Test your dog’s understanding!

• Once you can count to 10 without your dog getting up, it’s time to test their understanding! In your next session, click and treat for lying down in the crate.
• Then, count to 10 in your head without intermediary steps.
• Click and feed in position.
• Use your release word and toss a reset treat outside the crate.

Phoebe demonstrates the test. Her room service marker is “Good!”

Successful? Excellent! You’re ready for the next step!

Did your dog get up before you reached 10? That’s okay – you’ll explain the exercise again:

• Go back to slowly building duration: count to 1 in your head – mark and feed. Count to 2 in your head – mark and feed etc.
• After counting to 10 without your dog getting up, give them a break.
•  We’ll start the next session by testing their understanding again.

Adding the Cue

• Say the crate cue of your choice right before your dog is about to do the behavior anyways. To an observer, it should look as if they were going in the crate because you told them to.
• Mark as they lie down and feed in position.
• Count to ten in your head. Mark and feed in position.
• Say your release cue and toss a reset cookie outside the crate.
• As soon as they are done eating , say your crate cue again.
• Mark and feed for lying down in the crate.
• Count to 10 in your head. Mark and feed in position.
• Say your release cue and toss another reset treat outside the crate.

Feel free to talk to and praise your dog when increasing the duration of a behavior! The next video shows how chatty I am when building duration for life skills.

Phoebe’s crate cue is, “In die Box!” (German for “Go in your crate!”). I use two different marker words in this video (“Good!” when feeding her in position and “Okay, get it!” when throwing a cookie for her to chase). Don’t worry about this if you only have one marker cue for your dog – just use your usual click or marker word!

So far, I’ve asked you to count in your head. This allowed you to increase duration in steps smaller than a second if necessary. From now on, you’ll work with actual seconds to keep track of your further progress. Use the timer on your phone for help!

Extending the Duration

10-20 seconds

Now that your dog knows their crate cue and can lie in their crate for 10 seconds, it’s time to extend the duration even more.

• Say your crate cue and mark and feed in position as your dog lies down in the crate.
• Wait 10 seconds. Mark and feed in position.
• Wait 12 seconds. Mark and feed in position.
• Wait 14 seconds. Mark and feed in position.
• Wait 16 seconds etc.
• If your dog ever sits up, stands up or leaves the crate, wait for them to go back in and start with 10 seconds again. (Followed by 12 – 14 etc.)

Work your way up to 20 seconds in 2-second steps.

20-60 seconds

From 20 to 60 seconds, you’ll increase the time between treats in 5-second increments: 20 seconds – 25 – 30 – 35 – 40 – 45 – 50 – 55 and 60 seconds. The time between treats is getting longer!

Even though you marked and treated in between, your dog has now spent quite a long time lying in their crate without getting up – substantially longer than the 60 seconds of your very last rep! And you didn’t even need to close the crate door in order to convince them to stay in!

Stay at this stage until your dog can work all the way up to 60 seconds!

You don’t need to watch all of this video … take a look at the beginning and the end to get an idea of the progress. Feel free to talk to your dog throughout the session.

Test your dog’s understanding!

• Send your dog in the crate, mark and feed in position.
• Wait for 60 seconds right away. Mark and feed the 60-second treat in position.
• Say your release cue and toss a treat for them to chase out of the crate.
• If your dog struggles with this step, explain the game again: start over with 10 seconds – 12 – 14 – etc. between treats before testing their understanding again.

Phoebe demonstrates the test for building duration on a mat. Just imagine the mat was a crate – both skills can be trained in the exact same way.

Up until now, what we’ve been working on could just as well have been an obedience stay. In the video you just watched, Phoebe holds a sphinx down and focuses on me – this is not the relaxed crate (or mat) behavior we eventually want! Check back for part 4 to see how I transition to relaxation and extend the duration further next week!

If you’ve been following this tutorial with your own dog, leave me a comment – I’d love to hear how it’s been going!

