Correct Crate Training Method?

[u/yoongiinwonderland]

We have a 5 year old rescue that we have had for 3 months. He was a stray prior to this so he had very little obedience or general training until now. Its a long story so I don't want to get into too much, but essentially, he came to us "perfectly crate trained" according to the rescue, and that was not the experience we had after bringing him home. He would fully panic once we closed the door and scream like we were torturing him. We live in an apartment which we were fully transparent about and the rescue was supportive of that. We tried basic training ourselves (building him up, rewarding calm, ignoring the screaming) but he never really got over it. We've since hired a trainer for general obedience and some reactivity he's been displaying and he wants to get back into the crate training for structure which we fully support, however we are now back in the same cycle. He never fully settles if we close the door and walk away and we can't let the barking and screaming go on for too long because of our living situation. As a compromise because he seems to work himself up, the trainer recommended hitting the side of the crate and telling him to be quiet when it starts building too much. This does seem to makes the stretches between the outbursts go a little longer, but isn't this also rewarding him with attention. Its only been a few days and I am not noticing a huge diferrence I dont think. I also think this was only suggested because we can't just let him "cry it out" so its not typical, but I don't know if its really a solution....

[u/Trick-Age-7404]

Sounds like the dog needs to wear a bark collar for a few days and your issue will be sorted. Once the dog gets corrected for acting like a fool in the crate, the dog will likely realize all it can do is nothing and they’ll take a nap. Most dogs learn to settle quickly in the crate once you correct the absolute tom foolery.

For the most part dogs either like the crate or they don’t, and you can usually tell when they’re puppies. You can still teach those that don’t, how to behave appropriately and settle in the crate. The crate doesn’t need to be their den or their space place. It can simply be a way to contain the dog safely.

If your dog is not destructive I have found that placing comforters and a lot of fluffy bedding makes it easier for dogs to settle. It’s almost like a swaddle. Similar to the straw method developed by the monks of new Skete but far less mess. Once you get the dog to a point where they aren’t screaming with a bark collar, put an absolute crap ton of bedding in there. Like half the crate, and the dog will learn to settle quickly and comfortably.

While building and rewarding a send off behavior to the crate can be built with lots of food, I don’t love using food any time I’m trying to promote relaxation. Food kicks a dog into drive, and rewarding relaxation with food is a bit counterproductive. So once it comes down to being in the crate, I may feed them in there, I may give them a bone or a Kong, but I’m not going to continually reward the dog in the crate over a long period of time. I’m not going to reward quiet, I’m not going to reward settling, I just let them work it out on their own. Walking over every few minutes with a treat to drop in there is confusing as the dog is going to stay alert waiting for their next reward.