Crate training your dog, that is, training your dog to go into his crate on command, is not only as great convenience for you but also an aid in house training and a way to keep your dog out of trouble when you're away.
It gives you dog a place to consider his "den" or a safe place to go to rest and relax and be left alone.
It can be the place where you feed your dog as well.
The Crate If you don't already have the correct size crate for your dog, you obviously must get one.
The height of the crate should be at least two inches higher than your dog when your dog is either sitting erect or standing on the floor pad.
The pad is usually bought separately from the crate.
The crate should be long enough and wide enough for your dog to easily turn around in it.
And, there should be enough room for a water bowl, and a food bowl if you want to feed your dog in the crate.
If you buy the crate for your puppy that's going to grow into a much larger dog, and you don't want to buy additional crates as your puppy grows up, you can buy one that will fit you dog when he's full grown and put boxes inside the crate to take up space when you puppy is still small.
The Training Open the crate.
Put the training collar and leash on your dog.
Put a treat that he really likes in your hand and close it.
With your other hand holding the leash, walk your dog to about two or three feet from the open crate and make him sit.
Say "Get in the crate!" Toss the treat into the crate and pull on the leash in the direction of the open crate.
As your dog starts to move into the crate to get the treat, stop pulling on the leash.
When your dog is in the crate, close the door and lavish praise on him as he eats the treat.
When he is finished eating his treat, open the crate door and tell him "Free".
When he comes out, again lavish praise on him.
Repeat the exercise four more times, but on the fourth time, open the crate door, take off the leash and collar, give him another treat and close the crate door with your dog still inside.
Then go away for fifteen or twenty minutes.
When you come back, open the crate door, put on the training collar and leash say "Free" and let him out of the crate.
Praise him when he comes out.
Now repeat the exercise five more times.
When you notice that your dog starts to anticipate the command, give him the treat every third time but praise him every time.
If he starts to go into the crate before you give him the command, say "no" and keep him from going into the crate, or if he gets in the crate before you can stop him, pull him out.
The idea is that he can go into the crate on his own if you're not there, but when you're with him with the collar and leash on, he can only go into the crate on your command.
Now, with your dog out of the crate, he'll be looking at you waiting for the command to get in the crate.
Give him the command and give him his treat and praise.
As you do this exercise, your dog will start looking at you waiting for your command so he can go into the crate and get his reward.
Always praise him when he obeys the command, but don't give him a treat every time.
You can declare victory when your dog will go into the crate on your command without a leash or training collar on and without the treat to motivate him.
Remember that dog training is never ending.
That means that even if you don't have to put your dog into his crate, give him the command to get into his crate every once in a while anyway, just to reinforce the training and make sure he doesn't get the idea that he doesn't always have to do what you tell him.
If he doesn't respond to your command after he has been doing it for a while, put the training collar and leash back on him and do the exercise a few times, but only with praise, not with treats.
This sometimes happens when the dog thinks you're not the Alpha dog, he is.
Enjoy your dog.
He will be your best friend.
By Hirsh Marantz