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Purely Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Donna Kummer

Hey there fellow dog lover! My name is Donna. I am a positive reinforcement dog trainer who has had a passion for dogs and dog training since the age of 10. This is my Purely Positive Reinforcement Dog Training Blog.

I believe that it is our responsibility as pup parents to teach our dogs in the most positive way possible. We can accomplish this by rewarding desirable behaviors and ignoring or redirecting unwanted behaviors. By focusing on the positive behaviors we build a strong bond with our canine companions. It is this bond that, in my opinion, makes dog ownership so special.

Puppy Crate Training How To

Donna Kummer

Crates can be beneficial for puppies in many ways. From potty training to general bad behavior prevention, a crate trained dog can be much easier to keep out of trouble. For the crate to be effective, it is best to introduce it in a positive way. Here are some tips and tricks to help baby Fido love his crate for his entire life.

Play the Crate Game

The first step to crate training is always to introduce the dog to the crate and get them comfortable with it. No dog should be closed into a crate when they despise being there. When Fido first sees the crate they should be allowed to explore it however they wish for a little while with all the doors open. Once they have explored it alone you can encourage them to go in using treats. Some dogs will hop right in while others will be more hesitant. This process is different for every pup but should not be rushed. The door should not start to close until Fido is happy to bound in and out. Don’t skimp on the treats here!

Feed Him in His Crate

This is an easy way to help baby Fido to love his crate. For every meal Fido goes to his crate. If Fido is already comfortable with his crate you can close the door, but otherwise leave it open. This makes consistent positive crate experiences for Fido. The crate means food. AWESOME!

Don’t Crate and Run too Soon

When the pup is first learning about the crate it is ideal to not leave them in the crate for too long. In an ideal world pup would get crated for short periods of time while you are home for a few days then for short periods of time with you out of the house and slowly lengthen the time that they are home alone in the crate. In the mean time, a play pen can be used to keep them secure without inadvertently making negative associations with the crate.

Naps Happen in the Crate

This is also a wonderful way to help Fido to learn that the crate is a safe place and that going into the crate does not always mean you are leaving the house. Whenever you notice Fido is getting sleepy then encourage him to move into their crate with treats.

Crates Produce Good Things

You want this stuffed kong? Go into your crate! Oh you are not paying attention, well now there are treats in there for you to find later! Good things should just appear in the crate with no warning sometimes. You can either toss it in when the pup isn’t paying attention or show it to them and encourage them to go into their crate to receive it and close the door for them to enjoy. When they are done they can come out. Any time you are telling Fido to go to his crate toss in a handful of treats. JACKPOT! The crate is a magical happy place!

Quiet is the Only Way Out

Being quiet should be the only way that Fido is released from his crate. Crying should be ignored until they quiet down except during potty training. You don’t want Fido to learn that if they cry loud or long enough when you are making dinner you will let them out. You can encourage this quiet behavior by letting them out before they can cry when they are given a treat toy or meal. When Fido is first being introduced to the crate it is a good idea to keep crate time short so they don’t start crying. If crying starts just ignore it until they stop then praise and let them out.

Crates are a beautiful thing if introduced properly. All the puppies that I know have a developed a life long love and attachment to their crates when they were introduced to them young. Crates are very versatile training tools that every pappy parent should consider investing in. Remember to keep training pawsitive!

Crate Training Benifits

Donna Kummer

Crates may look intimidating to some at first glance. I have had many people say that they are not comfortable with caging a their dog for any length of time, but this is not the way crate training should be viewed. The point of a crate is to provide a safe place for your dog and to assist in training. Crates can be used in so many positive ways for a dog’s entire life.

Potty Training

The reason many people start crate training is to assist with potty training. Most dogs do not like sitting in their own waste for any amount of time, so the point of a crate with an un-housebroken dog is to help the dog learn to hold their business until they can get outside. When the dog is going to be left unattended the dog goes in the crate so instead of going potty the second they feel like, they have to they hold it until the owner gets home and takes them out so they don’t have to sit in it.

Even after a dog is potty trained using a crate when they are left home alone can help to prevent setbacks. My dog was introduced to his crate when he was 4 and fully house broken. He is still crated when no one is home and at night to ensure that he does not get onto furniture or incase of emergency he can be found and removed easily. He loves his crate and consistently puts himself to bed before we ask him to and will even sleep in there during the day.

Travel

Crates can be used in the car as a safe way to transport Fido from point A to point B. Crates keep the dog in one spot so they can’t distract the driver and in the case of an accident the crate will help to keep the dog contained and protected in the car instead of being ejected or injured by an air bag. If the dog has a tendency to get car sick then all of the sickness will be kept contained inside the crate.

