crate as punishment??

[Hurricane]

My dogs associate "bed" with thier crates. I say "bedtime" or "go to bed" and they run right into thier crates. They eat there, they sleep there, and they stay there when left unsupervised. (Well, one does anyway. Still getting hubby to crate the older dog). Anyway, it doesn't matter if I have company and he's so wound up he can't think! If I say "bedtime" he gets in his crate! I started by rewarding him everytime he went in on his own. A couple peices of kibble are just as good as any other treat. Now, at 8 months, it's a conditioned response. I can fill food dishes in the kitchen, tell him to go to bed, and he will be waiting in his crate (in the bedroom!) when I come with the food! Sometimes, we just need a break, or we're ready to lose our tempers, or whatever. For the dog's best interest, he goes to his crate. Even if he's done something wrong, the crate isn't associated with punishment. It's his personal safe place! They don't truly understand time-out, or being shut away. They understand immediate consequenses. For my horses, I use a 2 second rule. If it's been longer than 2 seconds, I don't punish, because the horse has already forgotten about it. I feel it's similar with dogs. Example: I threw a few peices of cake in the trash. As soon as I turned my back, Cane pulled it out and attempted to eat it! I caught him with the cake in his mouth, so he got a drop it and a small spank. He understood he was wrong. Had I waited until he had swallowed the cake and left the room, he wouldn't have had a clue!

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Mom to:
Tornado (23 Feb. 1999)
Hurricane (6 May 2000)

[klausy]

4mo old...crate trained well. Pretty much only sleeps in his crate though. During the day when we're home he is always around us. We used to put him in his crate when he got too wound up..(frapping) and wouldn't calm down. He soon associated the crate as being "bad" (my opinion) and then would NEVER go into the crate. He wouldn't even go near the bedroom door! (where the crate is) unless I picked him up and placed him in the crate. To over come this I worked with him in the house on the leash and eventually got him to walk with me to the bedroom and then FINALLY got him to voluntarially go into the crate with MUCH praise afterward. After working this time and time again (days and days) he eventually got over the "fear" of the crate. We since do not use his crate for any sort of punishment (time out) but only for his sleeping time etc... He has no problem with this. Is this a bad thing?? should I try again to use the crate as a time out tool??? Having learned to MOSTLY control his behavior etc... I haven't found a need for a "time out" tool. HOWEVER, when company visits etc...and we want time alone I'd like to have a command etc... that will get him either to his crate or outside for a short time. What to do without him developing a "fear" of whatever it us I use???? thank you!..

[Goose71]

It's definitely best to not use the crate for punishment exactly for the reason you mentioned. You want to make sure he enjoys his time there. If other options are available to you for punishment use them, (assuming you treat your animals ethically and fairly of course).

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"A freudian slip is when you say one thing, but mean your mother" -Knott Sr. Hoo

[KatMc]

I don't feel like puttiing my guys in their kennels for time out is punishment. Yes, sometimes it is, BUT, they go in there on their own also just to get away from each other.

I used to always give them treats as soon as they got in there. Now sometimes they get them sometimes they don't. If it's time out time, then they don't get one. My crates are also in my dining room which is connected to my living room so they are still content even when I'm in their site and they are locked up.

Maybe I'm lucky that they do this so well. But, I'm so glad!!

Kathy

[Karen J. Reece]

Mac thinks it is a punishment anything he goes in his crate and that is only when we are not home. He has hated it from the first day we put him in it 4 or 5 months ago and I don't see that changing but it is still the safest for him and the house. But I would never use it as punishment. It is great that so many of you say your dogs like their crates but Mac acts like he is going to prison when he is crated!!

[AngelBunny]

Karen:

Could it be your attitude that has colored Mac's attitude towards his crate??

If your attitude is big and happy when it comes time to crating, Mac shouldn't feel his crate is a prison. Feeding him in his crate might change his attitude.

Our rescue girl, Moxie, flies to her crate when she'd given the command because she knows she's going to get something good when she gets into it. She scratches and claws at the door to get in if it should be closed when we give her the crate command.

[laurlitt]

If your dog needs a time out (or better, you need a time-out from your dog) use the crate, but don't let him know it's a time-out. Like others have said make it positive and then everyone's a winner! You get some peace and quiet and he gets a treat or praise!

[Karen J. Reece]

AngelBunny: I don't think its attitude because its usually one of my sons who puts him in the crate because he is the last to leave the house in the morning. He just doesn't like to be by himself. As you may remember in a much earlier post, the reason I started crating him is because he tried to dig out under the door of the room I was leaving him in during the day. I think that because my other dog and cat have free run of the house that mostly he just wants to be out with them. But like I said earlier I will still continue to crate him.

[AngelBunny]

Karen:

We crate Moxie, our younger dog, because she's Miss Mischief, while our older dog isn't crated. Moxie doesn't fuss if she's in the crate & her sister is free.

A very good idea to crate Mac since it sounds as tho he can't be left to his own devices.