take longer.

Tie one on: The open-door policy

No, no, no — I am not suggesting that the way to help your dog learn to love her crate is for you to head around the corner to the nearest pub and party hearty. Instead, you need to make the crate, particularly the door, nonthreatening to your four-legged friend. A door that suddenly slams shut while your dog is getting accustomed to the crate can spook your pooch into bypassing the crate completely.

Before you introduce the crate to your little Fidette, use a string or a prop to keep the crate door open. That way, when she explores the crate, a sudden accidental slamming of the door won’t put your pup off the crate.

Encourage exploration

As soon as you have the crate door securely open, encourage your puppy or dog to check out the crate. Begin by letting her walk around the crate to sniff and otherwise explore it. If she hesitates, throw little treats around the perimeter.

When your puppy approaches the crate comfortably, see whether you can induce her to venture inside the crate — again with the help of a tasty treat. If your housetrainee isn’t food-motivated, a favorite toy may do the trick. Either way, toss the treat or toy inside the crate. If she goes in readily, praise her; if she’s hesitant, tell her in a high, happy-sounding voice to go and get the goodies.

Don’t force her in; let her decide on her own to enter the crate. And when she does, let her know what a good girl she is. This may take some time; be prepared to spend an afternoon or so helping her with this crucial step.

Whenever your puppy enters the crate (or whenever you put her in it), use a word that tells her what she’s doing and where she’s going. Good choices are crate, place, bed, or any other word that you know you’ll use consistently. By saying this same word in a high, happy tone of voice whenever your dog enters her crate, you’ll help her associate the word with the crate — and as I explain in the sidebar titled “Nighty-Night: Getting your dog to go in her den when asked,” she’ll soon begin to head into the crate as soon as you, well, say the word.

NIGHTY-NIGHT: GETTING YOUR DOG TO GO IN HER DEN WHEN ASKED

When I was housetraining Allie, my Golden Retriever, I ended up teaching her something else without even realizing it: going into her crate when asked.

That’s because every time I put Allie into her crate, I would tell her “nighty-night” in a soft, baby-talk sort of voice. Before very long, Allie figured out all by herself that “nighty-night” meant that it was time for her to head to her crate. Even now, six years later, if I tell her, “Allie, time to go nighty-night,” my Golden girl trots into her crate, no matter where she is in our house.

The nighty-night maneuver comes in handy if, for example, you have a repair person coming into your house and you don’t want Daisy and the repair person to meet. In fact, for any situation in which you need to confine your dog, the ability to send your dog to her crate on command is a useful skill.

Of course, you don’t need to use the term nighty-night to get your dog to head to her crate on cue. Other words work just as well. I just love to see my big 70-pound Golden girl — who at most times is quite the diva and has a mind of her own — walk with such docility into her crate while I coo “nighty-night” to her.

Shut the door (but not for long)

If your puppy repeatedly enters her crate without hesitation, untie the door. Toss a treat inside the crate. When your pooch enters, shut the door quietly without locking it. Leave it shut for just a few seconds.

During those few seconds, praise your pooch lavishly, and then open the door and coax her out. Another tiny treat should provide sufficient incentive for her to emerge.

Perform this sequence five to ten times during the day, gradually increasing the amount of time the door remains closed, until your puppy is able to remain calmly in the crate for about 5 minutes.

Leave the room

After your puppy can stay calmly in the crate for 5 minutes, you’re ready for the next step, which is to have her stay calmly in her crate without you there. Once again, lure your pooch into her crate — but this time, use something more substantial than a treat or two. A full meal dispensed into a crate dish is a good choice (or use a food-stuffed toy — see the sidebar titled “No dishes? No problem!” for details).

When your pup is in her crate, shut the door quietly and leave the room for about a minute. When you return, see what your puppy’s doing. If she’s eating her meal or gnawing her chew toy contentedly, leave the room again and come back in a few more minutes. Keep checking until she’s finished; when she’s done, let her out of the crate and praise her lavishly for her accomplishment. Give her a special treat to emphasize to her how pleased you are.

NO DISHES? NO PROBLEM!

Maybe your dog’s crate doesn’t come with dishes, or maybe you just find them too cumbersome, messy, or awkward to use. That’s okay. You have another option for keeping your dog occupied while she’s in the crate: filling an interactive toy with food and/or treats.

