Those who have been reading this blog for a while know that before we moved to our new home, I was working with our Lab mix Luke on crate training. Luke is fearful of strangers, and my hope was that I could have him safely in a crate when people come over, as a step towards getting him used to them. If I can’t be supervising him every minute, I have to put him in another room, and that’s not going to help him in the long run.
I hadn’t gotten very far, though we had some fun with it, but he would barely put all four paws in the crate just before we moved. I didn’t have the heart to get that crate back out again once we got settled into our new home. When we were expecting out of town company though, I knew I had to try again. The biggest factor, I believed, with that crate was the noise the metal made if he hit it.
So I decided to spend the money and get a soft sided crate to try.
It took us a long time to get to this point (weeks….but with no training) and we still have a long ways to go…..but honestly, seeing him sleeping in that crate brought tears to my eyes. I now have hope we can get where we need to go.
He’s only been in there twice now; and once he’s made more progress I’ll fill you in on how we even got to this point, and if we make it to the next step of closing it.
Thank you to BlogPaws for hosting the Wordless Wednesday blog hop!
The soft-sided crates are GREAT! Way back when Callie had her first CCL surgery, I decided to get one for her. It was a great alternative to having to turn up the cushions on the couch and chairs and closing the bedroom doors when we had to leave her and Shadow alone in the house. She didn’t really like it that much at first; but when Shadow laid down right next to the crate to be as close to her as possible, Callie finally accepted it. And it came in handy after her second CCL surgery, too. And that’s when I got the brilliant idea to get one for Ducky, who has loved hers from the start. It’s her bedroom at night, and she goes right into it without a problem.
I wish I’d just gotten the soft sided crate in the first place! When Sheba had her first cancer surgery though, I had no trouble getting her into the metal crate, and she hadn’t been in a crate since she was a puppy! I’ve only seen her in this crate once (and she was half in and half out), but Cricket has gone in it a lot.
I’m so glad Ducky likes hers, it can make life so much easier!
Heck Luke I’d go in that crate on my own too, it looks so comfy, and it’s all yours! Love Dolly
Well, except for when Cricket gets in there before he can. 🙂 I’m waiting for the time he joins her in there, then I’ll really know we’ve made progress!
Yay! That’s great news! I’m so glad you were able to find a crate that works for him.
Way to go, Luke! That’s a big step to see him napping in the crate. I’ve been meaning to check out some soft-sided crates too for when we travel with Haley. She doesn’t care for the metal version very much either, but I think she would love Luke’s new den!
If he can get used to this, I would also like to use it in the car. The other great thing about this one is that it is SO lightweight, and easy to put up and down.
That soft-sided crate looks pretty cool…and comfy. We can see why Luke wanted to nap in there.
Our cat Conrad would go in the other crate….so at least someone used it!
Hi! We just tried a soft sided crate too. I totally understand how you feel – we crate trained Sherm after adopting him and it took months. He hated it… I used hamburger meat and fed him all his meals in it and ended up taking him for car rides in it (short and long). It takes a long time but years later I’m so happy I have this option.
I really hope it works out this time. The worst part is that Luke had a crate when he was a puppy (a metal one) and he loved it! Once he outgrew it, and was doing so well in the house, we decided to put it away. If only I could have seen into the future….LOL….we never would have done that, we would have bought a larger size at that point!
Glad you found something to help.
I think it probably feels less restrictive too. Right now it looks like a little pup tent. I love them they figure things out on their own.
I do think being able to have it so open to start with is a big help. I just want him to be able to consider it a safe place, and keep it cozy – like a pup tent as you said! 🙂
Looks like you took the right approach to a healthy relationship between Luke and the idea of a crate! Goes to show that thinking outside of the box and patience pay off 🙂
Well, I blew it with the first one, so I had to consider everything very carefully this time! 🙂
That’s great. It’s always best when they make the decision on their own, it means they are comfortable with it rather than not liking it and doing it because they have to.
I agree, and I’m so glad I ended up doing it that way! I just set it up and left it, all I did was put some toys in it so they’d notice it. I think Cricket actually slept in there first, and that probably also helped.
Good job Luke! See, it’s safe in there
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
That is wonderful, go Luke!
I am glad he has made progress. Be careful about leaving him unattended in a soft crate though.
I don’t plan to ever keep him in it unattended. It will be only for when we have company over, and possibly I’ll use it in the car as well.
That’s an interesting idea about the soft sided versus metal crate. Ruby also has some fear around people she doesn’t know. We have a metal crate which she doesn’t like it all. This one also looks nice also because it so open.
Luke had the metal crate when he was a puppy but after we didn’t need to keep him in it any more, we put it away. If we’d known then he was going to become so fearful we wouldn’t have done that! Oh well. I chose this one because it could be open on so many sides, so I just hope once I start closing it he’ll still like it. He’s been sleeping in it more lately, so it might be time to close one part! Fingers crossed!
well done Luke!!! we failed pitiful with our crate idea… I only stayed there when the mama was with me… the dad said that is the pawfect solution but the mama didn’t agree….
LOL!!! I did consider getting in the crate with Luke to encourage him, but I can see now I’d better not; or the Dadz will be getting ideas too….
YAY, Luke!