Week 1, Lesson 1 - Introducing Your Puppy to His Crate

(If you are still searching for your Service Dog prospect, please visit this link for a free course by Donna Hill on choosing your dog/puppy.)

Photo Courtesy ChaoticFluffy

 You've picked out your puppy or found a perfect dog at the shelter or rescue who seems to have a lot of potential. You've signed the papers, exchanged money and loaded your bundle of fur into your car. At home waits a crate, dishes, leashes, collars, toys and an huge stack of hopes and dreams. 

Let's start towards making those dreams of an owner-trained service dog a reality. 

FIRST THINGS FIRST - IT'S OKAY TO SLEEP WITH YOUR PUPPY
If at all possible, it's best avoid having to lock a puppy in the crate before he is ready. This may mean sleeping with the puppy (either in bed with you, or setting up a place for you to sleep on the floor with the pup for a night or two). There are trainers who frown on letting your puppy sleep with you, but this is where you need to do what's best for you and your puppy. Having a traumatic, lonely first night is probably not best. For me, it worked fine for my puppy to sleep in his crate with me near by, my hand petting him to sleep. Any time he woke up the first night, I was right there. He easily transitioned to nights on his own then.

Introduce Your Puppy to His Crate 

STEP 1 - Optimally you bring your puppy home in the morning and have all day at home with him where you can gradually introduce him to the crate. Puppies will need to sleep often, but when he's awake, play with some toys and toss one of them into the crate. Encourage him to go in after it. (It's great to have an exercise pen set up and attached to the edges of the crate. That way you can still keep puppy out of harms way and begin house training without forcing him into a crate that he's not ready for yet.) 

DO NOT CLOSE THE GATE OR FORCE YOUR PUPPY TO REMAIN IN THE CRATE. 

If toys aren't your puppy's thing, try treats. Toss something especially yummy into the crate (just inside the door) and encourage your puppy to reach for it. Continue playing outside of the crate and periodically toss treats further and further into the crate until your puppy has all four feet inside.

STEP 2 - After another break (and probably another nap - 8 week old pupsters tire quickly), work up to all four feet in the crate again. You may have to start at the beginning all over, but never fear, this time it will go faster. Then once your pupster is in the crate, keep tossing treats inside to encourage him to stay in the crate for a couple seconds. Again, do not force him to remain in the crate. 

STEP 3 - Continue to build up the length of time he is comfortable in the crate with the door open. You can do this by feeding him his meals in the crate or by stuffing a Kong toy and letting him work on it in there. If he picks the Kong up and walks out of the crate, gently take the Kong from him and toss it back in. Soon enough he'll realize that if he wants his Kong, he has to keep it in the crate. Eventually you should be able to close the door for a second and immediately open it and invite the puppy out. 

If at any point your pup starts showing signs of stress, take a few steps back and start over. Continue working on this crate introduction until your puppy stays quietly in the crate for a minute or two. Intersperse more breaks and lengthen the time you have the puppy in the crate until he can sit or lay quietly for a couple minutes on his own. From here you just continue to lengthen his time in the crate. 

You may start walking away for a minute or too as well. At this point, if at any time he begins to whine, do not immediately return or release him from the crate. Hopefully if the introduction went well and you have done things gradually, he will stay calm, but if he whines, don't despair. Wait until he is quiet. As soon as he is quiet, tell him he's a good boy and let him out. In the beginning I also found it useful to toss a treat in the closed crate every time my pup was quiet. He figured out pretty quickly that rewards came when he lay down quietly and waited. Slowly space the rewards out longer and longer as your puppy's stamina grows. Remember you have at least two rewards at your disposal, treats and releasing from the crate. 

Choose a verbal cue to use too. "Kennel up" seems to be popular, but feel free to choose whatever word(s) works best for you!

REMINDER - Never punish your puppy with the crate. Never bang on it or yell at him. You are trying to create a safe, comfortable haven for the puppy. This is his safe spot.

WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY HAS TO GO POTTY? - Puppies sometimes whimper or whine when they have to go potty. The best approach is to take your puppy out prior to any crate work. However, if your puppy is in the crate and starts whining and you think he might have to go out, you can try this approach. Use a specific set of words, like, "Do you need to go potty?" and then take him out immediately and let him go potty and bring him back to the crate when he's done. Don't play with him. Just bring him right back and put him inside. Then, wait for him to be quiet for a moment or two and release him from the crate.

