I have a male pit/lab mix who was rescued from a bad situation. He's been with my family for 3 years now and is doing very well. He is very balanced, listens well on and off leash, and is very trusting of both me and my wife. He will let you pick him up while upside down, roll him over on the floor, trim his nails while almost asleep. He goes with me on barracks checks (I'm in the Army) on the weekends where it is loud and full of strangers, with no fear.

He refuses to go in his crate. When placed in his crate, he shakes and tries to get out. As soon as he's out of the crate, he's absolutely fine. We have been placing his food in the crate with the door open, and he will stick his head in and eat with no problem. He will go in with his front feet and reach to the back to get treats, but once his rear feet go in, he becomes stressed.

The problem is, he will be flying in an airplane on a couple of long flights in a couple of months, so he will be in his crate for about 12 hours total, with a couple of breaks in the middle.

I can get him in the crate with a nudge to his butt, but he's very stressed at being in there. He doesn't flail or bite trying to escape, so I don't think he will hurt himself, but he needs to be calm. I'm concerned that if I just shove him in there and leave him that the situation will get worse instead of better. I have a couple of months to condition him to the crate, so plenty of time can be spent on it. I just don't want to take him in the wrong direction.

I can put him in the crate and remain calm myself. I am in no way afraid of the dog, and I don't feel bad for putting him in there. I think my energy is in the right place. I'm just looking for an experienced opinion on how to start.

Thanks,
David

David,

Are you familiar with Marker Training? I think it would be a big help in getting this dog used to his crate and in playing games in the crate. (I'm going to try and find a link on crate games.)

Also, have you closed the door on him when he is eating? Will he continue to eat with the door closed?

ETA: http://www.clickerdogs.com/crate_games.php

my trainer starts with half a crate and throws a treat in the crate and tells the dog "crate or place" or whatever you want. Once the dog starts getting in the crate the person starts "loading" the marker - I guess and feeds the dog several high value treats. this can be done several times a day in short times. Once the dog is enetering and staying in half the crate, then the lid is added and the same procedure is followed without closing the door - in fact the door can be off. throw treats in crate, give the command, when the dog goes in, mark the behavior with lots of treats again to start. Eventually add the door and close for short periods of time, all the while rewarding the dog. Go from there. this may be what Barbara sent you.

I'll throw one more suggestion out here, and I know some will consider it unconventional if not downright kooky, but one of my dogs is a rescue that also came with issues, and she was very fearful of the crate. I found that if I actually got in the crate first and coaxed her with irresistable treats, it made her less apprehensive. I could get her to lay down in there with me and relax a little.

Then I would gradually move myself farther and farther out of the crate, until I had her going in there and me on the outside but still laying on the floor, encouraging her to relax, first with the door open, then with the door closed.

Of course, I admit this is probably not going to be possible unless your crate is quite large, as mine was. Just an idea.

Thanks for the ideas. I started loading the marker yesterday as Lynne suggested and we made some progress. I kept it fun and made a game out of it.

Once your dog catches on to Marker Training you are going to be soooo amazed how easy it is to train new behaviors!!