Put newspapers in the crate. You can add a towel on top of the newspapers, but it shouldn’t be too thick and absorbent – because if your dog pees in his crate, you actually WANT him to be a little uncomfortable on wet bedding. It’s a subtle
motivator for him to keep his crate clean.
Don’t put so-called “housebreaking pads” in the crate.
Don’t use them elsewhere, either. They encourage your dog to go to the bathroom indoors – which is a tough habit to break later on.
Don’t put a water bowl in the crate. It will spill, or your dog will splash in it and make a mess.
And drinking too much water just makes him need to go out more. Makes sense, yes?
Teaching your dog to sleep in his crate
Word #11: “Go Crate”
Some trainers will tell you to wait for your dog to go into the crate on his own. Encourage him to go in, they say, by putting his food dish inside the crate, or by tossing a toy or treat inside – but don’t force him to go in.
Now, if you have an adult Great Dane, I agree. But with a puppy of any breed, or a smallish adult, I prefer the direct approach.
Provide your dog with some brisk play or exercise before his first crating experience. If he’s tired, he’s more likely to nap when he goes into the crate.
When you’re ready, lead him (or carry him, if he’s very small) to the crate. Don’t call him with a “Come” command! You don’t want him to associate “Come” with an experience that he may not like at first.
Don’t worry, your dog will come to love the security of his crate. But in the beginning, when it’s YOUR idea – and then you close the door – he may consider the whole experience a bummer. So don’t call him.
When you arrive at the crate, say in a happy voice, “Go crate!”
Place him inside, praise him cheerfully, and give him a quick treat (for example, a tiny biscuit or piece of cooked chicken), plus a Nylabone chew toy. (We’ll talk more about toys later in this book.) Close the crate door and sit down in a chair across the room to read a book.
Expect protesting. Ignore it. It should subside within a few minutes when your dog realizes that it’s not working and that he might as well chew on his bone or drift off to sleep.
As soon as your dog is quiet, wait five more minutes.
In other words, he must go five minutes straight without barking or whining before you let him out.
The right way to let your dog out of his crate
Word #12: “Okay!”
The way you release your dog from his crate is very important. If you rush toward the crate, fling open the door, and welcome him out like a released prisoner (“Yay! You’re free!”), then the next time you put him in the crate he won’t be able to relax. He will be “wired” the whole time, just itching to be released from exile.
So release him in a low-key, matter-of-fact way.
1. Walk casually toward the crate. Open the crate door and say, in a quiet voice, “Okay, Jake.”
2. When he comes out, don’t touch him. Don’t pet or play with him. Just say simply, “Do you need to go OUT?”
(We’ll be teaching this phrase very soon!) 3. Take him outside to his potty area.
Yes, even if he has only been confined for five minutes. You want to establish the habit that after being in the crate, he will always be able to go outside. This routine will help him to “hold it” while he’s in the crate.
How to handle barking or whining in the crate
If a full 30 minutes goes by and your dog still hasn’t settled down for his five minutes of quiet time – in other words, if he has barked or whined for virtually the entire time – it’s time for a correction.
(Although if you have close neighbors, you shouldn’t wait 30 minutes – do it sooner!)
First, try correcting him from a distance. For example, you might fire a well-aimed spray of water from a squirt gun or spray bottle. Tell him “No” at the same time.
Other options include shaking a metal can full of coins, beeping the handheld Amtek Barker Breaker I told you about in
Chapter 3, or whacking a fly swatter against the wall or table.
You never know which correction will work for any particular dog!
Whichever one you try, stop it the instant your dog stops barking or whining. The lesson should be that his own barking causes a spray of water or a loud startling sound – and that his silence stops it.
If corrections from a distance fail, thwack the fly swatter directly against the crate or give the crate a mild shake, along with a firm “No. Stop that.”
Under no circumstances – well, okay, if your house is on fire! – should you remove your dog from his crate when he is actually barking or whining, or immediately after he has barked or whined. Don’t even remove him to
CORRECT him.
Many dogs, you see, are perfectly willing to take a correction if it gets them out of the crate.
Make sure every family member understands that your dog must never be let out of the crate during (or immediately after) barking or whining.
If you let him out, you are training him to bark and whine whenever he wants out.
Teaching your dog to go into his crate
After you’ve lead or carried him to his crate many, many times, he will have heard the phrase “Go crate!” many, many times.
The next step is to get him to go into his crate when you tell him to – without needing to lead him or carry him.
1. Wait for a time when you are both in the same room as the crate. Choose a moment when he is looking at you. Gesture toward the crate and say cheerfully, “Jake, go crate!” Your voice should be happy and excited.
2. Walk toward the crate, patting your hands together to encourage him to follow you. If necessary, take his collar and lead him toward the crate, repeating cheerfully, “Go crate!
Good boy!”
3. At the door to the crate, take your hand off his collar and encourage him to go in. A strategic nudge or motivating him with a treat may be necessary.
4. As soon as he’s inside, praise him. “Yay! Good crate!” Give him the treat. Close the door. When he’s been quiet in there for a minute, open the door and release him with “Okay.”
Remember to be very casual about releasing him from the crate. You want him to be excited about going INTO the crate – not hyped about coming out!
5. Once he has come out, let him wander around for awhile, then send him back into the crate. Do this routine three times – no more. Then take him outside for his potty break.
Now it’s simply a matter of repetition and persistence.
Eventually you should be able to send him to his crate from a different room. Follow behind him to make sure he ends up in his crate.