Going into the crate and willfull disobedience

[jocoyn]

Well, I started it by giving Beau a morsel of food to go into his crate.

Now when I tell him it is time to go in runs to and parks himself by the door to the closet where the food bag is located and refuses to budge because getting a bit of food is part of the bargain for going into the crate.

Now I can "get around" that by taking a pinch of puppy crack out of the fridge and show it to him then he flies into his crate (and usually I have some "on me" in a bag in my pocket (but I have to show it to him) - or -

I can drag (and I mean drag) him by his collar with him protesting, and put him in his crate

I have done both. At 14 weeks - already - I am thinking that maybe I should be laying down the law and letting him know "crate" is a command, not a request?

[GSDElsa]

Maybe play crate games with him so he sees going in crate, staying in crate, and basically doing OB in crate is FUN FUN FUN!

[Cassidy's Mom]

I don't remember how old mine were when they went into their crates on cue, but I think it was older than 14 weeks. Are you sure he really understands the "crate" command? If not, I'd continue rewarding it, even if you have to show him the treat for awhile longer. You can always fade the lure out later and reward AFTER he goes in. I personally would not drag him into the crate.

Having the treats on you rather than having to go get them would prevent him from running to the food bag rather than running to his crate. My command is "go to bed", and when I said that I'd toss a treat into the back of the crate, puppy would run in to get it, I'd praise and give another treat through the bars. At some point I no longer had to throw a treat in first because they knew they were going to be rewarded for going into the crate and they knew what "go to bed" meant. They also understood the routine - it's bedtime, which is crate time for dogs.

I don't crate during the day, the dogs are in a chain link pen in the garage with a dog door to an outside run for pottying, and even now that they're both adults they get a biscuit every time we leave. When I'm ready to go I say "let's go outside!" and they RUN to the door to the garage and when I open it they go into the pen and sit and wait for their treat. We keep a bucket of biscuits on top of a cabinet in the garage, right next to the gate.

I don't reward them for going in their crates at night anymore and they're almost always already in there, waiting for me to come close the door when I walk into the bedroom because they know the routine. Sometimes I tell them "good dogs", but that's about it.

[jocoyn]

Yes could be...he certainly knows to run in when its time to eat. Usually I have the problem with him not wanting to go in after the evening feeding, potty, and "time to rest" ... of course he will still go for treats after eating.

I will keep it up with the treats for now. Somehow I think he does understand though

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Somehow I think he does understand though

He very well may! It's possible that at this point he doesn't want to go into his crate unless it's worth his while. It's a lot more fun to stay out and play than to chill in his crate. For something like that, especially at that age, I guess I don't worry too much about willful disobedience. For an adult dog, sure - if they decided they didn't want to I'd have no problem dragging them over and tossing them in. But he's still really young, and I would rather continue reinforcing that the crate is a good thing for however long it takes for him to decide that he agrees.

Making a game out of it as Justine suggests is a good idea too.

[BowWowMeow]

I always threw the treats to the back of the crate or asked for a down once they were in the crate. Maybe the game you can create is to put him in a sit and stay in front of the crate (which he is already doing to some extent, it sounds like), throw the treats and then release him to find them. You could alternate and also ask him to go in and lie down and then toss him some treats (and have him catch them).

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

He very well may! It's possible that at this point he doesn't want to go into his crate unless it's worth his while. It's a lot more fun to stay out and play than to chill in his crate. For something like that, especially at that age, I guess I don't worry too much about willful disobedience. For an adult dog, sure - if they decided they didn't want to I'd have no problem dragging them over and tossing them in. But he's still really young, and I would rather continue reinforcing that the crate is a good thing for however long it takes for him to decide that he agrees.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

At 14 weeks of age, I think he's really too young to start forcing him to do anything. You want the crate to be a happy place, a place to feel safe and secure. Keep with the treats, throw one in the back and feed another through the door like Cassidy's Mom does. He should be racing in there as fast as he can go. Eventually you can wean off the treats.

If he's a year old and he puts on the brakes when going into the crate, I'd have no trouble giving him a little push, but with puppies, you want it to be *their* idea and their perogative.

[SchHGSD]

I don't wake the food out of the equation until they are going in, turning around and waiting quietly inside for the coming treat. I think it's usually closer to 10 months with my dogs. I have no problem paying them to go in the crate.

[Karla]

I've been there and done that! I think going to get the treat became part of their cue and they had to ensure that I had the treat and then would run to the crate.
I started to place the treat in the crate before bedtime and would tell them to "go to bed" and I would start leading the way to their crates. They would then discover the treat was in there. Then I kept the treats in a container in my bedroom and would reward them for going to bed. This took it from being a bribe to being a reward after I got the behavior.

You can also try giving him a stuffed kong as a special treat only when he's in the crate.

Good luck!

[MaggieRoseLee]

I still give my dogs treats when I crate them! Why make a battle out of something when I don't have to?

It's part of my leaving the house routine, the last thing I do is open the treat jar, get out the treats and then we tear over to the crate.

In fact if something messes up the routine and I get distracted between opening the jar and running to the crate, I may be wandering the house and think 'where are the dogs' only to find them already crated with the doors wide open waiting for their distracted mom!

I want the crates to be wonderful forever and never a power struggle. If it takes a treat, then I use a treat. It doesn't have to be a big treat!