When you get to point B the crate is your dogs home away from home. Dogs enjoy consistency so brining a piece of home with you helps dogs adjust to new situations. It you take your dog on a trip the crate may be your saving grace since you will have the peace of mind that your dog will be safe and comfortable if you have to leave them for any length of time. And your dog will be relieved to have a safe place to escape to when the change has become a bit too overwhelming.

I always bring my dog’s crate with him when he goes away overnight or even for the day. It gives him a place he is comfortable and familiar with and gives us the freedom to be able to leave him if necessary. We don’t need to worry about him doing something he shouldn’t at someone else’s house when left alone since he is happy to be in his crate.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety can be caused by many different things and results in a dog that is so stressed that they can become destructive, have accidents in the house, and just be an overall basket case when left alone. The crate can be used to help create a routine for the dog so they are confident that when they are left in the crate you will be back. By slowly and positively introducing a crate to a dog that suffers from separation anxiety you can help to alleviate the anxiety produced by being left alone.

Guests

Most times when guests come over our dog is welcome to go and great them and be part of the fun. But in some cases having Fido out with the crowd may not be desired. In this case a crate is a safe and happy place for Fido to go until the coast is clear. If a repair person is coming over and you are not able to be home or don’t want Fido to demand attention from them then off to the crate you go.

Also the crate is just the dogs space so children may not go in and “play” with Fido if he is in there. So if Fido is overwhelmed by company and just wants a nap he can retreat to his crate nap and will not have to worry about being stepped on or bothered in any way. Fido can also be sent to his crate if his owners see that he just needs a break.

Sickness

When a dog becomes ill or has surgery a crate can really come in handy. When a dog needs to be contained due to illness or surgery is not a good time to start crate training. It can be very agitating for a dog to be restricted when they are not used to it so having a dog who is comfortable and even happy to be crated can make a world of difference if they need to be restricted for medical reasons.

When my dog got worms and was having diarrhea I could not call out of work to stay home with him until he could last more than 3 hours without going outside. Lucky for us he loves his crate and goes in whenever we are not home so we were able to put him in there so that if he could no longer hold it, at least he would be contained to the crate.

Feeding Time

Many people have multiple dogs and for some dogs feeding time can be a dangerous situation. Dogs can have some aggression issues when it comes to food so putting them in a crate for feeding can help to lessen the likely hood that a problem could occur, whether between dogs or with a dog and a child. I always recommend feeding dogs in a crate in a multi dog household to keep food aggression out of the picture. It also helps ensure that Fido doesn’t end up eating all of Lassie’s food and become overweight.

There are many reasons why a crate should be part of almost every dogs life. These are the main reasons that I could think of but, I am always coming up with more uses for our crate. Crates should never be used as punishment but instead as a positive place.

Remember to keep training pawsitive!

Stop that Racket!

Donna Kummer

One of the main reasons that dogs are re-homed is due to unwanted behaviors. An example of this sort of detrimental behaviors is barking. Dogs bark for many different reasons; to alert, to greet, to communicate, and to simply show excitement. It is when dogs start to bark too much that it can become a problem to apartment owners and just a general headache.

What can we do to stop a dog from barking when we don’t want them to bark? One of my favorite Youtubers Kikopup made a wonderful video to demonstrate how to teach your dog not to bark incessantly.

“Stop your dog barking at the door” features a chihuahua who barks at the door and even at the word hello. Kikopup walks viewers through all of the steps to recondition the dog to not bark at people coming in. These steps include presenting the dog with stimulus that would make them bark and rewarding them for not barking.

The trick is to make sure the stimulus is not exciting enough to make the dog bark. So you wouldn’t start with just having someone come over and knock on the door and just stand there and wait for the dog to stop barking to get a reward. You would start smaller. You could start by knocking on the wall and rewarding the dog for not barking, or by standing in the middle of the kitchen and acting like you are greeting someone at the door and rewarding the dog for not barking at your excited tone of voice. By slowly increasing the stimulus while still keeping it under what would make the dog bark you can teach the dog to not get so excited that they bark when someone comes to the door.

Something to remember when teaching your dog to no longer do an unwanted behavior is to control your dog’s environment so that they do not have the opportunity to practice the behavior. In an ideal world no one would knock on the door for 3 weeks until Fido is reconditioned to go to his bed when he hears a door knock instead of barking and carrying on.

If Fido is prone to bark at dogs passing outside the window, then Fido can’t go near the window until his reconditioning is complete or when it is controlled by his owner and being used for training. A baby gate or crate would be a great option to keep a dog away from whatever makes them bark until they are desensitized to the stimulus that causes them to react.

When we are teaching our dogs using positive reinforcement we are teaching them what we want them to do. This process can take a number of weeks. Before long though, the dog has learned what it is expected to do and the owner can be proud that their dog has conquered another bad behavior!

There are many other techniques for discouraging unwanted barking that I will cover in future posts.

Remember to keep training pawsitive!