I am trying to teach our 7 month old puppy to enjoy being in his crate during the day while I am at work. He goes nuts with barking and whining and I just want him to not have so much anxiety.
This online article explains in depth with tips how to gradually crate train, courtesy of the Humane Society, so your dog learns it's his den/private place. To be successful it's a gradual process. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/...
Keep the crate open and available when you're home. Put a cozy blanket in it and his favorite toys. I throw a few treats in to start. Let him go in and out as he wishes when you are home. Reward him when he does go on. Give a special treat when you have to kennel him and leave or at night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG-gy...
Ideally, you want to start fresh with a crate your dog doesn't have any negative associations with and you shouldn't crate him until he is ready. Realistically, crating him before he is ready may be the safest option, and getting a new crate may not be financially viable. Either way, do your best to make crate training fun for him so he makes positive associations with being in the crate.
I've been lucky enough that all of my dogs have quickly come to love their dog caves, and I've encouraged this from the start by making it their safe space. It's their den, where the comfiest bed is, and nothing bad happens in there. I use it when I go to work (something about me leaving for work makes one of my dogs a little nutty) and intermittently for other trips, even though they're generally very trustworthy in the house, but they both enjoy relaxing in there so much I never have to worry about them being unhappy in the kennel.
Treats, blankies, and favorite toys are all great ways to crate train, but high praise is also good.
Create a routine using happy talk. We trained our corgi by saying "Guess what you gotta do?!" He goes running into his crate and we always give him a treat. It works out great when we leave, for bedtime or when he just needs a nap/timeout. We put a blanket over the crate to keep things quiet and dark so he can sleep peacefully.
Use high value treats and throw some treats in the front of the crate and in the middle and all the way inside. Don't close the door and force him into the crate because he will hate it and be scared of it afterwards. If possible take the door of the crate out so that there are no sudden sounds being made. Once he gets all four feet into the crate, keep throwing treats inside the crate and slow it down a little bit and see what he does. If he stays then slow down the rate. After a little bit let him out of the crate saying "ok!" And throw the treat outside of the crate. Do about 1-2 lessons a day and don't make it something really hard to do.
Feed him/her every meal in the crate and give snacks at night. He'll/she'll soon love going in there.
Namasté, NEVER punish the dog an force the dog into the crate. Only keep the crate positive. Namasté, Marcus
Namasté,
If you are going to be away for more then a hour it is best to find someone to watch the dog. Creating a dog for a long period is not recommended as the dog may need the bathroom an such.
Namasté, Marcus
Do crate training everyday or try to do it at least 3 or 4 times a week. When training your dog to go into a crate find a quiet place to start off with. Try to get a caged crate where you can see through the crate. The crate is divided into 3 sections. Use high value treats such as hot dog, chicken, cheese, etc. drop a few in the very front of the crate and if the dog is not comfortable meaning that their not putting in any legs and leaning really forward then don't force them in. Everything is positive reinforcement and at all times leave the cage door open when doing this until they are extremely comfortable in the crate. When they are comfortable in the first section then move to the second and then to the very end of the crate. Try to put a... (more)
One mistake people make most often is that they are so focused on getting the dog to stay in the crate that in the middle they forget to occasionally released them with a release word such as "OK!" Some dogs are treated so much in the crate that they won't want to come out anymore so when you release them throw a treat outside of the crate and say "ok!" The dog will understand that ok means that it is ok to leave the crate now. This eventually becomes a game to them. As I was saying before, once he is comfortable in the crate close the door so that he is comfortable and laying down and then start to prolong the time. When he is in the crate pull a chair next to his crate and read a book and ignore him. Then build up time from there... (more)
Take him out to where he can do his business and give him treats when he does his business outside this is also a good way of house training you dog. Hope this helped let me know how he does!!! If you have any questions just ask me and I'll try to answer you back as quickly as I can.