Can I crate train dog after 4 yrs without one

[Weily4Life]

Greta injured herself yesterday upon return from our walk. I released her from her lead, not realizing a squirrel was in the vicinity, she took off after it....anyway when I called her back she came back hobbling. She does not want to put weight on her left leg. Vet was closed so she goes Monday.

That said, I have looked through the threads and posts, finding nothing referencing crating a dog after having them for 4 to 5 years. I wish we would have believed in crating when we got them, didn't think it would be a good idea because they hadn't been crated with their previous owner, and Greta went balistic when the rescue tried to crate her. probably a bad decision on our part to not attempt this. We have had three years in a row of knee surgery for one or the other of our girls and keeping them down, confined during convalescence was difficult.

I can't stand the thought of not getting anything done because of "having to sit on her during a long convalescence.

So, is it possible to crate train now when accustomed to free roam of the house for 4 yrs?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be most appreciated. I have no experience with crates.

[lgslgs]

Just train it as a brand new happy place. Start by feeding in the back corner of the crate and then beging training her to go into the crate for treats.

Try putting the crate near a place you work a lot (computer, knitting chair, whatever) and let her get thinking that the crate is the equivalent of having her own easy chair.


Avoid pushing her into the crate. Lure her in and let her view the whole thing as a positive experience.

As long as the crate is viewed as a cozy new room rather than an isolation from family or punishment area, it shouldn't take long to get her used to it.

Lynda

[Nishasmom]

Almost every time Nisha goes in her crate she gets a dog treat. You could lock her in the crate w/ a frozen kong, bully stick, or bone. She is sure to like the crate if she gets goodies!

I would start crate training while you are at home. Put her in w/ a treat while you make dinner, or vacuum. Putting her in right away, then leaving for 8 hrs may stress her out. Good luck!

[jaden]

We just recently bought a crate for our 5 year old Rott. She has never been crate trained (she did not like it as a puppy either because her previous owner used it as a disciplinary device) and we started by putting her favorite blankets and pillows in there as well as her bone. Anytime we give her something special we put it in her crate. At first she only would only lay half way in and chew her bone and then eventually she would lay down for short periods of time.

Now whenever I get her a new bone at the store she will wait in her crate until I unpack everything and give it to her and she stays in there for hours chewing it. I never closed the door for the first week and when we finally did if she started protesting we threw a blanket over the top of the crate and she calmed down immediately.

[lengel]

What everyone else said. This is just a tweak: start feeding with the door open so that they can voluntarily come and go and the really great toys can be offered in the crate only. We crate trained lots of fosters, many of whom had serious issues. Just keep it a happy happy experience and, if possible, don't close the door until they enter fully of their own free will (going in for meal for instance) and seem comfortable.

Good luck. I'm not a big fan of recovery time. Crating really does help though.

[Weily4Life]

I love all your ideas, you all have been so wonderful.

I having been searching the net most the day researching crates and prices etc. Can any one tell me anything about the Midwest wire crates, Or other crates that you have experience with?

[debbiej]

when she goes to the vet, she will be in a crate. so go ahead and make it easier by letting her get used to a crate at home. bones, stuffed kongs, whatever keeps her happy in there.

[TrinaJ]

Originally Posted by Nishasmom

Almost every time Nisha goes in her crate she gets a dog treat. You could lock her in the crate w/ a frozen kong, bully stick, or bone. She is sure to like the crate if she gets goodies!

I would start crate training while you are at home. Put her in w/ a treat while you make dinner, or vacuum. Putting her in right away, then leaving for 8 hrs may stress her out. Good luck!

frozen kong? I never thought of that, Jett just has her kong with the peanut butter in it and its all gone before you know it. How long do you freeze it for and how long do you wait after you've taken it out of the freezer before you give it to her? (dont want her to get her tongue stuck to the kong

OP, try chicken necks as well....Jett will go into the crate LOOKING for her necks and will happily go to sleep after she's eaten them. It shouldn't matter how old your dog is, its all part of learning and she will benefit from it, esp with a sore leg.

Good Luck and let us know how you go at the vet. Hope she hasn't done her anterior cruciate ligament (this is common in large breed dogs).

Trina

[lengel]

Originally Posted by Weily4Life

I love all your ideas, you all have been so wonderful.

I having been searching the net most the day researching crates and prices etc. Can any one tell me anything about the Midwest wire crates, Or other crates that you have experience with?

