Dog refuses to come and go into crate

[Anonymous]

We've had our dog for almost a year, and she's about 2 years old. When we got her, we always put her in her crate when we left the house and at night while sleeping. She was still very much like a puppy and would chew on everything, so it was necessary. We also felt it was good for her to feel "secure" and have her own space.

We have always put some treats into the crate when we put her in there so that she knows it's a nice place to be and that it's a good thing to go into her crate.

Starting about 4 months ago, she got increasingly less desirous to go into her crate. We call her over, and she obviously knows that she is expected to go into her crate but doesn't want to. We've ended up usually going over and picking her up and putting her into her crate, which worked fine for a while because she would not fight it when we put her next to the crate and would just walk in. Now she tries to back away even when we put her down right in front of it and there are treats inside. She never growls or anything but just clearly doesn't want to go in.

She did throw up in her crate overnight one time (although this behavior started before that happened). I'm not sure if that's related or not. I don't want to force her into the crate because I feel like then it's not a "nice" place for her to be, but there isn't much of another option right now. Luckily, she's only about 35 pounds -- if she were bigger, I couldn't pick her up.

At night, she's frequently more inclined to go into the crate without any forcing. She seems tired and ready to retire to her crate to sleep. Sometimes she's a little hesitant but much less so than during the daytime.

We can't leave her out during the day because she will usually find something small to get out that she's not supposed to have (usually doesn't really chew on it but gets it out and plays with it a bit and may leave some teeth marks but not due to purposeful chewing). I'm a stay-at-home mom, so our schedule is different each day, but she's never in the crate for particularly long (maybe 5-6 hours at the absolute max on a very unusual day -- usually more like 3 hours or so).

[Anonymous]

Our dog always hated the crate. To him it is a punishment. We decided not to use it.

[Anonymous]

How many hours a day and at night is he in the crate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've had our dog for almost a year, and she's about 2 years old. When we got her, we always put her in her crate when we left the house and at night while sleeping. She was still very much like a puppy and would chew on everything, so it was necessary. We also felt it was good for her to feel "secure" and have her own space.

We have always put some treats into the crate when we put her in there so that she knows it's a nice place to be and that it's a good thing to go into her crate.

.

How you want a pet to perceive something and how the pet actually perceives it are not the same thing.

You need to work with a trainer because this is a dog who needs to be out of the crate. I'm assuming that you don't have her in the crate every time you leave the room, so she can go some amount of time without chewing things that aren't meant to be chewed. The question is how to increase that time -- lots of exercise, Green Apple for booby-trapping, spying and catching her mid-transgression?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had our dog for almost a year, and she's about 2 years old. When we got her, we always put her in her crate when we left the house and at night while sleeping. She was still very much like a puppy and would chew on everything, so it was necessary. We also felt it was good for her to feel "secure" and have her own space.

We have always put some treats into the crate when we put her in there so that she knows it's a nice place to be and that it's a good thing to go into her crate.

.

How you want a pet to perceive something and how the pet actually perceives it are not the same thing.

You need to work with a trainer because this is a dog who needs to be out of the crate. I'm assuming that you don't have her in the crate every time you leave the room, so she can go some amount of time without chewing things that aren't meant to be chewed. The question is how to increase that time -- lots of exercise, Green Apple for booby-trapping, spying and catching her mid-transgression?

OP here. The problem is that it's not consistent. Sometimes she'll be fine, and sometimes not. I take my kids upstairs for quiet time/napping in the afternoon and started experimenting with leaving her out during that time (about 4 months after we got her and felt she could handle it). She does absolutely fine.

But when we've left her alone in the house, sometimes she's fine, and sometimes not so much. She's not terribly destructive, but she obviously can't handle it. She'll grab a shoe and run around the house with it, or go into the playroom and find a stuffed animal and bring it out. I'm 100% certain she does most of this because she KNOWS she's not supposed to. I have a two-year-old child, and the dog's behavior seems to very much like his behavior when he's overtired and bored and just can't control himself. I honestly don't think there's any chance of catching her in the middle of one of these things.

Also, every trainer we've ever talked with in the past (with another dog) always emphasized how good crates are for them and how good they are for making them feel secure and safe. This is why I feel the crate is not a bad thing for her -- especially not for a few hours a day, when she might get into trouble otherwise. You're right that I can't control how she actually perceives it, but I don't want it to be a "punishment," and I also want her to follow the command to "come" (which she does great in other circumstances).

[Anonymous]

I still crate our 4 and 8 year old dogs on occasion w/o issue. They don't mind their crates at all.

