Lorna, at the Isle of Wight’s Complete Canine Training, explained that making crate time a positive experience is vital to train your dog in the best way – here’s how
A dog trainer has unveiled just how you can help your anxious pet enjoy ‘crate time’.
Crates are popular among countless pet owners – whether you’re teaching a pup to how to be alone, or helping them recover from an injury. But one trainer has now urged dog lovers to think twice about how and when they’re using them, as doing this ‘wrong’ can negatively impact your pet.
Lorna, at the Isle of Wight’s Complete Canine Training, explained that making crate time a positive experience is vital to train your dog in the best way, so using treats and toys your advantage is key. “Stop putting your dog in a crate and leaving them,” Lorna warned on TikTok (@completecaninetraining_).
“Dogs are such fast learners and they will really quickly learn that the crate equals the absence of you…So, you have to put them in there at different intervals – even when you’re home.
“If your dog is happy to go in the crate for a treat… and the moment they finish their chew they don’t like being in the crate, or the moment they finish their chew, you are gone – you are actively devaluing food, or making your dog not trust you with food.”
When using food to crate-train your dog, Lorna instead recommends aiming to make it a typical experience without any sudden changes or leaving on every occasion. Over time, this should reinforce your dog’s ‘nice calm behaviour’ in the crate.
She stressed: “There’s a difference between making it a positive experience for them and using it to trick them.” Lorna isn’t the only one to recommend this approach either, with various commenters claiming to have first-hand success with it.
One person wrote: “We did this, crate training for 10mins/one hour throughout the day and a treat every time he goes in. Eight months and perfectly crate trained.” Another added: “Yesssss. Also putting them in there when you’re home doing stuff so they get used to being OK with not being able to access you.”
Jeanette Muldoon, another dog trainer at The Family Dog Club, also told The Mirror that certain dog breeds are better at dealing with alone time than others. So, it’s important to account for these differences when training up your pet.
She explained: “Your Cockapoo, Cavapoo, and Spaniels like to be very much attached to their owners. They may struggle a little more than other breeds when left alone. We have Staffordshire Bull Terriers and they’re very affectionate [too]..Staffies are normally loyal dogs who like to spend as much time with their owner as possible, but most are often ok if their owner isn’t there.”
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