WHY CRATES ARE GREAT!
Julie Hill — a convert herself — discusses the benefits of crates and how to introduce them properly.
“Don’t see it as a cage — see it as your dog’s bedroom.”
“P eople see crates and think ‘cage’,” explained dog trainer Jodie Forbes, of Dorset-based dog training club Crazelpup.
“Don’t see it as a cage — see it as your dog’s bedroom. Dogs like to have a nice, secure space.”
And that is the crux of the issue — the way the dog sees the crate. “If the dogs are never put in there as a punishment, it’s no different to a bed,” explained Jodie.
It’s the way you introduce the crate to a dog that is so critical. Many breeders use crates, in which case puppies are familiar and comfortable with them, but what if you adopt an older dog?
Jodie advocates the same method: “I always start in the same way. I open the crate up — top, sides, doors — so there are as many exits as possible. Dogs don’t like being trapped in a situation, and going into a small, confined space that they aren’t familiar with, without any escape, can be really scary.
“I throw a treat into the crate, and I throw a treat out to emphasise they can go in, or they can go out. As they learn this and feel more comfortable, I start throwing more treats in a strategic spot in the crate that requires the dog to put his whole body in to get the treat. I use a really high rate of reinforcement to begin with — lots and lots of treats, one at a time, over and over. Then I add a release cue, such as ‘OK!’, and throw a treat out. The dog then learns that he can stay in there and when he hears the word ‘OK!’ he can come back out again.
“When I’m teaching crate training, I never close the doors to start with, because
I feel like that breaks the trust. I want the dogs to love being in there. With my own dogs, I can send them to the crate and not close the door. Then I can do whatever I want around the house and they will stay there until I release them, because the barrier is in their minds as opposed to physically being there. It’s called boundary training.”
Jodie has an easy way to encourage dogs to relax in their crates. “I get a Kong and put a rope through it — something the dog’s not going to swallow — and tie it to the crate on the inside. Tie it nice and low so the dog has to be lying down inside the crate to eat it. This is a really good way of practising settling in the crate. There’s a real difference between a dog doing a ‘down/ stay’ in a crate, and actually settling.” A crate can also help a dog to accept that being left on his own for short periods is perfectly normal. “Once a dog is more confident, he feels like he has agency and choice in the matter. That’s when you can start closing the cage because that’s when he starts to feel more confident about being left on his own,” said Jodie.
But, she added, it’s vital to note that while a crate can help with separation issues if the dog feels secure in the crate, simply forcing a dog with separation anxiety into a crate will only exacerbate his panic.
Additionally, crates can be a safe haven
during a party or at other busy times, help with toilet training, offer familiarity when away from home, ensure safety in the car, calm dogs who become anxious on firework night, and even provide a more efficient exit in the event of a fire — especially if firefighters have to enter your house while you are absent or injured. Popping a puppy in a crate, with lots of praise and distraction toys, can preserve an owner’s sanity — or at the very least patience! — but does a crate have a role for adult dogs?
ON THE SAFE SIDE
“If you have a multi-dog household,
I would always have one crate out just in case,” Jodie advised. “You might never use it, but things happen — maybe you have a female and a male and the bitch comes into season, or maybe you have two males and they start fighting, or one of them starts resource guarding.
“It’s important to get a crate in which the dogs can stand up, turn around, and stretch out — but not so huge that it’s like a whole room to them. I would get a divider if your dog is going to grow significantly bigger than he is as a puppy.”
Safety is the other essential consideration. “It’s really important that your dog can’t injure himself,” Jodie added. “Make sure you go for a crate that’s going to be strong enough for your dog; a lot of them nowadays are made quite cheaply and the bars can be bent. Go for something sturdier that may be a little bit more money but is less likely to injure your dog.”
So, to get the most out of crates — think outside the box!
“I want the dogs to love being in there.”