(Nelly is 8 weeks old) I'm really not sure that Nelly realises that giving her food is a treat. I want to get her used to the crate for short periods of time during the day (to make it easier for me to do stuff but also to make her like the crate more) I have a kong for her and thought I could give her that with food in it's she associates her crate with a good time. But, I don't think she'll be interested. Is 8 weeks too young to introduce a Kong with food in it?
No, eight weeks is fine for Kongs - but she may not be very persistent with it at first. It doesn't take them long before they work at it 'tho ...
No, I would save them for during the day - pups find it much harder to be left in the day than the night. ...
I find the best way to crate train is to pop them in when you are sure they are tired, then sit right next to the crate - ignoring any whimpers (I read a book while waiting) then open the door once they are quiet so that they don't have to shout to be let out. After a week or so of this they are happy to go to their crate ...
My pup took a while to get used to the kong when she was very tiny but at about 12 weeks she really mastered them and now there's no looking back!
