# Help - I can't get my dog to go into the crate



## symons (Apr 2, 2007)

Help!

I adopted a young dog from the shelter a couple weeks ago. It appears that he is not crate trained so I started introducing him to the crate. The problem is that he wants nothing to do with it and I can’t get him in there. It’s getting worse by the day. He does eat his food in there with treats but when it comes to me leaving in the moring, it is a struggle and he runs away peeing.

Please help – I’m at my wits end!


----------



## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

What kind of dog? And who's the boss? Every one of my dogs has been crated from the first night they were brought home. If they won't go in I PUT them in. This is not a choice, at least not in my house. I think you have some issues with choosing who is going to be the dominant force in your household.
Running away peeing is submissive urination. Your dog has no confidence in himself. You need to get into an obedience class. The dog will feel far more confident when you give a command, he understands the order, and is able to comply. That builds confidence. Right now you are not being consistent with putting him in the crate, at least not in the manner you would like it done, so you are sending mixed signals to the dog. How does he run away from you if you have your hand thru his collar? Sign up for obedience today. You will both benefit greatly.


----------



## Alpha (Aug 24, 2006)

I used to go through this with Hades.

Everytime I left it was a 15 minute long chase! A big fight!

Now, I say "Hades KENNEL!" and POOF! He's in there! 

Make kennel time short and sweet.

Leave the door open, go to the place where the treats are, and tell your dog, "KENNEL!" in a happy tone. Go to the kennel and throw the treat in. If he get's in and runs back out, fine. Don't close the door.

Get him used to WILLINGLY going into the kennel first.

Than start closing the door and leaving him in there for five minutes at a time rewarding no whining and quiet crate time.

Good luck


----------



## DoggieWonders (Apr 3, 2007)

Hey, our dog used to wine a lot when he was in the kennel also. But after doing some reading and such we learned to just stop listening. it only took a few weeks, but after that he hasn't whined once and if we bring him over to the kennel and say "Kennel" he goes in queitly and happily ( we did reward him with treats for a little while) now we just make sure he has one of his toys in their for his own comfort and there is no struggle. But don't forget your dog wont want to do anything you say unless you have established in HIS/HER mind that YOU are the pack leader and he is not. There are several different way to do this, if you haven't done so already go to the library or contact a local vet they should be able to explain more. You can always ask and I will tell you what I know, but I am not a dog trainer, so its just personal experience. Hope that helps


----------



## symons (Apr 2, 2007)

Thanks briteday, Alpha and Doggiewonders for your help! Your input gave me much confidence. 

He is a 19 month flat-coated retriever/lab mix. 

Tonight at dinner, we put him the in crate and let him bark and whimper while we ate. He did stop after awhile and when we were finished (and so was he), I let him out of the crate - he was laying down and being quiet.  

Crating is very new to us even tho we have had three dogs who were never crated. All our previous dogs had backgrounds which all the shelters informed us about but this dog was from Kentucky (high kill shelter) and no one knew anything about him so we're flying by the seat of our pants! Everyday is a learning experience and we have overcome alot of issues in the past three weeks except for this one which hopefully soon we will also.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow so we'll get more pointers there.

Again, thank you!


----------



## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

When Shippo was a little puppy, I always lured him into the crate with a goody-stuffed Kong or something similar that kept him busy for hours, so he almost always was being encouraged to walk in by himself. He learned quickly that he ONLY got these goodies in his crate, and so it only took about a week for him to start RUNNING into the crate when I had that Kong ready. Perhaps you could try this?

As far as crying and carrying on, you just have to ignore it completely and it will eventually stop. >^^;<


----------



## threedognite (Feb 10, 2007)

You got some really good advise here from everyone and it sounds like your dog is doing okay with the crate. He probably fears the crate because he was probably picked up by an animal officer and put into a truck then delivered to the shelter where he lived behind a gate. Two of my dogs are from rescues and when they were being crate trained, I left the door open on the crate until they got comfortable with going in and out. If a dog is forced into a crate and the door slams shut, the dog gets more fearful of going into it. Believe it or not, once a dog gets the idea that he isn't being put into a crate for punishment, the dog will actually enjoy going into his own 'place'. I never put my dogs in their crate without giving them a really tasty treat. They learned that going in the crate is the place where the goodies are!!


----------



## sonnyt (Apr 4, 2007)

i had the same problem my dog haited going in the kennel <aka the casa(spanish for house)>she would cry and cry and she wouldnt give up. but you just got to step in and put him in there. no questions if he huffs and puffs all the way to the kennel ignore him and put hime in close the door and walk away. if your going somewere leave and dont even worry about him crying becuase he is safer in there then he is out in the open. eventually he will get used to it and began to go in it without you asking him. remember the kennel should be like his little house not a naughty spot. just keep at! thats all i got to say!


----------



## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

Good advice above. One thing that might help is to give a very special treat, such as homemade liver treats, through the back of the crate (or back of the side vents if it's an airline crate) when he goes into the crate.

To build confidence put him on a program of NILIF and daily obedience training. Once he has basic obedience (come, sit, down) skills, you can add agility lessons. Agility is a lot of fun and a wonderful confidence booster.


----------

