A question about crate training

[joji732]

Rusty is my 2 1/2 year old JRT/Shiba mix. I have had him since October. We have recently moved, and he seems to be struggling with being left alone in the new house (as indicated by his anxious greeting when I arrive home, as well as the snarfle all over the window.) I believe that part of his issue is the triple windows in my living room - I haven't gotten any window treatments yet (the blinds are on order), so he has a clear view out the front of the house at everything going on. I did buy some paper shades, so I hope that will help.

As to the crate, I thought that it might be useful in helping him cope when I am away for a couple of hours. (When I'm going to be gone all day, he goes to doggie daycare.) I've read all the threads about helping a dog acclimate to the crate, and they make wonderful sense except for one thing - as a single person, it seems I would be chained to the house for a prolonged period of time before he was acclimated, and that just isn't an option. He's doing lots better with the new wire crate I bought, rather than the original plastic one we had, but that's only been when I'm around. So far, he will go into the crate to retrieve things, and I will feed him treats through the bars of the crate while he is inside. I've also gotten him to go in to get a treat, then closed the door and fed him an entire hamburger while he was in there. This is as far as we've gotten in 2 days. Any thoughts on how long it might take? And is this really the best direction for me to go in? (I tried putting him in the bathroom, but he scratched up the door and chewed the woodwork.)

[DogzRule1996]

You should take it little by little. Put him in the crate wait. For every 5 or so minutes of good behavior in the crate, reward him. Then after he gets used to that, you could try longer. Say, 30 minutes. Eventually he'll learn that going into the crate is a good thing, and not a threat or anything bad. He'll get the message soon that every time he goes into the crate, he gets a treat, but after a while, he'll get so used to it that you won't even need to reward him anymore. Our dog goes in on command (due to my mom training him), so I won't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that works. Hope that helps!

[Fundog]

When we crate trained our first dog as a little puppy, we first lured her into her crate with treats. Then, whenever she was under any kind of stress, or felt nervous, we always put her into her crate to chill-- her crate became a refuge for her, and whenever people came to visit, or she became stressed for any reason, she would automatically go to her crate of her own accord.

Now we just acquired a second dog. We had to travel several hours to get her, and we had been told she was car sick. So we got a crate to make her trip more comfortable. She curled up in her new bed the whole way (and did not get car sick). Then, when we got home, during her adjustment period -- it's only been 4 days since we got her-- whenever she displayed any kind of anxious or fearful behavior, including fear-aggression toward our other dog, we put her in her crate for a time-out so she could calm down (we are careful never to act or sound angry with her, because she is not being punished. This is merely a tool to help her feel safe and secure). She now goes in and out of her crate of her own accord, to snooze or just rest or whatever. The neat thing is, until now, she had never been crated-- she had lived in a kennel with "room mates," but she's never had her very own crate, and she appears to be quite comfortable in it. Now, I've just thought of one other thing that might have added to the comfort: Before we got this dog, I was trying to think of a bed for her. Then I had an epiphany-- I hadn't had a new pillow in a VERY long time. So I got myself a new pillow, and saved my old ones for my new girl. I wrapped the pillows in an afghan that I had crocheted, but which was not one of my favorites-- but it had our house/family scent on it. I put that all in her crate, to make a very comfortable bed for her, and it has the comforting scents of her new family, and of being loved, essentially. So I don't know what you've got in your guy's crate for a bed, but if you haven't already done so, try using something that is heavily embedded with your own scent. It may comfort him.