Crate Training Game that WORKS - Power Tip #3: Bait + Restrain

Learn a dynamic crate training game to help your dog love it! **** Download the FREE Simpawtico Basic Gear Buyer’s Guide here: bit.ly/2dqBljF
-----ADDITIONAL VIDEOS-----
Simpawtico’s other Crate Game:
• Crate Train a Dog With...
Simpawtico’s big Crate Training video:
• Crate Training Definit...
Simpawtico’s Kong Training video:
• How to Use Kong Toys t...
Our Crate Training Playlist:
• Home Alone/Crate Training
Like our Power Tips? Take a look at our playlist:
• POWER TIPS!
-----SUPPLIES-----
Some of the links below are affiliate links. These won't cost you anything, but the commissions we may earn through them help offset the cost of dog treats. Thanks for your support!
In the video we're using Pet Botanics Training Rewards:
On Amazon: geni.us/AlFAsc
On Chewy: prf.hn/l/6nP4pgo
We also use the Stewart Pro-Treats freeze-dried liver as a jackpot or super-lure
On Amazon: geni.us/BAMB58I
On Chewy: prf.hn/l/7Qg9kz6
The crate in this video is the Nature’s Miracle Pet Suite
(Amazon only): amzn.to/2DDODau
We love this one. Well made with versatile features, namely the door that opens both ways and can be totally removed in a snap. Our favorite plastic crate by far.
*******
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About this video: In this video Ian Stone from Simpawtico Dog Training teaches you one of our favorite crate training games. It’s fun, dynamic, and helps your dog love the process of moving in and out. Perfect for both puppies and newly adopted dogs.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, Simpawtico Dog Training, LLC will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally, and that we believe will add value to our viewers. The price you pay is the same whether you use the affiliate link or not.

[@jayharvey6649]

I have watched three of your videos and find them to be the best informational videos on KZbin. Equally important I like the way they are illustrated and your delivery of the information makes them interesting so I watch them to the end.

[@evandoug90]

I like that you frame the training as games. Makes it feel fun instead of regimented drilling.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

For sure! And boy, dogs respond so well to that!

[@michellelange9294]

Honestly I am obsessed with this account! We have a new puppy and I'm following everything and making notes. This is helping us so much!

[@francescazaccaria1482]

By far the best videos on dog training. Specific and informative with lots of useful details for first timers. I look forward for more

[@Ali-sg1vz]

This worked so well for me!!! It only took Char'Lee a day to get into her crate on her own! I also watched your other videos and taught her drop it, leave it, and take it. I've only had her for 5 days!

[@MrSuperKempton]

Ian is an amazing trainer who was just as patient with me as with my dog. ;) He reenergized my desire to work with my new rescue through her crate anxiety and other issues she came with.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Thank you, Matt! It was a pleasure meeting and working with you!

[@kelbrl18]

Best crate game I have seen yet

[@ivi122]

Yay another video! 👍🏼

[@JekaTheWolf]

This was so helpful! My senior dog was never crate trained and didn’t have the greatest experience as a puppy but the need for a crate has come up. I was so surprised when on the first day he went in without a fight! On the first day I had to use so many treats to build duration. We just got done our second session and I was so proud that he’d go in and sniff a little before backing out. The only issue now is that he won’t put all his feet in, only 2 or 3 and stretch to get his treats. He got all 4 in once today and I went wild. He got lots of pets and a really really good treat 😊 I’m also surprised how quickly he “got” it but he’s a dog that is HIGHLY food motivated and will do almost anything for a treat and pets lol

[@hagbardselene7992]

Perfect timing! We just got a Midwest SL54DD THANKS!

[@TheRamblingBooth]

I LOVE Simpawtico! I recommend it to all my friends all the time!

[@tylercat6]

When in doubt - back to square one. Going to get a small hard sized crate to do this training. What do you use as a verbal command? Is "settle" good? bed? nap? rest? ALL of your videos are SUPER HELPFUL. Everyone knows the basics, like toss in a treat. Thank GOD you take it to the next level and explain further. Its really a great way for new dog owners to get up to speed and hit the ground running with good information.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Hi Teri! Admittedly you can use whatever word or phrase you want as long as you're consistent and you don't use it for anything else. Mine is "Get in there" and I say it upbeat and peppy. And thanks for the kind feedback!

[@afrr13]

This is awesome!!!

[@dogtrainingwebsite2389]

Great Video On Dog Crate Training - We Will Be Sharing Your Videos To Our Facebook Page and Blog - Great Job!

[@cheripie747]

Thank you for this. We just rescued a three year old Northern Dog that was a stray. It is basically a puppy in a full-grown dog's body. Tonight will be her first night and I was struggling all day to get her receptive to the crate. Turns out I was practicing at the "wrong" times and she was too hyper. She had also been transported from northern Canada in a crate and it was not a positive experience for her. It's going to be an uphill battle but I think in a few days we will get there.

[@kikisunlake9252]

Great video :) Could you do video about reactive dogs?

[@ScottWhiteSr]

Great video as always. Have you done any training with Basset Hounds? If so do you have any advice for these stubborn breeds?

