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Crate Training

Advice from Animal Expert Dr. Grey Stafford

I admit it. When I first started training professionally I was not a big fan of pet crates. Perhaps it was the way pet people were using the crates as solitary confinement, not as a training tool, that put me off to using them. As I grow older and wiser, mostly older, I have completely changed my opinion about the usefulness of crate training—provided it is based only on positive reinforcement.

Crates allow pet owners to provide their animals with a safe and hopefully fun location to hang out whenever a little extra control over the environment is necessary. For example, we recently brought a new puppy into our home. So far, the new pup and our other dog are getting along well. But sometimes their enthusiasm and energy during playtime reach the level of hyper stimulation. Before that happens and while they are still playing nicely with each other, we try to separate them, each into their own crate, to create a break in the excitement. Of course, taking them away from all the immediate fun means we have to make certain being inside the crate is also fun. Separating them while they still are getting along helps maintain good family relations and prevents them from separating themselves because of fighting.

Here are a couple of ways to begin introducing a crate:

1. Place the new crate in a common area of the house to help pets get used to the new object.

2. Do normal things in and around the crate. Don’t worry about closing the gate early on. I’ve even crawled inside our super large carrier along with them!

3. Consider placing feed bowls inside each crate. Soon, once they learn to anticipate breakfast and dinner happens while inside the crate, you can introduce the request “inside” and pause until they enter before you actually place the bowl in the crate. This will help train them to go in (or out) based upon your cue, not the presence of the food bowl.

4. Avoid letting animals out of the crate if they are whiny, barking, scratching or seem otherwise agitated. Instead, look for opportunities (sooner) to release them for calm displays of behavior such as silence, sitting, laying down, playing with a chew toy etc. It doesn’t hurt to toss them a kibble or two before you let them out.

5. Vary the amount of time you ask them to spend inside a crate. By keeping things fun and unpredictable, you will shape a pet that willingly goes inside its crate.

Dr. Grey

Learn more about Dr. Grey Stafford

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