Crate Training

For some reason, many dog owners feel that crating a dog is cruel. They don't like the idea of confining a dog to a small space.

However, dogs (and their ancestors, wolves) are den animals. Wild dogs used to dig small holes -- just big enough to stand up and turn around. They felt safe there. That's how a dog, properly trained, should feel in his crate. It is a good place.

Also, a dog naturally will not eliminate (pee or poo) where it sleeps -- so crating aids in house-breaking.

A dog's crate, as I wrote above, should be just big enough for the dog to stand up and turn around. If you are getting a puppy, get the crate for the size you expect the dog to be, full-grown. Most crates nowadays come with an "insert" that you can use to partition the crate for the puppy's current size, and then move it (or remove it) as the puppy gets bigger. Training a dog to like his crate could take days or weeks, depending on the dog's past association with crates.

Assemble the crate, and bring your dog into the room. Reward any interest in the crate with treats. If your dog steps into the crate, toss some treats on the crate floor. Let the dog go at his own pace. Leave the door open so that the dog can go in and out as he pleases.

If the dog is not already housebroken, do not put any bedding in the crate. It will wick away the pee, so it may actually encourage (or at least, not deter) the dog from soiling its crate.

Feed your dog his meals in his crate. Feed extra-special treats (pigs' ears, bully sticks, stuffed kongs) in the crate. Reserve these treats, and ONLY give them in the crate.

As the dog gets more comfortable in the crate, close the door for a few minutes. Then gradually lengthen the time the door is closed. Don't open the door if the dog whines -- wait till he is quite (or else he will learn that whining = crate opening).

Finally, never use a crate as punishment. Doing that will cause the dog to fear the crate, avoid it, and refuse to enter it.

Read more about crate training here.

If you can't tell by now, this is what I worked on with Leo tonight. There is an empty crate in the behaviorist's office. After taking Leo for a walk (during which, he nearly wiggled out of his Easy Walk harness again), I took him into the office. After knocking over the trash can, I pulled the blanket away from the crate and opened the door.

Leo immediately stuck his head in, which was rewarded with tossing treats on the crate floor. Did the same thing when Leo put his whole self in the crate. We did this for about 20 minutes. In and out of the crate.



Then, I brought out the bully stick. I tried to point Leo into the crate, but he jumped up and stole the bully stick . . . and promptly took it into the crate to enjoy it.



I did manage to close the door for a few minutes. I could hear him start to lose interest in the bully stick, so I wanted to open the door before he started to panic. After that, I just let him enjoy the bully stick.



Here's a short video that I took of Leo playing with his bully stick.

Sorry!

I apologize for not updating sooner.

On Wednesday, the most active Pen Pal volunteers gathered at ACCT to share ideas about training and marketing of our Pen Pals. Erin shared with us some great news -- Natalie OK'ed a generous offer by Portia of Central Bark Doggie Day Care to allow us to bring our Pen Pals on Sundays to run off-leash in their enclosed (indoor!) dog runs! Thank you, Portia!

On Saturday, Megan and I met at ACCT at 8:45, and attempted to ambush Leo with a Gentle Leader head collar. This is a dog wearing a Gentle Leader:


As you can see, a dog can still hold a ball, eat food, and take a drink. It is NOT a muzzle. It gives the owner control over the dog's head, which in turn, gives the owner control over the dog's body.

Unfortunately, most dogs do not immediately adjust to wearing this type of collar, because they are not used to having something around their nose. It usually takes time to get the dog to adjust to it, using positive reinforcement for walking nicely, without trying to paw it off.

Leo HATED it. He shook his head so vigorously trying to get it off. We managed to get from the shelter into my car for a ride down to Kelly Drive. However, in the car, he did get the loop off of his nose.

Once at Kelly Drive, we decided to leave the Gentle Leader off. He was shaking so much, we thought his shaking would be more of a turn-off for potential adopters than his energetic pulling on my regular leash.

We met John down there, and introduced him to Leo. John can't have dogs in his apartment, but he did sign up to be a volunteer for the PSPCA/ACCT!

Due to time constraints, Leo's journey to Kelly Drive didn't last too long, and didn't even put a dent in his energy level. We're hoping to take him to Central Bark on Sunday, January 31st, where he can RUN RUN RUN!

Also, because of a shortage of "Adopt Me" vests at ACCT, Megan ordered one on her own from Dog Booties. When we went down to Kelly Drive, nobody knew that he was available for adoption.

January 9, 2010

After a Behavior Team meeting at the Erie Avenue Location, I went over to the Hunting Park shelter were Leo lives. He was already out in the yard with Megan, and I was told that he'd gotten into some trouble.

There are 3 fenced dog runs in the yard where we can take the dogs and allow them to run and play off-leash. However, Leo, the escape artist, manage to get out of the first one. So they moved him to a different one. He got out again. They moved to the third one. He got out AGAIN! Now, granted, these dogs runs aren't the most secure, but I've never heard of one dog escaping from all 3 in one afternoon!

So, since he had had some exercise already, Megan and I took him back into the empty office we used last time. We practiced some more of "sit, and "down." We also practiced more "touch," and he's beginning to hit the target (my fist) no matter if it's in front of him, to the side of him, or over his head.

We also tried to figure out whether he's really deaf, partially deaf, or just has selective hearing. We still aren't 100% sure. He doesn't react when I click my clicker right next to his left ear. He only barely reacts when it's clicked in his right ear. He jumped when I dropped a metal bowl on the bare floor (but he could've reacted to vibrations in the floor), and he also heard a mouse squeaking under a treadmill in the room.

And we also discussed what would benefit Leo. He definitely needs more exercise. Part of the Pen Pal program is "signing out" the dog once a month and taking him an off-site location (away from the shelter). I plan to take Leo to an enclosed roller-hockey rink near my house where he can run around and play fetch, without being able to escape.

We also feel that it will benefit him tremendously to be neutered. I'm also going to update his Petfinder bio, with a new write-up and pictures, and include my email address as primary contact for potential fosters or adopters.

We may also try to contact rescues to see if they will take in Leo. Megan is going to contact a rescue that recently took in another of ACCT's "hard-of-hearing" pit bulls, Kirby.

Leo has TWO Pen Pals!

Tonight, I met Megan at the shelter. She's going to be a second Pen Pal for Leo, so he'll get extra face time for training and socialization, and have double the exposure!

I took him into a dog run outside, and let him run to burn off a fraction of his energy (he has a LOT!). I attempted to take him for a walk, but mostly just got dragged around the yard.

Then, Megan and I took him into an empty office. We practiced "sit," and "down." Leo performs both of these actions with great enthusiasm! It's really funny to watch him dive to the floor.

We started to introduce the verbal command for "down," and also started "touch." "Touch" is a precursor to "come." "Touch" teaches them to hit a target. You start off very close to the dog, then gradually move the "target," (your hand) further and further away.

But the biggest obstacle to training Leo is his boundless energy. Leo will need a very active family. As I said, running in the kennel burned off only a fraction of his energy. While training in the office, despite the lack of distractions, it was hard to keep his focus.

So, we ended the evening with some belly rubs.

So, the plan is that at least one night during the week, Megan will go to ACCT, take him to an outside run and exercise him, and practice the commands that have already been introduced. Coleen will go on a separate night, and do the same. And hopefully one day a week (most likely the weekend), they will both meet at ACCT and introduce new commands together.