Crate training

There are some conflicting (and strong!) views on crates but if you view it as a safe space your dog can choose to go in to, it can be a valuable tool to help your dog feel safe.

There are various crate games you can play to help slowly build a positive association.

George came to me as a puppy used to spending time in a crate. Of course then he would have been with Mum and his littermates so it's quite different being in one on his own.

I left the crate door open in the first few days and he happily ran in and out. He often chose to rest in there during the day and he ate his meals in there. He became particularly attached to his travel crate.

He was a bit of a terror for tearing up (and trying to eat) blankets and beds so the daytime crate was mostly empty.

Unfortunately I made some errors along the way.

I spent the first two weeks sleeping on the sofa next to George's crate. He did OK, just the normal puppy waking up for comfort and reassurance or because he needed a wee.

But I was committed to George sleeping in the crate long term. I had mistakenly thought this would lead to increased independence. I wanted him to be able to spend the night in daycare without becoming distressed if needed.

I had two crates, one in the bedroom and one downstairs. He didn't tolerate the bedroom crate well. I likely hadn't done enough work making this a positive space as we spent far less time there than downstairs.

I persevered for far too long. Although I didn't leave George in distress, I was up constantly in the night and neither of us were resting well.

When I 'gave in' and allowed George to sleep on the bed with me, we both finally got some decent sleep. Looking back, I'm not sure why I was so wedded to the idea of sleeping separately.

George now chooses where to sleep and sometimes even spends some of the night sleeping downstairs. So we ended up where we wanted to be anyway but with too many months of bad sleep along the way.

One of our trainers advised me to leave him in the crate for an hour in the morning and the evening to train for separation anxiety. This was a terrible experience and likely led to an aversion to the crate. This is not crate training where going at your dog's pace is key. I still feel guilty that I put him through this.

I read that dogs suffering with separation anxiety often also struggle with confinement anxiety and tend to do better with more space. Of course this is difficult when they are a puppy and you need to keep them safe but pens and puppy proofing a room or part of a room can work well. I used gates and pens for a long time (there is still a child gate blocking off the kitchen and front door).

The crates went away for a while. I donated the bedroom one to Chained Dogs Rehabilitation NZ.

A little while before my parents' visit, I thought it might be a good idea to set up a safe space for George given the extra people in the house.

So the downstairs crate came out again. At first with no cover and then once he was used to it, I put the cover on. He often chose to rest in there and used it quite a lot during my parents' visit. The difference this time was that it was entirely his choice - I never shut the door. He was never disturbed if he had chosen to go in the crate.

He hasn't been in there for a couple of months. The temperatures are becoming warmer so perhaps it's a little warm or perhaps he just doesn't feel the need to.

I have a friend coming to visit soon for a week so it will be interesting to see if he uses it then.

I think crate training is a valuable tool for all dogs as it can assist in an emergency or if they need to be crated at the vet. It could be useful to keep your dog calm when visitors arrive (although doesn’t work for George).

So I wouldn't say I have been entirely successful with George! We had other priorities at the time to work on once I had decided to put the crates away for a while.

But I'm leaving it out for now. I sometimes hide treats in there so he continues to see it as a positive space and will make sure it continues to be his choice.