STEP 4 - ADVANCED -  Once your puppy readily enters his crate and calmly remains there for as long as needed, train your puppy to wait for a release command before exiting his crate. Start to open the crate door. If he starts to step out, gently shut the door again. Do this a few times, and he will begin to hesitate and/or look at you when you open the crate. As soon as he hesitates tell him he is a good boy and let him out. (Don't smack your dog's face with the crate door. Open it slowly, a little bit at a time, so you can close it gently as soon as he begins to step out. No pinching, no bumping. You don't want to make doors scary things. This creates dogs that dart frantically through doors. A very undesirable trait in a Service Dog.) Continue to do these steps, gradually asking for longer waits and/or opening the door a little bit wider each time. If your puppy knows the sit command, you can also incorporate that here as well. He'll pick up manners quickly. 

IMPERFECT START? - ALL IS NOT LOST, DEAR FRIEND

(Photo Credit Beatrice Milek)

Above is the optimal way to introduce your pupster to his crate. However, if you started out like me where you had to pick your puppy up late at night and got home in time to go to bed, then you might need to adjust your strategy a little. (This can also work for starting an adult dog with crate training.) 

IF PUPPY JUST CAME HOME - If at all possible, place the crate by your bedside, or take your puppy to bed with you. (I slept on the floor next to the crate the first night.) You are not spoiling your pup. Your puppy has been taken from everything he has known and the comfort of his mom and siblings. Tonight is the time to be there for him. Teaching him independence will come later as your baby grows up and gains confidence. Be prepared to take your puppy out a time or two overnight. They have small bladders and usually aren't ready to go all night without taking a leak. Then, after a night of sleep (give or take a little), you can start the above steps on crate training with your new friend.

IF STARTING OVER - Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, you follow the same steps listed above to "re-introduce" the crate. If your puppy or dog hates his crate so much that he won't even go near it, then start rewarding him for even looking at the crate. The idea is to break crate training down into tiny steps that the dog can succeed at. Even a dog that has been traumatized by a crate can succeed by looking at the crate for a second or two. Then slowly build from there. A clicker can be especially useful here. (Visit Clicker Training - Karen Pryor for more information about using a clicker.)

A second technique to add to the above training approach is to release the dog to come away from the crate any time he approaches the crate. Sometimes "retreating to safety" can be an even bigger reward than a treat. Toss a treat in the direction of the crate. Not so close that the dog won't get the treat, or darts in and snaps it up with tail tucked, but close enough that the dog has to summon a small amount of courage to get it. Then quickly call him back to you. 

Soon he will learn that he can come away any time he approaches the crate and it will become less intimidating. So, encourage your dog to approach the crate by treats, tossed toys, etc. As soon as he does, call him away. It can take a bit of trial and error to learn to read your dog well, but this approach is invaluable in the future to help your dog gain confidence in a lot of other areas. Understand that leaving the object of concern (ie, the crate) is the reward. And this translates in his mind to a good thing happening every time he nears the crate. So, he will return to the crate more often. Gotta learn to think dog here. :)  

BONUS TIPS!

• Be patient. Some dogs take their good old time, but they'll get there!
•  If you have to crate your puppy at some point before he's ready for safety's sake, please don't feel guilty. Life happens. Yes, your puppy might backtrack a bit, but just start at the step he's comfortable with and progress from there again.
• Know doggie stress signals and calming signals (lip lick, shaking it off, whining, panting when not hot). These are ways dogs calm themselves when overstimulated or stressed. Take a step back in your training. 
• Give a jackpot of treats for exceptional bravery or big steps forward in the training process.
• Exercise your puppy before crate time so he is tired.
• Make the crate comfortable. Comfy blankets for non-chewers. Some puppies like a blanket draped overtop. Out of direct sunlight and cold drafts. 
• Have bones or chew toys ready if your puppy has to be crated for longer times.
• If you have to leave the pup during the day for a bit, turn on some classical music or the radio to keep him company. icalm dog player is also an option. 
• If you can, get an Adaptil Diffuser for the room where the dog crate is to help ease the stress of rehoming.

Here's a good video clip about crate training!

WEEK 1 - HOMEWORK
- Work on crate training at least three or four times every day. More often if your up for it and neither your puppy or you get bored. Play for a little, then work with the crate, then play for a little, then let him sleep, etc.  
- Read and reread this article. Learning the language of dog is so important - Canine Body Language

There is no time table for crate training. Dogs and puppies vary greatly in how long it takes for them to accept new things. Some take a hour or two. Others may take days or even weeks. But it is important that a Service Dog knows how to settle quietly and comfortably in a crate. So keep at it. Slow and steady and MOST IMPORTANTLY, POSITIVELY and you'll see success!