We have two Corgis, both about 18 months old. Both have been crated trained since we got them as pups and have been very comfortable with their crates. They sleep in them at night and go in their crates for our meal times, and usually when we leave the house.
The female lately has been resisting our commands to go to her crate. She runs somewhere else, like a dog bed, or just refuses to go. When we go to her, she’ll go submissive and roll over on her back, then we pick up her and take her to the crate.
Now this dog has always been headstrong, strong willed, but generally obedient. Her attitude is “I know you want me to do that, and I will, but I’m going to meander and do it in my own time.” Not the best behavior from a dog, but it’s her personality.
This refusing to go in her crate is new, however. We’ve checked to be sure that her crate is clean and we don’t know of any kind of bad experience she would associate with the crate. It’s like she’s decided that she’s had enough of this crate business and isn’t going to do it anymore.
Any thoughts on why she would act like this and how to correct it?
18 months is the equivalent of a teenager - she’s probably just pushing you to see what she can get away with. Many dogs go thorugh a phase of that about that age, just like human teenagers do.
As long as it’s clean and she still fits comfortably inside of it, I can’t think of a physical problem. Maybe she gets bored in there? Can you try putting a new toy or a rawhide ear in there to make it less boring?
Dogs like crates and anything else they can make into a “fort” so to speak. Most likely is something spooked her when she went for the crate, now she is associating that with the crate.
Maybe as she was going into the crate, there was a crash of thunder or something fell on her. Now she associates the crate with the “bad thing.”
Best bet is to get rid of that crate and get her a new “fort” or some kind to hide in. A new crate that looks much different may work.
Agreed. She is testing the limits. You just have to be consistent with your orders and ensure she follows through. She will get over it and you will have a much more responsive and attatched dog.
While a dog’s personality is fixed by 12 weeks, it isn’t mature until it is 3 years old. it sounds like halfway there she has decided she is a big girl and shouldn’t have to be shut in a crate. If not spayed, her second season could be coming, always likely to bring on flaky behavior.
Rawhide is a bad idea, killed many dogs. They tear off a piece, bolt it down and it swells blocking the airway or digestive tract.
Every dog owner I’ve ever known gives their dogs rawhide bones–I don’t own one myself, so I apologize if that was bad information.
I suppose this might be fodder for another thread entirely, but I never knew rawhide was dangerous. Is this something well-known among conscientious dog owners and only done by the reckless or stupid ones (like buying from puppy mills is)?
Is the crate in a place near a heater or air conditioner or window where the seasonal change may be affecting it in a way that didn’t occur to you?
My wife and I have owned and trained many dogs (primary Australian Cattle Dogs i.e Blue Heelers) over the years. We do not use rawhides or any plush toys anymore. We have had to rescue one of our dogs that was absolutely choking on a rawhide (the heimlich does work on dogs, btw) and another of our dogs died after having part of a plush toy in her stomach for 3-6 months (this was found during emergency adbominal surgery).
We now only use Kongs, Nylabones, or other toys that are too large to swallow or will only breakdown into very very small pieces. Please learn from our mistakes.
Meh. I’ve seen a person choke on chicken. Don’t let people eat chicken!
I’ve seen a thousand digs eat rawhide bones. Never seen one harmed by one. They sure enjoy them though!
Have you tried washing her blankets with scent and dye free detergent and fabric softener?
I have never been able to find any numbers on the dogs killed by rawhide. There are no big class action suits like with Greenies.
None of those sites are what I consider reliable, but I have sources I consider reliable that are not on the net that are against rawhide.
Have you considered that the dog wants to be with it’s pack (you and the rest of the family) and not arbitrarily confined for no good reason.
I just don’t get “crate training”. I don’t like it and am baffled by the (relatively recent) fad. Sticking an animal in a box is NOT “training”. A dog is a pack animal, or from our perspective, a member of the family. My dogs have always slept where they liked, usually in our bed, but it was always their choice.
What is the point of crate training? Does it have something to do with toilet training? If that is the case, it is as bad as “training wheels” on bicycles for children. It will only delay the desired result, IMHO. It seems that crate training is a warning signal: “Lazy owner who doesn’t want to spend the time to properly housebreak the dog and clean the occasional mess.”
90% of dog owners have no business with a canine.