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All parts of the crate training tutorial:

Part 1: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-1-shaping-interactions-with-a-new-crate/
Part 2: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-2-lying-down-in-the-crate-and-starting-to-build-duration/
Part 3: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-3-adding-a-cue-and-extending-duration/
Part 4: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-4-building-relaxation/

We’re picking up right where we left off – with Hadley’s third crate training session. Hadley is a fast and active little Border Collie. Staying still doesn’t come naturally to him! I need to build duration in tiny increments. The most important part throughout the teaching process? We’re both having a good time!

Hadley – Session 3

00:04 Since Hadley offered a down outside the crate just before, I click for one paw in, “Yes, we’re still talking about the crate.”
00:20 I was going to click for 2 paws in, but he went all the way in – so I jackpot with a handful of treats.
00:45 Since he did so well with all 4 paws, I wait for him to go all the way in again.
00:54 “Will you choose to stay inside if I delay the click?” Yes! Good boy!
01:00 Building duration for standing in the crate.
01:07 Hadley leaves the crate …
01:10 … so I start building duration from scratch once he is inside again.
01:33 He offers a sit! Jackpot!

• Start each session just a little easier than you ended the previous one in order to set your dog up for success. Then raise criteria again. Once your dog has offered a sit, gradually expand the duration. Sooner or later, they should offer a down: sitting gets boring!
• Jackpot the down, then gradually build duration again – this time with the dog lying down in the crate.
• Just like you did with the standing and sitting dog, go back to an easier version of the exercise anytime your dog gets up and/or leaves the crate. If you make it all the way to counting to 6 in your head with your dog lying down, but then they get up and leave the crate, start with immediately clicking for walking in and lying down, then clicking for lying down while you count to 1 in your head, lying down while you count to 2, lying down while you count to 3 etc. The reason we click a lot is that we want our dogs to be successful and have fun rather than be frustrated and give up. This is especially important for dogs who are new to clicker training and shaping.
• If your dog gets up after the click, feed them in the position you just clicked – just use the cookie to lure them back into a sit or down.

Hadley – Session 4

In this session, I try building duration for the down. Hadley is having a hard time staying down. That’s okay. When he gets up, I just lower criteria and go back to clicking as soon as he downs and counting to 1 or 2 in my head. We’re not in a rush. Note that when he gets up after the click, I feed him in a down position. I just use the cookie to lure him back down. Feeding in the desired position will speed up the learning process!

01:47 You’ll see me click and then say “Get it!” in the end of this session. You’ll observe the same thing in some of my other videos in this series. The trainer I am today would not click before saying “Get it!” “Get it!” itself serves as a marker cue.

• Build duration in a down position until you can count to 10 in your head without your dog getting up!

Hadley – Session 5

Building duration for lying in the crate. Hadley is still tempted to get up a lot. I’ll patiently explain what I want him to do until he understands – and he will understand. It’s just a matter of time. Always work at your dog’s pace!

Hadley – Session 6

Hadley is getting better at staying down! At 02:17, I count to 9 in my head before he gets up. (I’m counting fast with Hadley. He needs the duration to increase in steps smaller than full one-second increments. In his case, counting to 9 is not the same as 9 seconds.)

Check back next week for part 3 of the crate training series! If you’ve been following this tutorial with your own dog, leave me a comment – I’d love to hear how it’s going!

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All parts of the crate training tutorial:

Part 1: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-1-shaping-interactions-with-a-new-crate/
Part 2: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-2-lying-down-in-the-crate-and-starting-to-build-duration/
Part 3: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-3-adding-a-cue-and-extending-duration/
Part 4: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-4-building-relaxation/

I have been helping a student get their dog used to a crate, which reminded me of the crate training tutorial I wrote a year ago and never ended up sharing anywhere! I’m going to split it into 4 blog posts. If you try this protocol with your own dog and run into problems, feel free to ask your questions in the comments and I’ll try to help you out!

Traditionally, dogs used to be “trained” to spend time in their crates by means of just putting them in the crate, closing the door and not letting them out until they stopped whining or barking. Not only is this stressful for your dog, it’s also hard on your neighbors who might not approve of your dog barking in their crate all night. The good news is that there are other, less stressful ways of getting a dog used to a crate. It might take a little longer to get duration than if you just locked your dog in, but it will be much less stressful for both you and your dog.

