Zander Chronicles: Crate Training

[Alisa]

Started: Day 2
I am not even sure training is a proper word here; it’s more like teaching the puppy to accept it as a fact of life. I’m not trying to teach him to like it in there. Show me a dog happy in the crate and I will show you a retard. It’s ok to sleep there, but no one wants to stay put if you are eager to run around and play. So, initially all I want is for him to be comfortable with it. We started with the crate mattress and made sure that all first day he slept only on that mattress and carried it with us everywhere. On the second day we put up a crate and at night put the mattress inside with Zander on it. He slept through it. From then on it is just a matter of moving him inside any time he falls asleep and making it a habitual place. We will then start putting him in when awake, starting w/short periods and then increasing.

[Alisa]

Small snag in crate training:

Zander decided that he likes Argo’s bed better than his own. All my reasoning along the lines “big dog – big bed, little dog – little bed” didn’t make any impression. Interesting, that if Argo is already sleeping, Zander will drop right next to him, but if Zander gets to the bed first – Argo goes to sleep on the floor.

[Alisa]

Yuri came home and Zander was all over the house - so he calls me and yells why I did not crate him, but I DID? So to see what happened, I put him into the crate when he was very active and did not want to settle down, and kept a watch just to see what is he going to do.
Didn't take long: the aspiring Houdini stuck his nose through the wires, hooked the latch from the inside with his nose and lifted it. Then kept shaking the gate until the latch slid to the side, pushed with his paw and walked out.
We are locking the gate on both latches today - we'll see if he can work two.

[southern]

don't be too surprized if he can figure it out