Something happened to make your dog not want to be crated. For instance, it is distressing to a dog to be left in a crate when he/she needs to go to the bathroom. If the crate is a pleasant and comfortable place they won't develop crate anxiety. Vomiting is sometimes the result of illness but it can also be the result of anxiety.

[Anonymous]

One of the first rules of dog training is not to punish a dog for obeying a command. If you dog doesn't like the crate, putting her in it after she comes when called is setting up a bad scenario.

Could you gate her off in one area of the house instead of putting her in her crate?

[Anonymous]

My dog scratched so hard to get out of her crate when we were at work one day that she took off a claw. We came home to blood all over the crate. Took her to the vet, and the vet was surprised that she was still crated. Said that it's only for puppies. I'd quit with the crate and make sure you are giving the dog lots of exercise and chew toys.

[Anonymous]

OP, would YOU want to spend time in a crate? So what if she carries a shoe around or brings a stuffie out of the playroom?

[Anonymous]

FWIW, the vomiting was not due to anxiety. She doesn't whine at all in the crate and seems perfectly happy when actually in there. The vomiting was due to eating part of a dead bird she found in the yard before we discovered it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, the vomiting was not due to anxiety. She doesn't whine at all in the crate and seems perfectly happy when actually in there. The vomiting was due to eating part of a dead bird she found in the yard before we discovered it.

It doesn't sound like the vomiting is related then.

When you feed your dog are you sure that you are giving her time to do her business before you crate her in the morning? Do you give her water before you leave and the opportunity to relieve herself before you crate her? Sometimes we overestimate how long our adult dogs can hold it.

Something is not comfortable for her in that crate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the first rules of dog training is not to punish a dog for obeying a command. If you dog doesn't like the crate, putting her in it after she comes when called is setting up a bad scenario.

Could you gate her off in one area of the house instead of putting her in her crate?

+1

Crates are useful tools for containing a dog when necessary and particularly for puppies. But using a crate long-term as OP is doing is not good for the dog.

I would gate off an area of the house, or use a room for the dog to hang out in while you are gone.

Our dog is crate-trained but we never use the crate, ever. She has the run of the house when we are gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dog scratched so hard to get out of her crate when we were at work one day that she took off a claw. We came home to blood all over the crate. Took her to the vet, and the vet was surprised that she was still crated. Said that it's only for puppies. I'd quit with the crate and make sure you are giving the dog lots of exercise and chew toys.

+1M

What kind of trouble is the dog getting into when left out?

[Anonymous]

Or maybe going into her crate = you leaving in her mind.

If that is the case an extra special treat (like a kong stuffed with peanut butter or a piece of cheese) might tempt her into her crate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had our dog for almost a year, and she's about 2 years old. When we got her, we always put her in her crate when we left the house and at night while sleeping. She was still very much like a puppy and would chew on everything, so it was necessary. We also felt it was good for her to feel "secure" and have her own space.

We have always put some treats into the crate when we put her in there so that she knows it's a nice place to be and that it's a good thing to go into her crate.

.

How you want a pet to perceive something and how the pet actually perceives it are not the same thing.

You need to work with a trainer because this is a dog who needs to be out of the crate. I'm assuming that you don't have her in the crate every time you leave the room, so she can go some amount of time without chewing things that aren't meant to be chewed. The question is how to increase that time -- lots of exercise, Green Apple for booby-trapping, spying and catching her mid-transgression?

OP here. The problem is that it's not consistent. Sometimes she'll be fine, and sometimes not. I take my kids upstairs for quiet time/napping in the afternoon and started experimenting with leaving her out during that time (about 4 months after we got her and felt she could handle it). She does absolutely fine.

But when we've left her alone in the house, sometimes she's fine, and sometimes not so much. She's not terribly destructive, but she obviously can't handle it. She'll grab a shoe and run around the house with it, or go into the playroom and find a stuffed animal and bring it out. I'm 100% certain she does most of this because she KNOWS she's not supposed to. I have a two-year-old child, and the dog's behavior seems to very much like his behavior when he's overtired and bored and just can't control himself. I honestly don't think there's any chance of catching her in the middle of one of these things.

Also, every trainer we've ever talked with in the past (with another dog) always emphasized how good crates are for them and how good they are for making them feel secure and safe. This is why I feel the crate is not a bad thing for her -- especially not for a few hours a day, when she might get into trouble otherwise. You're right that I can't control how she actually perceives it, but I don't want it to be a "punishment," and I also want her to follow the command to "come" (which she does great in other circumstances).

OP, are you serious? This is "trouble"? For God's sake, stop crating the poor dog. And give her lots of exercise and attention when you are home.

Crates are for training, not for long-term use.