11 mo. old girl...help!

[robynkendall]

Last Sunday we went to the Humane Society and adopted Maddie, an 11 month old Boxer/Border Collie mix. She had been an outside dog with her previous owners. I would like to get her crate trained but she will go completely nuts when (and if) I get her in there and I'm afraid she might hurt herself. At night she will sleep on the floor by our bed and be fine, but she has started chewing on things (my NEW shoes!) so I would feel more comfortable with leaving her in a crate when I'm not home. I'm just not sure of the best way to accomplish this. Samson never had a problem with staying in his and I'm feeling a little in over my head right now with the chewing/crating issues. Any help is much appreciated!!

Oh, also I think she may possibly have a urinary tract infection so I'm not going to rush her into the crate training right away...

 

[CarolynRuth]

Make the crate something fun for her, and something she sees as "her space." Start out playing with her near it and tossing treats/favorite toy right inside the door. Do this until she is comfortable walking in it to get them (hours or days). Then, toss them a little farther in...and so on, until you she comfortably walks all the way to the back of the crate to get whatever she wants. As you are doing this, give her a name for it everytime she goes in (night night, crate, kennel, etc.) If it is a big enough crate, get in it and have her come in there with you and play (Brewster's crate is huge, he and Adrienne can comfortably share it when needed). After she is happy playing in it, close the door for a minute/5 minutes/whatever and lavish her with praise, maybe tossing in a treat, using the name you gave it ("Good Crate!") If she starts barking/whining/etc, don't praise her until she stops (even for 30 seconds), but they usually don't bark/whine if its just a couple minutes. Continue this exercise, shutting the door and lengthening the time...keep up the praise and treats. When you open the door to let her out, don't make a big deal out of it...you want to emphasize how good she is for being in there, not for coming out. Once you have her up to 20 minutes or so, leave the room while she is in there. As see her progressing, keep lengthening the time, and eventually leaving the house.

Anyway, I think you get the idea. Her crate should be something she loves to go to because it's play and treat time. She will also discover over time that it is her special place to go snuggle down into (her den) and go in there on her own, even when you don't ask. I made it a habit of whenever I saw Brewster go in his crate, I would say "good crate!" and give him a treat.

Hope this helps!

 

[robynkendall]

Thanks for the tips.
I'm sure it's going to take quite some time to accomplish this since she seems violently opposed to being crated, but will be well worth the effort if it works
BTW, should I keep both crates in the same room or does it matter?? Since bringing Maddie home, Sam and she have been practically inseperable so I wonder if they care to be close when crated.

 

[CarolynRuth]

My two seem to be much happier next to each other - they're pretty inseperable as well, so the little one (Adrienne) acts much more relaxed knowing Brewster is there. She's deaf, so she counts on him to keep her informed of what's going on. (She can't hear me come home, but she can sense Brewster up and moving and excited). My sister has two labs (100 lbs each) that have crates right next to each other and sometimes they try and go in the same one together!