NOTE: This post was originally featured on the Carpe-K9 blog and is copied here with the author’s permission.
So, your trainer and everyone else on the planet told you you should be crating your dog. Everywhere you turn, dog-intelligent people are telling you that crates can solve many behavior issues, provide structure, and make everyone’s life easier. This is absolutely true for the vast majority of dogs.
What many people will also tell you is that their dogs love their crates. Your neighbor gushes about how much Fluffy “adores her space!” Your kid’s friends think it’s weird that your dog has to be placed in her crate when their dogs just “run right in.” One friend even said she has a hard time getting her new dog to come out of his crate!
But when it comes to how much dogs enjoy being crated, your dog didn’t get the memo, or got it, and flatly rejected it. He just does not enjoy being crated.
You are confused. Is your dog dumb? Is she a rebel? Is she some other creature dressed up as a dog?
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO YOU?!
Take a breath. Let it out. You are not alone. And even though you probably caused the problem, or at least exacerbated it in some way, you certainly didn’t do it on purpose.
That was a partial joke. I’ll let you figure out which part is the funny part.
In all seriousness, most dogs can be crate-trained, even reluctant ones. Since the benefits of the crate far outweigh the negatives, statistically speaking, it’s worth a try to train your dog to like, love, or even just tolerate the crate. So let’s give it a try.
The following article (link below) will give you some great strategies to making the crate a great place to be, or at least a place your dog tolerates. And that is just fine.
