Crate training - one step forward, two steps back

[RYLEE SCHORN]

Hi,

I recently made a post about my puppy (12 weeks) barking a lot while I’m in the kitchen. This post is slightly related because since this incident he’s also been barking more in his crate. Ollie had been doing pretty good in the crate, only barking and whining for a minute or two once putting him in for the night. Since this event he is now barking for 10 plus minutes and then waking us up at 3 and 5 in the morning with random bouts of barking. He was sleeping through the night before this happened. A quick summary of the event; I was cooking in the kitchen and Ollie was in his play pen in the living room barking, whining and jumping erratically. — Btw he used to never do this. The barking began after I introduced fresh food into his diet along with his kibble which is why I made my last post (trying to prevent him from barking whenever I prepare his meals and now when I’m in the kitchen period). I have been working on the kitchen barking but now I need to try to get him to like his crate again. — Going back to the event — I tried to calm him down with distractions like toys or telling him to sit or saying ‘quiet’. Well several minutes went by and it wasn’t working, he was barking louder and I was losing my cool. I was on the phone with my spouse who was trying to explain the cooking instructions to me and I could no longer hear him over Ollie’s barking so I put Ollie in his crate which he was resistant to and moved his crate into the other room, closing the door so I could hear and finish cooking the meal. Since then it seems like the barking in the crate has increased. And looking back on the event I am sure it has caused him to dislike his crate. I’m guessing the advice would be that I just should have continued to ignore him? So now I am trying to repair the damage I’ve done. Any advice you can give me? I know a bit about trying to create a positive association with his crate as I did that from the beginning but now it seems like I’m starting over. Thank you

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Yes, I remember about Ollie barking for his meals! That fresh food must be super duper valuable for him considering all this commotion it creates! Remember to make it super easy for him by preparing the meal if possible in advance so there's less preparation commotion and then gradually start adding more steps ahead of that.

For example, in the first days, have a helper keep him in the yard, when meal is ready, hold the bowl behind you back, call him ask for a sit and lower the bowl telling him to "go"  if he holds the sit. If he gets up before you say "go" lift the bowl and ask for sit again until he's able to hold the sit until you put the bowl on the floor and he waits for you to say "go."  Repeat for several days. 

-Next days, a helper has him in the yard, keep the pre-measured fresh food and kibble in a baggie. Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you pour the content of the baggie in the bowl. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

-Next days,  a helper has him in the yard, keep the fresh food in a bag and kibble in another. Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you pour the content of one baggy in the bowl and then the next. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

-Next days, a helper has him in the yard, keep the fresh food in a baggie in the fridge and the kibble in a baggie ion the counter.  Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you grab the baggy from the fridge and the other from the counter and pour in the bowl. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

Repeat until you can do the whole sequence of meal preparation with him calmly watching. Of course, consider that he's only 12 weeks so he can't hold a super long sit, so make best to prepare the meal in advance as much as you can until he's a bit older and capable of holding longer sits.  When he's older he can also learn to lie on a mat for several minutes during meal preparation.

You can also practice the above out- of-context, in other words, in non-meal times, using a few kibble in the food bowl. 

If you don't have time to train and must concentrate, it may be best to have a family member keeps him away from the area like taking him on a walk, or doing some fun games in the yard or a distance room during meal preparation.  

I am thinking at this point, why not use that delicious meal he so badly wants to create positive associations with the crate? Once the meal is ready, call your dog (if he was out of the yard), when he approaches, ask for a sit and then place the meal in his crate nearby with the door open.

Day after day, you should see some positive associations with it, especially if you toss treats in there too randomly and let him find toys in it. Here are more ways to create more positive associations with the crate https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

[RYLEE SCHORN]

48 minutes ago, Adrienne Farricelli said:

Hi there,

Yes, I remember about Ollie barking for his meals! That fresh food must be super duper valuable for him considering all this commotion it creates! Remember to make it super easy for him by preparing the meal if possible in advance so there's less preparation commotion and then gradually start adding more steps ahead of that.

For example, in the first days, have a helper keep him in the yard, when meal is ready, hold the bowl behind you back, call him ask for a sit and lower the bowl telling him to "go"  if he holds the sit. If he gets up before you say "go" lift the bowl and ask for sit again until he's able to hold the sit until you put the bowl on the floor and he waits for you to say "go."  Repeat for several days. 

-Next days, a helper has him in the yard, keep the pre-measured fresh food and kibble in a baggie. Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you pour the content of the baggie in the bowl. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

-Next days,  a helper has him in the yard, keep the fresh food in a bag and kibble in another. Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you pour the content of one baggy in the bowl and then the next. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

-Next days, a helper has him in the yard, keep the fresh food in a baggie in the fridge and the kibble in a baggie ion the counter.  Call your dog, ask for a sit, let him watch you grab the baggy from the fridge and the other from the counter and pour in the bowl. If your dog doesn't bark and stays seated, walk towards him and lower the bowl. If he barks, gets out of sit, move away and try again once quiet for a few seconds. Repeat for several days.

Repeat until you can do the whole sequence of meal preparation with him calmly watching. Of course, consider that he's only 12 weeks so he can't hold a super long sit, so make best to prepare the meal in advance as much as you can until he's a bit older and capable of holding longer sits.  When he's older he can also learn to lie on a mat for several minutes during meal preparation.