/dog owner who takes his dog everywhere it is allowed
And 90% of people who make assumptions are usually wrong. Of course the dogs are housebroken, and the dogs are very much part of the pack. They spend nearly their entire day roaming the house at will, sleeping wherever they want, which for one is right next to me while I work in my office and for the other is a big cushy bed upstairs. Except for the times they go in their crates on their own to nap because they consider their crates to be safe places that are all their own.
If you don’t know the point of crate training, then you’re being awfully vociferous in your condemnation of it.
I could just as easily say the lazy dog owner is the one who doesn’t want to enforce boundaries like a true alpha male would.
Have you checked inside the crate for loose ends or pokey bits? It may be that there’s something poking her if she leans up on the wall, and she’s resisting the ouchy spot.
I think crates are OK if used properly. But too often, I think the create becomes a solution for problems that are better solved in other ways. For example, a dog that chews things up due to lack of exercise may be simply stuck in a crate for hours to avoid having to deal with the problem. The end result is much like the old fashioned zoos that we all condemn, yet somehow it seems OK to do with your dog.
I believe the whole “alpha male” approach to dog training has also been shown to have some holes in it. From what I understand, it was based on how wolf behavior was understood a long time ago. However, more recent studies indicate that most wolf packs are not filled with wolves competing for a dominant/alpha role. Rather, they are small units consisting of the parents and pups. So, not as much of a struggle for dominance going on there as was previously thought. Temple Grandin feels that in most cases it is more effective to play the role of a parent rather than an alpha male enforcer.
Make it enjoyable for her to go in – ie leave some treats that she really likes in the crate.
Rawhides aren’t inherently bad (YMMV), but leaving your dog alone with something they can ingest and then choke on is bad.
Any bone, rawhide or other, that I have gotten for my dog and comes in packaging says on the packaging “do not leave your dog unsupervised with this bone.”
So, do not leave your dog in a crate with a rawhide unless you are going to be nearby.
Stan - Crate training means safety. As in “you can’t be trusted to be loose in the house while we are gone without destroying something/choking/getting stuck/electrocuting yourself.”
It’s the same as putting a baby to sleep in a crib because you can’t trust them not to fall out of a bed. Or putting a baby in a playpen while you turn your back for a moment because you can’t trust them not to die.
Dogs don’t need their crates for very long. They eventually start hanging out in there with the door open because they like it. You also can eventually trust them to be home alone without being crated.
My dog kept her crate for about 2 years without the door. Eventually I got rid of it for more space. Now her favorite places to hang out are underneath a desk and in a shallow closet with an open door. Dogs like dens.
Stan – the concept is that dogs won’t pee or poop where they sleep.
We have never been able to trust our dog to sleep outside of the crate at night. She’s just too much of a chewer – she’ll get ahold of something, and won’t let go of it. Funny, we can trust her alone when we’re not home, but not at night. Go figure. (I guess she knows we’re here, but she won’t lay still – she’ll be up all night causing mischief)
Besides, she LIKES her crate. In fact, when it’s bed time, she’ll start bugging my mother so she can go outside and then she runs right inside. As others have said, it’s a little den – she has her blankets and her little doggie bed inside, and there are curtains draped over the top, and it’s nice and cozy. She feels safe in there. She’s afraid of storms, for example, and will bark like crazy and freak out. But if there’s one at night when she’s in her crate, she won’t make a peep.
So we don’t put her in it when we’re gone, just at night. It’s like a crib. We used to leave it open so she could go in there any time she wanted, but then the cats started going in there.
The last dog we had COULD be trusted at night without a crate. This one can’t.
Relatively recent fad? In 1991 when my family started really learning a little about dogs, Wal-Mart stocked them.
From the hoard of dog advice I have been posting to dog forums fro over 10 years:
Other dogs may not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with. Still your house and dog will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are away. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. They are harder for dogs to open too. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can’t pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.
Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don’t leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.
A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.
It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren’t around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can’t pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.
I am a big believer in crates, but hate to see any dog left over 4-5 hours. If you can’t make it back to give it a mid day break, see if a neighbor or professional dog walker can. Doggy day care is a great idea too.
The “shut the puppy in a safe room” is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a “safe” room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.
Likely it will cry the first few nights in the crate. I have never had much luck with the old clock or radio tricks. What I do is lay down by the crate like I was going to sleep there. Usually a puppy may fuss a little, but then settle down and go to sleep. Once it is asleep, you can get up and go to bed.
Crating is a common technique now recommended by most experts. It is about working with a dog’s instincts. I am sure many of the dogs dumped in shelters because the owners couldn’t manage them could have if they used a crate.