Crate Training 101
Having good crate training is one of the most important skills for a dog to have, second only to maybe good leash training.
A lot of people misunderstand why crate training is so important. Even if you never plan to leave your dog in the crate while you are at work, think about all the stressful situations that your dog will be put into that involve a crate: vets, groomers, travel, boarding. It can also play a key role when dealing with behavior issues like separation anxiety, stranger danger, house training and relationship issues between dogs, just to name a few.
I have broken down crate training into 4 major steps, and recommend spending a decent amount of time training each step fully. The major mistakes I often see when it comes to crate training is: going too fast and stopping too early. You want it to be well conditioned as a positive place, especially when using it to manage behaviour issues.
I recommend using the dog’s meal for crate training. This will allow for you to do many reps, without the worry of overfeeding or causing upset stomachs. You may switch to a higher value chew (such as dental chew or pizzle) when working on step 3, but stick to their regular kibble for steps 1, 2 and 4.
4 Step Crate Training
- Going in the crate
- Closing the door
- Staying in the crate
- Leaving them in the crate
This is not meant to be linear, you may need to go back and forth depending on the dog. If at any point you find the dog resisting, go back to step 1 for a few reps to get them motivated for the training again.
Step 1 Going in the crate
In this step, you want the dog to start thinking crate = food or associating it with a positive outcome. Start by tossing food inside the crate and letting them get it without any pressure. If they grab the food and jump out, that is completely fine, you want to train at the dog’s speed. Once they are comfortable going in and out, the next position is to “pause” inside. Toss food in, as you have done before, but once they turn around to exit, offer more food in your hand. At this point, we are not blocking them at all from getting out of the crate, but instead rewarding them for choosing to be inside. If they come out of the crate, they receive no food. After they are comfortable with going in and out every time, start using the verbal cue of your choice. Here is a video of me doing this step with one of my foster dogs;
Step 2 Closing the door
Once they are going in and staying in with no issues you can start on step 2: Closing the Door. Use your verbal cue to have the dog enter the crate, once they are in, close the door, reward them with a treat and open the door. To start, only close the door for a second or two, but as you do more reps, work on the duration making sure to give multiple treats. If at any point they whine or paw at the door, or show a similar behaviour, it is very important not to let them out. We do not want the dog learning that whining or pawing at the door gets them out of the crate. If this is to happen, calmly wait for them to settle down and open the door after they have been calm for 5 to 10 seconds. This will help to teach them that the only way out is to be calm in the crate.
Here is a video of me doing this step with one of my foster dogs;
Step 3 Staying in the crate
In this step you want to start increasing the duration of time in the crate. I would suggest doing this while cooking or watching TV. In this step you will be staying in the same room for a while and will need to be able to monitor them. Start with a target time in mind, I recommend starting around 5 mins and working up to about 30 mins. Give them the verbal cue for entering the crate, close the door, reward, and start the mental clock. Randomly reward them with treats, as much as you like. This is also a great time to give them longer-lasting treats to encourage longer durations (like a filled kong or chew). The end goal of this step is to teach them that staying in the crate doesn’t mean social isolation. Again, any whining or unwanted behaviours calmly wait and then reward once they are settled.
Step 4 Leaving them in the crate
In this step the desired outcome is that you systematically desensitize your dog to your absence. Once they are staying in the crate for 30+ mins without much of an issue, we need to start getting them used to you leaving. Start by just leaving the room for a few seconds and then come back and reward them. Do this multiple times, increasing the duration as you go. Then start leaving the house for a few minutes at a time and slowly building up the time you are gone. In the early stages,I recommend waiting outside the door and listening for any whining or barking and wait for it to stop before going back in. Again we don’t want to teach them barking brings you back. If your dog has some separation anxiety this step and be a little tricker and I suggest reaching out for more information.
Even after the dog is crate trained, I still recommend doing follow up sessions every once in a while to maintain the training. For the follow ups, focus working on the first 2 steps, just to deeply reinforce that crate equals a positive experience.