Crating with Sarah Stremming

For episode nine, Kayla Fratt speaks with Sarah Stremming from The Cognitive Canine all about crate training with your puppy.  Do puppies need to be crate trained? Just like everything else we do in training, it depends on what your goals for your puppy are. There is not a universal answer. That said, we both crate train our dogs! Are there alternatives? If you do not wish to use a crate, baby gates or x-pens are a great option to create a room or space for the puppy. If you do want to use crates, it is still recommended to have a separate space using baby gates or xpens along with the crate. How do you start? The pen should be highly enriching for the puppy. It should have a sleeping spot, an enriching area, and a potty area.   It is best to start crating during sleep times only at first. You don’t want to put them in the crate if they aren’t sleepy/going to fall asleep. The puppy should learn that the crate is for sleep time. If you notice your puppy is sleepy, put them in the crate. If you can, put the crate inside the xpen, making that the place for sleeping.  What problems can you prevent with crating? Prevents chewing items you don’t want chewed Makes housetraining is much easier Prevents conflict between puppy and other animals in the home Prevents boredom biting when the puppy is trying to get your attention You would have to be constantly micromanaging them if they didn’t have their own space to be in, which could really affect your relationship with your puppy How do your goals play into crate training plans? In order to have success with this, you can’t ask them to do something they can’t do. You don’t teach by letting them get it wrong. Work your way up to where you want to be with a plan, you can’t rush your dog if they aren’t ready to give you the goal you desire You don’t get it by doing it, you get it by doing other things that approximate it ie. if you want your dog to be good with flying in a crate, they have to be good with driving in a car first Teach the prerequisite skills first If your puppy can’t wait quietly in their pen while you go to the bathroom, then your puppy won’t be able to be quiet in their crate when you run to the store. How can listeners make their crates ultra-enticing to their puppies? Change it up frequently  Licky mat, put up obstacles for them to get to it Tug toy hanging Snuffle matt and snuffle ball Numerous toys of different kinds Bones and bully sticks Boxes and packing paper for them to rip up or shred Puppies should be doing “over, under and through” How can the 4 steps to behavioral wellness help you with crate training? The four steps of behavior wellness are exercise, enrichment, nutrition, and communication  Exercise and enrichment are the most important to focus on that will help with crate training, as crating isn’t completely natural for them as it is confinement. When they tell you they are tired, let them be done. They need to have enough enrichment so that they are satisfied. Think about it like this: “If you lived in one room and that was your whole world, what would you need to feel satisfied and enriched?”   How can you help your puppy learn to like going into the crate? Only train entering and exiting the crate so they know that the crate is not a working space Mark and reinforce when they go in on their own Duration can be taught through boredom. Start with crating them while being busy doing something else that they aren’t really interested in. Just as if they were in the crate while you were driving a car. Don’t allow them to panic.  What are your thoughts on pacifiers like Kongs? How can they be used well for crate training? Use them carefully. Pacifiers can backfire if/when overused because they can teach your dog to be fine only if eating Many people don’t struggle as much with getting their puppy to go into the crate as they do getting their puppy to settle in the crate for longer periods of time. How