Quote:
Originally Posted by spawn207  My rotti pup seem to dislike his crate. I will try to coherce him to go inside but I have to do it with a treat and once he goes in I give him another one. How can I make it easier for him to like his crate and make him go in without a fight. |
What size crate do you have? Is it big enough for you to get in there with him.
(I started crate training my two adult Rotties 4 weeks ago before Greta had to go for surgery the following week). Of course the crates are big 48" x 30" x 35" high. We also have crate pads for them. The crates arrived one day and the pads the following day. The day with just the crates I tossed treats in and they gingerly stepped in after the treat. They stepped on the crate tray and backed out. So, I put a blanket in each. This helped a little bit, but the tray still seemed to feel the slight up/down movement of the crate under their feet. They went in after the treat and then backed back out.
The following day when the pads came, things went much better. I tossed in treat, they went in, and didn't back out immediately. To get them to see that it could be a comfortable place to be I entered each crate in turn, curled up on one side and called one of them in (lured with a treat). I did not force them to stay. During the first couple days, lure with treat, praise "good girl", if they came back out, toss in a treat again, "good girl", etc. It became a game. It is important to make it fun, a good place to be, not a punishment.
Here are a couple of links that might be helpful to you.
Crate Training | The Humane Society of the United States American Dog Trainers Network -- How To Successfully Crate Train Your Puppy
Best of Luck!
Dawn