Take a toy such as a Kong (you can find one at any pet supply store or at the Kong website, www.kongcompany.com) or other food-dispensing plaything and slather some peanut butter on the inside. Then fill the toy with treats, or even regular food, and pack it tight. Put the stuffed toy inside your pooch's crate. Chances are, she’ll make a beeline for the toy, get immediately to work trying to ferret out the goodies you’ve shoehorned into it, and not even notice that you’ve closed the door.

If you really want to challenge your housetrainee, put the treat-stuffed toy in a plastic bag and into your freezer for a couple of hours. Then remove it from the freezer, take the toy out of the bag, and hand it over to your dog, who by now is probably salivating. The food stuffed inside the toy will be even tougher for your four-legged friend to extract.

This trick works not only for crate training but also for other training situations. For example, dogs with separation anxiety often do very well if their owners give them food-stuffed interactive toys just before they leave the house. The dogs are so engrossed in getting the goodies that they don’t even realize their people have left — and afterward, their contented tummies may well induce them to take a post-snacking nap.

Of course, if you make a regular practice of giving your pooch a meal in one of her toys, make sure you adjust her other meal portions accordingly. That way, she’ll retain her girlish figure as she works her way to becoming a housetraining graduate.

Build up her tolerance

You’re now ready for the final step in your puppy’s Loving the Crate 101 course: building up her tolerance for being in the crate by herself. This one should be easy: Keep feeding her inside the crate until she’s able to stay in it for half an hour. Then try leaving the house for a few minutes, gradually extending the time that you’re away. At this point, she should handle crate time without any problem.

If, at any point in this process, your dog starts to whine or cry, you may be moving too quickly. Help for the whiny crate trainee appears in the next section.

Encouraging Appreciation If Your Dog Hates the Crate

Alas, not every dog appreciates a crate. An adult dog who’s never been inside a crate may think it’s a prison, not a haven. A puppy-mill pooch who spent his babyhood cramped inside a crate that was too small and who was forced to eliminate while inside that crate may not think the crate you’ve purchased is such a great idea, either.

Either way, a dog who hesitates to enter a crate for the first time probably just needs some patience from you and a clear incentive to give the crate a try. Find a treat that your dog is passionate about and hold it to his nose so that he knows what’s being offered. Then use a high-pitched, happy-sounding tone of voice to encourage him to enter the crate. As soon as he makes the big step and ventures inside the crate, praise him to the skies. Above all, don’t shut the door until he’s going in and out of the crate without hesitation.

Some dogs balk when they’re left alone in the crate for the first time. If that’s the case with your pooch, stay away for just a minute or so after he starts fussing. Then come back into the room and reassure him with a quick “good boy” or “good dog.” Leave the room again for just a few seconds — and if he stays quiet for that brief time, come back to let him out of the crate and praise him. The important thing here is not to let him out of the crate until he stops fussing.

Many young puppies object to being put in crates at night during their first few nights in a new home. They cry pitifully and otherwise carry on, tempting their soft-hearted people to scoop them out of their crates and allow them to sleep with them in their own beds. This is a temptation that you should do your very best not to give in to. The nearby sidebar titled “Not on my bed, you don’t” explains why and provides advice for dealing with this common situation.

NOT ON MY BED, YOU DON’T

When President Obama and his family first acquired Bo, their Portuguese Water Dog, a reporter asked the president whether Bo would sleep on any of the White House beds. The Chief Executive’s firm response was, “Not on my bed.” He also indicated that the First Dog would not be sleeping on either of his daughters’ beds, either. Bo is the first dog the Obamas have owned, but they’ve made the right decision in opting to keep Bo off their beds.

Puppies and human beds don’t mix for several reasons. First, there’s the possibility that the puppy will wander from where he’s sleeping to somewhere else on your bed and decide (yuck) to do his business there. Second, he could fall off the bed and hurt himself. And third, it sets a bad precedent for a relationship in which you’re trying to establish yourself as his leader — a loving, benevolent leader but a leader nevertheless.

