Has anyone crate-trained a dog?

I crate train all my dogs. And I personally think all dogs, especially all puppies, should be crate trained. Don't feel bad for him. He'll grow to love it in no time. In my experience it's a rough few nights (usually not much more than a week or two), but then like all dog training related things it just suddenly "clicks" and they get it/accept it. He will quickly come to view it as "his place" and you will notice he'll start going in there just to chill even when you didn't tell him to.

As for actually doing it just start slow since it's a pup you're dealing with. Do some shorter sessions throughout the day before just dumping him in there overnight. Give him food/treats/toys while it's in there. Never use it as a "timeout" type punishment. You want the crate to only be associated with positive things. He WILL whine. He WILL keep you up at night. You just have to deal with it for a bit.

Do not give him any attention while he is whining and do not let him out just because he is whining and getting on your nerves. Every time he gets his way for whining it's just reinforcing to him that whining (eventually) gets the desired result and you're only delaying the training process. Of course the obvious exception to this, since you're dealing with a young pup, is he still needs to be taken out in the middle of the night since he can't hold his bladder for 8 hours, or however long you sleep, yet. Not a fan at all of "puppy pads". Just deal with the inconvenience while he's this young and you'll be much better off in the long run.

And cute dog btw. Puppies are a complete pain in the ass but they're worth it.

 

agree with everyone else.


Dogs dig the crate when it is not used as a punishment

 

I have one lab that has access to the whole house and one beagle who I have crate trained recently.

I love my dogs! and love that my lab can be loose during the day and I can trust him in the house. But it was sooo much easier and very few incidents training my beagle in a kennel. And he actually likes it. If we stay up late and leave him out and he decides to go to sleep. he will Kennel himself and go to sleep with the door open.

My only suggestion is when you start it don't stop. Kennel him everytime your not playing with him or in the same room with him. It works like a charm for later on.

 

I got a dog a few months ago (pit bull/boxer mix)... I put him in the crate when I'm gone, but he sleeps on my bed with me.

The crate always stays open and sometimes he voluntarily goes in there. When I'm leaving he goes to the crate with no hesitation. I usually give him a treat or put some peanut butter in that red Kong toy for him.

First month I had him he whined a bunch when I left. Very rarely does now. Only issue I've had is he destroys every type of bed/padding I put in the crate.

Aside from the crate, he's stubborn as hell though. Jumping/biting being his main two issues. And pulling on the leash. Getting better, but it's a pain in the ass. Worth it though.

 

Ya pit boxer not ever gonna stop jumpin...my dog, half pit, bit very early on. I'd smack her nose, I'd make her bite me n smack her. Stopped real fast

 

Two pages and still no 'crate-trained your mom' jokes.
The offseason is such a drag.

 

Jumping can totally be trained out of the dog. Pretty much any behavioral issue can be fixed with proper training, unless you just have a truly broken dog... which is rare.

The key to all dog training is consistency. Once the dog understands what you expect from them you just have to be firm and consistent. If you get lazy the dog is likely to regress.

 

No way man. Boxers will always jump