Dear Critter Corner: We will be flying over the holidays and want to take our pup with us. We tried to crate train our pup when he was younger, but he didn’t care for it, so we gave up the idea. How can we introduce the crate so that we can have him fly with us?
When reintroducing your pup to the crate, do it slowly so that you can make it a fun place for them, instead of a fearful or unpleasant one. Ideally, using a crate that is different from the one that you used before can be helpful, since they don’t have an association with it.
You can start by placing the crate in a common room that your pup can check out on their own without any pressure. You can encourage them when they go past the crate or pay it any attention. You can do this by reinforcing with a little treat or ‘good puppy.’ Once your pup is comfortable around the crate, you can move to the next step.
Take a small handful of treats and toss one to the back of the crate. Allow your pup to get the treat and come right back out. Do this several times until your pup is anticipating the treat and starting to go in before you toss it in. Now you can start to increase the time your pup is in the crate by asking for a ‘sit’ or ‘down’ once they are in there. Give them a couple of treats once they are in the ‘sit’ or ‘down,’ and then ‘release’ them out with a ‘free’ or similar cue. Repeat this several times and then begin to increase the time limit.
You will now start to close the door once they are in the crate. Take it slowly and allow it to be a fun experience. Start with a second or two and then build as they are comfortable. When they are really starting to enjoy the crate, you can give them a chew or some other item to keep them busy while in there. Repeat the above steps until your pup loves their crate!
If you need additional help with training your pup, schedule a consultation to address the specific behavior.
Tasha Suda is the Lead Dog Trainer for the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Behavior Department. For more information, please visit www.phs-spca.org, call 650-340-7022 x314 or email tsuda@phs-spca.org.