So what should you do if your puppy balks at being in his crate at night? Here are some ideas:

• Keep the crate in your bedroom. Just because you don’t allow your dog on your bed doesn’t mean that he can’t sleep in the same room with you. Simply bring the crate into your bedroom with you at bedtime. For many puppies and dogs, simply being in the same room as their people is enough to calm them and allow everyone to get a good night’s sleep.
• Dangle your fingers. For a few people-loving puppies, being in their humans’ bedrooms doesn’t offer enough proximity to their humans. (My Allie was one of these puppies.) If that’s the case with your new four-legged friend, bring his crate right up next to your bed and dangle your fingers in front of the crate door every time he cries. Chances are, he’ll sniff your fingers and quiet down.
• Stay positive. Scolding your puppy, using a shake can, banging on the crate, or any other negative response to his whining usually won’t keep him quiet — or if it does, not for very long. Staying positive helps him associate the crate with pleasant occurrences.
• Check the time. If your puppy continues to cry — and if he’s under 4 months of age — he may need a potty break. Most puppies younger than 4 months can’t hold it all night long. Take a look at what time it is: If your puppy’s whining any time after 2 a.m. or so and several hours have passed since his previous pit stop, haul yourself out of bed and take him to his potty spot.

If you’ve done your best but there’s no way your dog will accept the crate, don’t despair. For a few pooches, particularly puppy-mill dogs and their offspring, as well as dogs who suffer from severe separation anxiety, the crate will never be the cozy den it represents to the vast majority of canines. For these dogs, the solution is to create an indoor home-alone area that’s less enclosed than a crate is but still protects your home while the dogs learn proper potty protocol. Suggestions for creating this special indoor potty are in Chapter 11.

A dog who suffers from separation anxiety — in other words, panics and becomes destructive when left alone — can benefit from professional help. An experienced trainer can help you teach your anxious pooch that solitude is okay. In severe cases, a veterinarian can prescribe medication that helps to lessen the dog’s anxiety.

Limiting Crate Time: How Much Is Too Much?

As you’ve undoubtedly discovered, I’m a passionate advocate of crate training, keeping your four-legged friend in her doggie den whenever you can’t watch her directly and letting her out for mealtimes, potty breaks, and playtime. Nothing, in my view, makes the whole teaching Doggie Bathroom Manners 101 process easier than having a crate that capitalizes on your dog’s instinctive desire to keep her den clean. But that said, it’s entirely possible that use of a crate can be too much of a good thing — and even cruel to your four-legged friend.

Too many people embrace the crate a little too tightly and turn it into a canine warehouse. They put their dogs into their crates in the morning, go out all day, and then come home in the evening to let their pooches out. Yes, the furniture and rugs are free of destruction, dog poop, and other hazards that are part of sharing one’s life with a dog. But confining your dog to a crate for that long is inhumane — even if she can hold it all day.

Not only does crating your dog for too long cause her discomfort in bowel and bladder — possibly even causing a urinary tract infection — but you also deprive your dog of exercise, mental stimulation, and your company, all of which can cause her to develop a distaste for her crate. And if she can’t hold her poop and pee, you’ve really made things tough for her, because you’ve forced her to dirty her den and then stay in that dirt until you let her out.

Generally, I don’t think it’s fair to confine even a fully housetrained dog to a crate for more than 4 or 5 hours at a time. And as you can see in Chapters 6 and 7, dogs who are still developing their basic bathroom manners need to be let out of their crates much more often. That said, it’s okay to crate a dog overnight after she’s demonstrated that she can hold it for that long (generally after a puppy reaches 4 months of age). But keep that crate with you in your bedroom so she can share space with you and you can hear her if she has a problem or needs a middle-of-the-night pit stop after all (for example, if she’s suffering from a urinary infection or diarrhea).

If you think your schedule or your home décor requires all-day crate confinement for your dog, you need to explore other options. Here’s what you can do:

• Come home at lunch. If your workplace is close to your home, make a quick trip there during your lunch break to give your four-legged friend a much-needed potty break.
• Hire a dog walker. Urban and suburban areas abound with pet sitters and dog walkers who are more than happy to spring your pooch each day for a reasonable fee. Check out your newspaper classifieds, your veterinarian’s office, or an online source such as Craigslist (www.craigslist.org).
• Enlist a neighbor. If you have a dog-loving neighbor who stays home during the day, maybe she’d be willing to come visit your dog and walk him at noontime. Of course, if you embark on such an arrangement, make sure that you’re willing to offer her services that she needs, such as watering her plants and picking up her mail whenever she goes away.
• Bring your pooch to work. Many workplaces allow their employees to bring their well-behaved dogs to work. Check with your company’s human resources department to see whether your company is one of these dog-friendly treasures. If so, you can take your-legged friend out of his crate periodically for a walk and a potty break.
• Consider doggie day care. More and more cities and towns offer cage-free doggie day care to give the confined canine a more pleasurable day. See whether yours is one of them.

