The right type of training?

[BostonRott]

Yes, keep at it. Feed ALL of his meals in there, and if it helps him, stay in his sight at first (since he has a previous negative history with crates).

Work with some really good treats: pieces of string cheese, bits of scrap meat (save 'em from your dinners for later dog treats), cook up a chicken breast and use the meat as a special treat. Toss the treat in, as he is actually going in, click (b/c that's the action that you want) and then as soon as he's snarfed down the treat, tell him "ok" (to release him) and let him back out. Show him that he can go in of his own volition and nothing will happen.

Many dogs learn that they can get their owners to open a crate door by creating a real fuss. When he goes in and you close the door, do NOT open it until he's quiet. You may have to wait him out quite a long time. This is a step for much further down the road though.

Does he know down/sit? You could work with him going into the crate, then performing one of those, and then release, again never closing the door. All this is teaching him that the crate is safe, you're trustworthy and "it's ok." Getting him to work in a place that used to be stressful (the crate) will show you how he's progressing.

When you move to closing the door, do it only for a few seconds (maybe not even getting the latch done, just pushing it closed and then immediately release him.

This is NOT how I would train a new puppy to a crate, but if the dog has previous negative experiences with it, then you've got some "over-coming" to do.

[Judi W]

I'd like to add that both the trainers and your DF(???) are quite lucky. While Rottweilers are quite decent about accepting earned corrections, I've known and owned ones that as adults would no more take that kind of crap from a relative stranger than fly. And I don't think they should. And you two are relative strangers as far as this dog is concerned. I'd say he is a very generous dog and should be thanked for accepting the abuse without someone ending up with a broken arm. Training is not "teaching the dog a lesson" but about teaching. There is a vast difference.

I too agree with Gretchen as far as training philosophy. I think that not informing a dog when it is wrong is lying to the dog and most unfair. Like I said, there is a middle road and correcting is not either - or. Either teach with brutal corrections or never give any corrections is not the choice. I believe most dogs have a sense of fairness, recover from earned corrections nicely and move on, but take you where you want to go in training and the relationship with thoughtful and fair work.

[rottielover2004]

What I always did when crate training the foster dogs, was that I found a blanket, stuck it in the crate( more comfortable) then I put a kong with peanut butter inside with a fav toy. I would sit outside the crate and watch the dog go in very slowly, when the dog went in completely on its ow, I would praise and close the door softly. To distract. And as gretchen stated only for a few secs, then release and praise. It worked all the time with me

[cuppacoffee]

Originally Posted by rottielover2004

What I always did when crate training the foster dogs, was that I found a blanket, stuck it in the crate( more comfortable) then I put a kong with peanut butter inside with a fav toy. I would sit outside the crate and watch the dog go in very slowly, when the dog went in completely on its ow, I would praise and close the door softly. To distract. And as gretchen stated only for a few secs, then release and praise. It worked all the time with me

That's some great advice. He LOVES his kong. It's how we've been working through the separation anxiety - when we leave for more than a few hours, we STUFF everything we can find into the kong and then he doesn't even notice when we walk out the door. As soon as we get home, we remove the kong. I'll start on that tonight.. and I never thought of putting a blanket in there, I'm sure it would make him more comfortable. I don't think he'd go for a down or sit in the crate. As soon as the food is gone, he will bolt out if the door to the crate is not shut. But I will put his meals in there. Ease him into the fact that the crate is not a bad place. One thing I might look into is that since he currently has an airplane crate, he might do better in a wire crate cause he can see and cause it's different from his "punishment" crate.

Judi, that darned DF will be happy to hear that you aren't against correcting the dog. I don't think he would have stopped pulling on the leash without a sharp correction and a "no pull" every time he started to tug.

[Judi W]

Oh, I am a believer in appropriate corrections. To fail to let your dog know what it cannot do results in some very unlikeable dogs and is unfair to the dog. However, that doesn't mean you trash them because you haven't patiently taught them what is wanted (like stays or positions, things like that). There are big sins and little sins. A big sin to me is inappropriate aggression and that would get a very big CTJ meeting. Dogs do tend to believe that no feedback is the granting of permission and approval. Just remember to also let him know what I said if he ever gets even the tiny idea that you need correcting!