The crate is their happy place!

Crating our dogs at night and when we are not home or otherwise unable to give the dog structure is one of the cornerstones of our training and aftercare programs. Crating isn’t something a dog should age out of but instead be used lifelong to give the dog the valuable consistency and structure that she needs in life to curb preventable issues like separation anxiety and avoid creating unnecessary opportunities for the dog to make mistakes or backslide in her training, mindset and behaviour. Crating is the best way to keep our dogs safe when we’re asleep or out and it makes life soooo much easier when our dog is boarded, overnight at the vets office, at the groomers, or when someone else is dog sitting! The crating routine is also a valuable opportunity to influence the dog’s mindset and manners DAILY in what we choices allow (calm, polite, patient, respectful) and what choices we correct (pushy, rude, overexcited, reactive). In this video, Piper is showing off her polite crate manners and calm mindset as she enters and exits the crate! You’ll notice that there is no rushing or excitement but instead some very deliberate pauses and polite choices as I guide Piper in and out of the crate and she waits calmly for me to get her dressed. Every single time we put the dog in or out of the crate we are either building polite manners and impulse control or we are creating chaos and endorsing rude behaviour and this simple act tells the dog volumes about who we are as leaders and what boundaries and behaviour we are going to enforce or what rudeness and craziness we are going to reinforce.

Crate training is always one of our top priorities with puppies (and adult dogs) because not only does a consistent crating routine make house training a snap, but crate training also teaches puppies the super valuable skill of calm independence while also keeping him safe (and also keeping your home safe from pointy puppy teeth! 😉) when we humans are asleep at night, away from the house or otherwise unable to supervise ‘dog duty’. In this video, you’ll see me using the crate door to stop Ben from dashing out before invited and I’m also using his kibble to reinforce him for waiting politely in the crate.