Continuing to Use the Crate

After your dog becomes a fan of the crate, you can adopt a few measures to help her keep those good feelings. Crates have many benefits beyond housetraining, so maintaining that appreciation is well worth the effort. In this section, I explain how to do just that, and I name some other ways you and your canine companion can use the crate.

Keeping the love alive

You need to do your part to make sure that the crate continues to be something your dog loves. Here are some ways to do just that:

• Potty first. If you plan to have your puppy or dog stay in her crate while you leave the house, give her an opportunity to poop or pee beforehand. A before-the-crate bathroom break greatly decreases the odds that your four-legged friend will go to the bathroom while she’s in the crate.
• Let her settle. If you’re crating your puppy or dog in her crate while you go out to run errands, put her there a few minutes before you depart. That way, she’ll have a chance to settle herself before you head out the door.
• Downplay comings and goings. Don’t make a big deal of putting your dog in her crate when you leave or of letting her out when you arrive home. Big, emotional hellos and goodbyes can put your dog on emotional overload, making settling down in the crate tougher for her to handle.
• Potty last. Just as you took her to her potty before you left, do the same thing when you arrive home. A dog who’s held her poop and pee while crated needs and deserves the consideration of a bathroom break as soon as possible thereafter.

SILLY KIDS! CRATES ARE FOR DOGS!

Remember those old commercials for General Mills’ Trix cereal in which a rabbit kept trying to eat the cereal, only to be told, “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids”? Well, when it comes to kids and crates, the opposite is true: “Silly kids! Crates are for dogs!”

Unfortunately, most children have difficulty grasping this concept, at least initially. Particularly if the crate in question holds a large dog, most children seem to consider it to be a brand-new indoor playhouse. They just can’t seem to resist crawling into the crate, either to play in it by themselves or to share some one-on-one time with Fido.

You should do your very best to discourage this practice. Tell your kids that the crate is Fido’s own private space and that he shouldn’t be expected to share that space with anyone else. And explain, too, that they shouldn’t try to play with Fido when he’s in his crate. Crate time is downtime for dogs, just as naptime or bedtime is downtime for children.

Beyond housetraining: Other uses for the crate

Even after your puppy or dog is housetrained, you and your dog will still find the crate useful. Here are some other roles a crate can play:

• A room of her own: In addition to using the crate as a safe place in which to avoid fearsome vacuum cleaners and get herself some space during my family’s TV time, my Allie occasionally uses her crate as a place to stash toys and treats. (Unfortunately, she soon forgets that she’s done so.)
• A place away from visitors: The crate’s a great place for your dog to stay if you have repair personnel or other visitors come into your home. Even if your dog is a social butterfly, your guests may appreciate not having to deal with sloppy doggie kisses and shedding. And if your dog is more reserved, she’ll appreciate having a place to retreat to when strangers come around.
• A safe way to travel: The crate is a safe place for your dog to be when you’re both traveling by car — and it’s required if you’re both traveling by air and the dog is too large to join you in the passenger cabin.

• A home away from home: Many hotels and motels that generally frown on accommodating animals may cut you a break if you can tell them your dog will be crated. And if you think that you’ll visit only pet-friendly hotels, well, you may not have that option. If you and your dog find yourselves having to leave your home to outrun a natural disaster such as a hurricane, having a crate can save the day (not to mention your pet’s life) when you’re both scrambling to find a safe shelter.

  Crates are also great when you’re visiting relatives or friends in their homes and want to bring your dog along. She’ll be a lot more comfortable having a familiar home away from home, and your hosts will be more comfortable knowing that your dog has a place to be that will keep her from damaging their stuff.

• A place to heal: The crate may serve as a recovery room for your dog if she undergoes orthopedic surgery such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair (a common problem that big dogs such as Labrador Retrievers face). In fact, many veterinarians require that their canine ACL patients be on what they call crate rest for at least several weeks after surgery. Under such circumstances, the dog who’s accustomed staying in her crate and liking it will fare far better than her crate-hating counterpart. The same situation applies if your dog is being treated for heartworm.

Any way you look at the crate, though, the bottom line is that a dog who has gotten a good start with one is probably going to have a good start with housetraining and every other kind of training. Showing your dog that her crate is something to love is worth every bit of effort you and she make.