Crate Games
Why crate games?
Playing crate games with your new puppy is vital to establishing house rules, getting your puppy accustomed to the crate, and ensuring that going in the crate is fun and positive!
The basics of teaching your puppy to be quiet in the crate:
1. Cover the entire crate with a tarp/blanket etc. (something that will prevent the dog from seeing out any side of the crate). Flip the "front" of the cover up so the dog can see
out the front of the crate.
2. Sit next to the crate. If the puppy barks or whines, flip the cover down over the crate door so the dog cannot see. Don’t say anything!
3. Wait until the puppy is quiet for a count of "1-banana", then flip the cover up over the door so the puppy can see out-- give the puppy a treat (small chunks of hot dogs or string cheese). You can praise but be very calm, the crate is a place to settle down and if you get excited the puppy will get excited which might make them bark or whine!
4. Repeat the above every time the puppy barks or whines. It will likely take several weeks before they put two + two together and figure out that it's the barking and whining that causes the
cover to be put down - be patient!
5. Keep sessions short. If you are practicing this and can watch your pup outside of the crate, only work on it for sessions of 2-5 minutes. Always wait for your pup to be quiet before releasing them from the crate, coming out is their reward!
Part #1
Crate games is done best after your pup has gone potty and has had some play time to get out excess energy.
1. Have 5 treats ready (preferably high value treats like hot dogs, string cheese, or bits of chicken).
2. Put your puppy in the crate then sit or stand in front of the crate.
3. Your puppy will get excited and want to come out immediately, do not let him out yet. Wait for when your puppy sits. When he sits, reach around or over the crate to the back of it and feed your pup a treat through it. Note: it helps to remove beds and blankets as the treats tend to get lost.
4. Your puppy will be right back at the door again, wanting to come out. Repeat step 3 four more times (until you use all your treats).
5. When you have run out of treats wait for the puppy to sit at the crate door again. When they sit and wait for the count of one, open the door and let the puppy out. Coming out of the crate his his reward. Do not act over excited during this step-- you do not want your puppy to get into the habit of thinking coming out of the crate is very exciting. They will anticipate this excitement and it will be harder to train them to sit and wait.
/* Note: puppy will likely come out of the sit immediately as you open the door, that’s fine for now. */
Part #2
Crate games is done best after your pup has gone potty and has had some play time to get out excess energy.
1. Have 5 treats ready (preferably high value treats like hot dogs, string cheese, or bits of chicken).
2. Put your puppy in the crate then sit or stand in front of the crate.
3. Your puppy will get excited and want to come out immediately, do not let him out yet. Wait for when your puppy sits. When he sits, put your hand on the crate door. If the puppy gets
out of the sit, take your hand away from the crate door and wait for the puppy to sit again. When the puppy will sit all the while you reach for the crate door, feed him a treat through the side of the crate. This is important! If you feed the treat at the door, then your pup will learn that he gets treats at the door. You want to reward him away from the door so he isn't on top of it and will instead anticipate his reward elsewhere.
4. When you have run out of treats, wait for your puppy to sit again. Put your hand on the crate door and when he sits for the count of one, open the door and let him out. Just like in the previous step, do not act overly excited. You don't want being in the crate or coming out of it to seem like a big deal. The crate is a calm place so practicing calmness and patience is key!
Part #3
. . .
Why crate games?
Playing crate games with your new puppy is vital to establishing house rules, getting your puppy accustomed to the crate, and ensuring that going in the crate is fun and positive!
The basics of teaching your puppy to be quiet in the crate:
1. Cover the entire crate with a tarp/blanket etc. (something that will prevent the dog from seeing out any side of the crate). Flip the "front" of the cover up so the dog can see
out the front of the crate.
2. Sit next to the crate. If the puppy barks or whines, flip the cover down over the crate door so the dog cannot see. Don’t say anything!
3. Wait until the puppy is quiet for a count of "1-banana", then flip the cover up over the door so the puppy can see out-- give the puppy a treat (small chunks of hot dogs or string cheese). You can praise but be very calm, the crate is a place to settle down and if you get excited the puppy will get excited which might make them bark or whine!
4. Repeat the above every time the puppy barks or whines. It will likely take several weeks before they put two + two together and figure out that it's the barking and whining that causes the
cover to be put down - be patient!
5. Keep sessions short. If you are practicing this and can watch your pup outside of the crate, only work on it for sessions of 2-5 minutes. Always wait for your pup to be quiet before releasing them from the crate, coming out is their reward!
Part #1
Crate games is done best after your pup has gone potty and has had some play time to get out excess energy.
1. Have 5 treats ready (preferably high value treats like hot dogs, string cheese, or bits of chicken).
2. Put your puppy in the crate then sit or stand in front of the crate.
3. Your puppy will get excited and want to come out immediately, do not let him out yet. Wait for when your puppy sits. When he sits, reach around or over the crate to the back of it and feed your pup a treat through it. Note: it helps to remove beds and blankets as the treats tend to get lost.
4. Your puppy will be right back at the door again, wanting to come out. Repeat step 3 four more times (until you use all your treats).
5. When you have run out of treats wait for the puppy to sit at the crate door again. When they sit and wait for the count of one, open the door and let the puppy out. Coming out of the crate his his reward. Do not act over excited during this step-- you do not want your puppy to get into the habit of thinking coming out of the crate is very exciting. They will anticipate this excitement and it will be harder to train them to sit and wait.
/* Note: puppy will likely come out of the sit immediately as you open the door, that’s fine for now. */
Part #2
Crate games is done best after your pup has gone potty and has had some play time to get out excess energy.
1. Have 5 treats ready (preferably high value treats like hot dogs, string cheese, or bits of chicken).
2. Put your puppy in the crate then sit or stand in front of the crate.
3. Your puppy will get excited and want to come out immediately, do not let him out yet. Wait for when your puppy sits. When he sits, put your hand on the crate door. If the puppy gets
out of the sit, take your hand away from the crate door and wait for the puppy to sit again. When the puppy will sit all the while you reach for the crate door, feed him a treat through the side of the crate. This is important! If you feed the treat at the door, then your pup will learn that he gets treats at the door. You want to reward him away from the door so he isn't on top of it and will instead anticipate his reward elsewhere.
4. When you have run out of treats, wait for your puppy to sit again. Put your hand on the crate door and when he sits for the count of one, open the door and let him out. Just like in the previous step, do not act overly excited. You don't want being in the crate or coming out of it to seem like a big deal. The crate is a calm place so practicing calmness and patience is key!
Part #3
. . .