If your dog already has negative associations with their crate, I recommend getting a different model (plastic instead of wire or wire instead of plastic) and starting from scratch with a new crate in a different location. It’s easier to build positive associations to an entirely new object than to change your dog’s feelings about a crate they already dislike.

I usually use a combination of shaping and luring to get started. If you are an experienced shaper, feel free to free shape the behavior instead. Also, please note there is more than just one way to train your dog to enjoy spending time in their crate. The steps I’m sharing here with you have worked well for me – that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t get equally good results with a different and equally stress-free training technique.

Crate Training Setup

• Remove all other objects around your crate to make it obvious to your dog that your training session is about the crate.
• If your dog has a tendency to wander off or is a young puppy with a short attention span, put an x-pen around yourself and the crate or keep them on a leash.
• Keep each session to 1 minute – set a timer to remind you to stop training and give your dog a break.

Click any Interaction and Feed in the Crate

• Click any and all interactions with the crate. Throw a treat into the crate so the dog eats inside! If your dog hesitates to step in the crate, put the treat near the door so all they have to do is stick their head in to get it. With every click, put the treat a little further inside the crate until your dog has to step in to get it – first one paw, then two, three and finally four.
• Can you get in three to five more clicks and treats while your dog is still in the crate, has just finished eating the previous treat, but hasn’t had time to come out again? Great!
• After three to five rapid-fire clicks and treats, wait a little. If your dog comes out, wait with your click until they show interest again. If they stay in and wait, add another click and treat inside the crate, then click and throw a treat out to set them up for another rep.

Hadley – Session 1

At the time I worked on this tutorial, Hadley was the least crate-trained dog in our house, so I’m using him to demo the first steps. I chose a crate he has never been in and a location I have never worked on crate training before: out on the patio. In order to keep him from running off, I put an x-pen around Hadley, myself and the crate. He’s making it easy and has no trouble going all the way in when I feed in the crate after the first click. Note that I don’t wait for him to go all the way in before each click – I really do click any interaction with the crate. Looking at it is enough at first! That’s the shaping part of this exercise. However, I feed in the crate so he has to go all the way in for his treat. That’s the luring part!

00:54 Now I want more than just looking at it – walk towards it to get a click!
01:23 For the first time, I wait a little bit to see if he’ll stay in on his own or come out again. Just a fraction of a second … He stops and looks at me and I immediately reinforce this choice with a click and treat.

Hadley – Session 2

00:13 I delay the click a tiny bit to see if Hadley will choose to stay in the crate rather than come out … He does and looks at me expectantly! Yey!
00:23 Click for sticking the head in the crate.
00:51 Click for one paw in.
01:08 Click for two paws.
01:16 Again, I delay the click and Hadley chooses to stay in the crate rather than come out.

• Delay the click just a little longer once your dog is successful: you started with clicking for looking at the crate and proceeded to clicking for sticking the head in, putting one paw in, then two paws, three paws and finally all four paws.
• Once you get four paws in, start adding duration: with your dog standing in the crate, delay the click longer and longer: dog in the crate – click immediately. Dog in the crate – count to 1 in your head, click, treat. Dog in the crate – count to 2 in your head, click, treat. Dog in the crate – count to 3 in your head, click, treat.
• If/When your dog leaves the crate before the click, wait for them to go back in and start building duration from scratch: dog in the crate – click immediately. Dog in the crate – count to 1 in your head, click, treat. Dog in the crate, count to 2 in your head, click, treat etc.
• Eventually, most dogs will offer a sit or a down in the crate – just standing there gets boring. Jackpot the sit or down with praise and a handful of treats!

Check back next week for the following steps!

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All parts of the crate training tutorial:

Part 1: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-1-shaping-interactions-with-a-new-crate/
Part 2: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-2-lying-down-in-the-crate-and-starting-to-build-duration/
Part 3: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-3-adding-a-cue-and-extending-duration/
Part 4: https://adventuredogsanarchy.com/crate-expectations-part-4-building-relaxation/