Hi My first post on this helpful forum so I am hoping to get some brilliant advice please. I have a 6 month old lab who is fine in his crate at night and in the car but does not like being left on his own in his crate during the day in the house for a short period, for example, to do the school run which is 15-20minutes. We got him at 10 weeks old and due to my work I was unfortunately unable to dedicate much time to crate training in his first few weeks at home. He was fine initially going into the crate but did not like having the door closed and unfortunately his second day at home i left him in the crate to do the school run which was probably not the best start. He starts to get anxious if i pick the keys up or put my coat on to go out. I always left him in the crate with a treat but he would start barking before I had even left the house. For the last few weeks I have gone back to the early stages of crate training by putting more treats in his crate, not shutting the door, feeding him in there and more recently closing the door (once he has had a walk, is tired ) with a treat and me sitting right by the crate. He barks initially but then goes quiet and falls asleep. I don't look at him and quietly work by him or do chores in the kitchen. Since doing this he will still not go willingly into his crate during the day and I am worried if I try to close the door and build up the time it is closed in small stages it may push me back a stage. I have not left him alone in his crate in the house for probably a couple of months now. Any advice would be very much appreciated. I am worried that as he is now 6 months he will be harder to crate train during his adolescence stage. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Hi @Helen 2 Welcome to the forum. There is section on separation anxiety and crate training in the following link. https://thehappypuppysite.com/crate-training-a-puppy/ You need to go back a couple of training stages, and do not try to force the pace until he is happy and reliable at each stage. While you are going through that process, can you take him in the car to do the school run? A harness and seat belt attachment will help to keep him away from you while you are driving. If you can, ensure the fitting is such that he can't get his jaw around it and bite through the webbing of the harness.
Hi Thank you for your advice. I will try taking him in the car on the school run and go back a few stages in crate training. Fingers crossed!
I agree with the idea of returning to crate training 101 and thoroughly recommend the link Michael posted (cos I wrote it ). I also wanted to add that if your pup already has negative associations with the crate, you can make great strides in changing that by playing some 'Crate Games' as defined by Susan Garett: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crate-Game...132&sr=8-1&keywords=crate+games+susan+garrett That's a link to the DVD on Amazon UK but it's also available all over really. This sees you use the crate as a training 'object' in lots of creative ways and not just as a place of separation for the dog. The dog comes to love doing crate training with you, following the DVD and so it really helps change associations with the crate.
Hi Jo Thank you for your message your crate training article is brilliant I really wish I had seen it when we first got our puppy I am sure we would be in a different place by now! He is improving and will now go into his crate on his own in the mornings to have a sleep so progress is being made each day. Your recommendation on the crate games DVD sounds great I will give that a go too. Thanks again for your time and advice it is really appreciated.
