# won't go in crate no matter what I try



## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

Our 13 month old has no problems going into her crate, walks right it whenever we ask her to and even goes in on her own. When she is in the crate, not a peep and calm as can be.

Our 8 month old male is completely calm when in the crate, same as the female, but he won't go in on his own no matter what I do. I have tried the treats, toys, etc., but he knows that I am just trying to coax him in. We have to physically put him in the crate, he doesn't fight but he goes limp like a rag doll which makes it very difficult. He has gotten to the size where my wife can't physically get him in the crate so we have to get this solved. 

Any thoughts? What is so bizarre is that he doesn't seem to hate it when he's in there, he's calm as can be, just won't actually go in on his own.


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## Jazz & Jules (Feb 25, 2007)

Maybe try feeding him in there.

Looking forward to hearing some more suggestions!


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I was going to say the same thing, feed him his meals in there, with the door open.


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

Yeah that's the one thing I haven't tried, mostly because our two eat together out of the same bowl and they won't both fit in one crate to eat. I am going to try though, if that doesn't work I might have to try higher value treats that he just won't be able to resist.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

separating their food into two bowls is a really good idea anyway...in the event that you have to start counting calories or if one dog needs a different food....Progressive weight loss is a danger sign...as is sudden weight gain. Plus it is just plain good safety management ... respect for another dog that is eating is a good thing for dogs to know. 


Lead the 9 month old into the room..put the food bowl waaaay in the back of the crate...leave the door open and walk away - go to a different room, shut the door and wait...dont pressure him to go in and eat ...let him figure it out - he saw the food go in....no doubt he can smell it..give him 10 minutes then take the food bowl away. A healthy dog can go days without eating. You can always up the ante by adding some really good smelling canned dog food to the kibble to make the bowl irresistible.

Feed the 13 month old in a different room - even if it means going into the bathroom.
Dont let her presence pressure the other dog.
NO TREATS. Hunger is a powerful motivator

There is a really neat book called Crate Games that might be fun to pick up at the library.


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

LibertyME said:


> separating their food into two bowls is a really good idea anyway...in the event that you have to start counting calories or if one dog needs a different food....Progressive weight loss is a danger sign...as is sudden weight gain. Plus it is just plain good safety management ... respect for another dog that is eating is a good thing for dogs to know.
> 
> 
> Lead the 9 month old into the room..put the food bowl waaaay in the back of the crate...leave the door open and walk away - go to a different room, shut the door and wait...dont pressure him to go in and eat ...let him figure it out - he saw the food go in....no doubt he can smell it..give him 10 minutes then take the food bowl away. A healthy dog can go days without eating. You can always up the ante by adding some really good smelling canned dog food to the kibble to make the bowl irresistible.
> ...


Thanks for the advice, never thought about the separate room piece, good idea. I have been thinking for a while that we should separate their food bowls, just haven't done it because they share well and haven't fought at all over food. Time to do that I guess.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Definitely seperate bowls, all kinds of reasons, like being sure each is getting the right amount, if you ever need to feed one a special or just different diet, or one needs to not be fed before surgery or something, etc.

You can also get him all excited with his favorite toy and once he's really interested toss it into the crate but don't close the door, practice that a lot and then eventually close the door.


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## animallover (Jul 18, 2010)

Emma doesn't go in hers on her own either. Even though I always hide treats for her in her bedding. She'll go in there and find the treats and then right back out...she does let us take her in. Sleeps fine at night but during the day she naps on the floor. Good luck. Guess I need it, too.


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## Chloe Braun (Aug 21, 2010)

One mistake you want to avoid is *Forcing your dog into the crate*. One common mistake when it comes to crate training puppies is forcing the puppy into the crate and walking away. 

What this does is scare and confuse the retriever. By continuing to do this is may actually cause behavioral and/or emotional problems.

Use rewards instead of force - This will help associate that the create is a safe, comfortable, happy place.


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## Jazz & Jules (Feb 25, 2007)

T Man said:


> Thanks for the advice, never thought about the separate room piece, good idea. I have been thinking for a while that we should separate their food bowls, just haven't done it because they share well and haven't fought at all over food. Time to do that I guess.


Good idea as I bet Spencers puppy license is about to expire!


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

Ok well I have a progress report. I have been feeding both dogs in separate bowls and feeding them in their crates, just leaving the door open. Spencer now will go in the crate on his own to lie down once in a while, which he never did before. He still won't go in when I ask him to, I have to put him in. He doesn't fight going in, either just stands at the door or flops down and rolls onto his back. 

Anyway, there seems to be some progress so I'll keep going with feeding them in the crates.


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## Jazz & Jules (Feb 25, 2007)

A wonderful report!!!!


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

Well two weeks now into feeding both dogs in separate bowls and in their crates, wish I had better news but Spencer still will not go in the crate unassisted unless he is eating. He will walk right up to the crate when you call him to go in, then flop down in front of it. Throwing treats in doesn't seem to help, he just gets them and keeps his rear end sticking out of the opening to make sure the door won't be closed. 

As per my last post he was starting to go in on his own to lie down, that seems to have stopped too unfortunately.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. What continues to seem so bizarre to me is he does not cry or seem stressed at all once he is in, doesn't chew on the door or anything. I can't figure it out.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Feed meals in the crate and play the in-and-out game several times a day. Throw treats in, he goes in, eats them and comes out. Then sometimes you throw treats in, he goes in, you close the door, count to three, let him out. Trick is having him go in/out for all random amounts of time several times a day so he never knows when you might actually have to keep him in there for longer.


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Feed meals in the crate and play the in-and-out game several times a day. Throw treats in, he goes in, eats them and comes out. Then sometimes you throw treats in, he goes in, you close the door, count to three, let him out. Trick is having him go in/out for all random amounts of time several times a day so he never knows when you might actually have to keep him in there for longer.


:doh: He goes in, takes the treat, gets out asap and then eats it, doesn't eat it in the crate so the time factor can't be increased.

As an aside, I almost fell off my chair two nights ago because he went in on his own and went to sleep. It's as though he will go in on his own terms, but not when asked to go in, and believe me he sees right through the throw the treats in thing. He knows exactly why I am doing it, so I don't know if I should be happy about his intelligence or frustrated at his stubbornness :--dumbfounded:. It's as though he thinks when we ask him to go in it is for punishment, which is odd because we haven't used the crate in this way since day one.


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## T Man (Mar 18, 2010)

Well, I tweaked things a bit and have seen a step forward. I was putting a treat in the crate to coax Spencer to go in, and as I mentioned in my last post he would have none of it and knew I was trying to coax him in.

So now I put the treat in the crate and rather than standing there to see what he does I walk away. As soon as I do that he goes in! I have to make sure now that every time I do that I'm not closing the door behind him. His rear end sticks out so when I do need to close the door I have to give the extra boost to get him in.


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