You can also practice the above out- of-context, in other words, in non-meal times, using a few kibble in the food bowl. 

If you don't have time to train and must concentrate, it may be best to have a family member keeps him away from the area like taking him on a walk, or doing some fun games in the yard or a distance room during meal preparation.  

I am thinking at this point, why not use that delicious meal he so badly wants to create positive associations with the crate? Once the meal is ready, call your dog (if he was out of the yard), when he approaches, ask for a sit and then place the meal in his crate nearby with the door open.

Day after day, you should see some positive associations with it, especially if you toss treats in there too randomly and let him find toys in it. Here are more ways to create more positive associations with the crate https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Thank you for your replies on my posts! I have been following your suggestions on your original post. I have made pretty good progress so far. He has stopped barking/whining while watching me pour his food in the bowl. He still does some jumping up and when he does this I stop. Random question but I just want to clarify: do I stop in my tracks and go silent or am I suppose to say ‘no’ or ‘down’ in addition to stopping what I’m doing? I will continue to do this as I’m confident he will continue to make progress. It seems like the barking is occurring more when he is not in on the action. For example he will be quiet in his pen while I’m watching tv on the couch (because the couch is right next to the pen) but when I go to the kitchen or the other room he will start barking. I don’t know if it’s a case of separation anxiety? But the weird thing is we have a home camera and whenever we walk out of our front door to leave him home alone for a bit he doesn’t bark. It’s basically just barking whenever we are home but in another room (more like attention seeking barking). Is there anything I can do about that specific problem or should I just ignore him when he does this?  
- Also just thought I should add that we don’t keep him in his pen all the time. We try to have him out with us whenever possible but we also don’t want to just give in because their are times where he needs to be in the pen or crate. He’s not trusted yet to be in the carpeted rooms because he tends to pee on them. Thank you! 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Thank you for your replies on my posts! I have been following your suggestions on your original post. I have made pretty good progress so far. He has stopped barking/whining while watching me pour his food in the bowl.

You are very welcome, I am glad to hear you are starting to see results so fast! 

He still does some jumping up and when he does this I stop. Random question but I just want to clarify: do I stop in my tracks and go silent or am I suppose to say ‘no’ or ‘down’ in addition to stopping what I’m doing? I will continue to do this as I’m confident he will continue to make progress.

You should stop in your tracks and even do an about face (turning), leaving the area if he persists. I like to be quite dramatic in my display when, after the pup has been quiet for some time, I resume meal preparation. I basically walk tentatively to let the puppy know that I am watching him carefully and that any pushy behaviors such as barking or jumping will make me stop at a moment's notice, and possibly, even leave. Puppy should learn that it's his choice whether meal preparation continues or not. 

I find that it's not necessary saying anything as what we do "speaks volumes." Some people like to use a negative verbal marker such as 'eh-eh' or 'oops' to signal when a mistake takes place, but I think in this case, it may obfuscate a bit the training especially if those cues don't have a clear meaning.

Like, for instance, it gets confusing to dogs if we use the cue "down" to have a dog lie down, but also use "down" to tell a dog to not jump, and "no" acts more like suppressor without the dog knowing what we would like them to do instead. 

It seems like the barking is occurring more when he is not in on the action. For example he will be quiet in his pen while I’m watching tv on the couch (because the couch is right next to the pen) but when I go to the kitchen or the other room he will start barking. I don’t know if it’s a case of separation anxiety?

But the weird thing is we have a home camera and whenever we walk out of our front door to leave him home alone for a bit he doesn’t bark. It’s basically just barking whenever we are home but in another room (more like attention seeking barking). Is there anything I can do about that specific problem or should I just ignore him when he does this?

Also just thought I should add that we don’t keep him in his pen all the time. We try to have him out with us whenever possible but we also don’t want to just give in because their are times where he needs to be in the pen or crate. He’s not trusted yet to be in the carpeted rooms because he tends to pee on them. Thank you! 

If this barking is also happening in other contexts (besides meal preparation and in other rooms other than the kitchen), you may be seeing clingy behaviors, which are quite normal in young puppies. In the wild, at this age, puppies are still very vulnerable and will cry out when separated from members of their social group. It is therefore an adaptive behavior, that is, barking when being left alone, although if not tackled and the puppy endures lots of stress and inconsistencies, it may culminate into separation anxiety. 

From the sound of it, this sounds more like attention-driven behavior, possibly frustrated behavior.  If this happens when he hears you around the home and he's prevented from following you, there can be  some  form of barrier frustration going on which can lead to barking in protest. Experts now say though that separation anxiety has some elements of frustration going on, so its best to tackle this sooner than later. 

We can take some steps to gradually help pups become less clingy. Here are some exercises:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-to-prevent-separation-anxiety-in-puppies/

The good news is that, on top of implementing exercises that foster more independence, as puppies develop, they also go through a flight stage where they start getting more explorative and self-reliant.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/flight-instinct-period-4-8-months/

Coupled with training to foster independence, brain games and confidence building training, we can lower the chances for problems later on, at least to a certain extent (there can still be genetics/early negative experiences at play). 

Happy training!

Keep use posted with how things go with sweet Ollie!