I have a whole lot of crates both wire and plastic - different brands including Midwest. I think the best thing is to figure out what you like best. If you go for a wire crate, look at the quality of the plastic tray (bottom). I find that that's the first to go (crack) and is expensive to replace. On the other hand, it's more difficult to clean the plastic crates and I think, from my experience, that the wire on the plastic crate openings tends to rust faster. Keep in mind that I have been very hard on our crates from rescue work a couple of years ago - which is why I have so many. I am actually looking into buying a set of "side by side" wire crates which I think would fit better in my truck for transport to training and eventually competition. They are longer and not so wide so probably not so good for home use under your circumstances.

Take a good look at the latch release. Imagine opening and closing that thing over and over again. I have a plastic crate with a sort of rotating or dial release that I just hate. Not so fond of the squeeze releases either also on some of my plastic crates. I personally prefer the slide release for expediency which I've only found on wire crates.

Wire crates collapse for easier transport where plastic crates are bulkier even when they're in pieces. Both types are pretty heavy though. If you get the Midwest crates or any other wire crates, make sure to remove that tag with the logo. It looks like it's part of the crate but it's not made to be a permanent part of the crate so your dog will chew the blasted thing off at some point. You'll come home to shredded plastic and wonder how much your dogs ate. Never good. Whatever you choose to get, make sure to get something big enough for your dogs. IMO, puppies need something more "cozy" than older dogs do. Just make sure that your dog can lie down and shift around comfortably.

Look at the door placements too. If you ever need to put them in your vehicle, this is important since you'll need to line up the crate doors with the vehicle doors.

[fostermom]

I end up crating almost ALL of my adult fosters...and I guarantee most of them never saw a crate in their lives before coming to my home. Some dogs do better in wire crates (I guess it seems less confining to them), others DESTROY the wire crates but accept the plastic airliner type crates which tend to be a lot sturdier (mine is an extra large that has the center latch plus a bar that goes through both the top and bottom). I guess I'd try a heavy gauge wire crate first..I made the mistake of getting a less sturdy wire crate initially and although my rotti was quite content inside, my little geriatric lab would literally rip it apart..and make sure you make it a really comfy spot with a dog bed, kong or bone. Since I work, new fosters REALLY need to crate almost immediately... I don't have time to gradually introduce them to a crate and I've only had one foster that I couldn't eventually get to crate calmly. Usually after the first couple of days, they willingly walk into their crates...my current (seven year old) foster practically knocks me down running into the crate cause he knows he'll get a treat once he's in.

[Weily4Life]

Originally Posted by Nishasmom

Almost every time Nisha goes in her crate she gets a dog treat. You could lock her in the crate w/ a frozen kong, bully stick, or bone. She is sure to like the crate if she gets goodies!

...never used a kong, looked at 'em in PetSmart today.

Do they dig the biscuit type treat out with there tongue or do they just fall out when they roll them around?

How long do you freeze them?

Looks like such a good product for a variety of reasons. We don't let the girls have a bone for extended periods of time, but the Kong looks as though that is possible. Or am I wrong.

[Weily4Life]

Originally Posted by TrinaJ

try chicken necks as well....Jett will go into the crate LOOKING for her necks and will happily go to sleep after she's eaten them. It shouldn't matter how old your dog is, its all part of learning and she will benefit from it, esp with a sore leg.

Good Luck and let us know how you go at the vet. Hope she hasn't done her anterior cruciate ligament (this is common in large breed dogs).

Trina

Trina, We have never fed RMBs, just raw meat. Other than supervising while she eats it, is there anything special to introducing her to it?

Vet visit today...

Extremely positive drawer sign -- IMSS -- She's blown her cruciate ligament and will go for surgery March 25.

[Nishasmom]

Originally Posted by Weily4Life

...never used a kong, looked at 'em in PetSmart today.

Do they dig the biscuit type treat out with there tongue or do they just fall out when they roll them around?

How long do you freeze them?

Looks like such a good product for a variety of reasons. We don't let the girls have a bone for extended periods of time, but the Kong looks as though that is possible. Or am I wrong.

We usually put either peanut butter, or babyfood in the kong. If we use babyfood, we freeze it a few ours (until solid). Sometimes we add small treats before its frozen, that way while it thaws the treats can be licked out.

[Weily4Life]

Nishasmom--Thanks for the tips with the Kong, I going to have to try this.

Back on topic. I found a crate online, as well as a crate bed. They should arrive by Friday so we will have a few days of introduction before coming home from the vet.

[lengel]

Commercial stuffers are expensive. I use peanut butter and apple slices. Make the apple slices bigger than the opening then stuff them in there. The juice keeps them licking, especially if you put the peanut in the bottom. Apple is easier to get out of the Kong than a biscuit too which is important for cleaning if your dog can't get the treat out.