[@drdietcokeman]

Love your videos! My wife and I are considering adopting a dog in the near future. For crate training, can this be done over the course of a couple days (Friday through Sunday)? the reason I ask is because we would not likely be able to get a week off to help our future pup get used to a crate. How would you suggest approaching crate training in a situation where you have to work 5 day a week for 9 hours a day but could come home for a short lunch. Thanks!

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Sure! A couple days ought to work really nicely for this. If you really make it fun, it should be good to go by Sunday.

[@geraldinebabin6757]

Very useful, thank you! Made me realize what I haven't been doing right with crate training. Would you consider doing a video on recall training? My one-year old shiba inu will only come back to me if I have a toy with me and does not care for treats during recall training.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Hi Géraldine! Recall is a lot more involved process than would be practical for KZbin. I can maybe make one that offers tips or discusses but it would be underserving my viewers, I think. However, having a toy reward is GREAT! Going back to food would be a total regression. We usually try to graduate from food to toys. If the toy is a motivator, use it! The main lesson the dog needs to learn is that their behavior can make the toy appear. I've worked with many dogs where we went out, I called the dog, and when they took their first couple steps in my direction I marked it and pulled the toy out. They run like drag racers to me! It's easy at that point to build distance and passion. There are some prerequisites to this and some other details, but that's the gist of it. I'll look into putting together a video about some of this. 👍

[@geraldinebabin6757]

Thanks, that’s very useful and good to know! Looking forward to your next vidéos!

[@griffingoods1251]

What word would you recommend using for the cue in this game? My new puppy is ravenous when it comes to food and I'd like to teach her to slow down and relax (not jump or claw for it)

[@mrdoner3451]

I've habituated my puppy to her crate for the past 3 weeks and she sleeps soundly in it, but does not like to be awake inside when the door is closed. Is this a situation where I should let her whine for a few minutes and perhaps praise and treat when she's quiet? I have been doing my best to not let her whine at all, by closely monitoring her and letting her out the moment she is done eating or sleeping (not while whining, I pause for silence before letting her out), but she still whines in the aforementioned scenario.

[@littlemissmuscles]

Hey Ian. If it takes a while for the pup to get used to the crate, do you think using the crate for the first night is ok? We get him around 4pm is that enough time do you think? Once again THANK YOU so much for your amazing videos.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Hi Leah. That totally depends on the puppy as an individual. You'll have to try it and see, and then monitor and adjust your program to fit your puppy as they present behaviors.

[@barnes4861]

Hey Ian, I'm curious for your input on putting unwanted (or semi-wanted) behaviors on cue. I know Dunbar has always advocated for putting things like Hug for jumping up and greeting on cue and Off for getting down. But I can't find a lot about maintenance if you choose to do that. The thing I'm getting at is, if one chooses to go this route, how do you prevent the dog from adding the Hug behavior to their list of behaviors they might just offer. Because you want to get it to the point where the dog ONLY hugs when asked and offers the opposite behavior instead. Maybe I made this a little long winded, but I think it's something that can be done, but I don't know how to hone it. Is it just really, really big rewards for Off compared to Hug? I just don't see a lot of people talk about keeping this up and either making Hug go extinct or only on cue. Thanks for reading, I'm a big fan of the channel!

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

That is a FANTASTIC QUESTION. I've struggled with much of this myself and with my students. I've spent a good deal of time in the past teaching Woof/Shush and Hug/Off in classes and it always gets murky response. For starters, most pet parents don't spend enough time really getting a good Woof or Hug, much less Shush or Off. I think that's really the key is that those two need to be proofed and practiced like anything else for the whole thing to really work. This helps with some of the spontaneous offering you mentioned, especially if the differential for reward is greater for the other side of it (Shush and Off). Woof has some value, I think, since I've read a lot where barking can increase confidence in dogs, e.g. barking at thunder or fireworks seems to do good things for their anxiety. But I've found with jumping it's much better to work on adjunct strategies. I want to say that this isn't really feasible for pet dogs unless the dog has a fair repertoire of tricks, and then Hug and Woof get relegated to tricks that only occur when prompted. But, then, as you pointed out, many will offer them so then we're back to the proofing piece where, as Dunbar himself has said, feedback needs to be binary so we're shutting that down. It's a conundrum, for sure.

[@tjgorman4075]

Hi Ian, I have an 11 week old goldendoodle puppy names duncan and I would really love some advice. I got him at 6 weeks old (I know it’s very young now) and he had giardia. I am thankful he is healthy now but I do have a few questions for you. 1) I have been working on sit, down, take it, leave it, and chew toy training him for about two weeks now but he is not buying in. I have a 14 year old smaller dog and a cat that he mercilessly jumps on top of and bites and I can’t seem to control him. He bites our shoes and our feet and he never stops unless he is in his play pen (the only place he seems to calm down). My family is worried he will grow up to become big and still attack us and the animals.. I would greatly appreciate your advice, thank you!

[@JessyGroen]

Hello Ian , recently me and my boyfriend adopted a 1 year and 3 months old dog from the pound Im really into your video's they are great so far and been a big help! There's just one issue I would love to get some advice on and I hope you could be the person to help , Im sad to say that if this doesnt get fixed its a deal breaker and he will have to be returned to the pound :.( ...When we adopted our dog Dino he was said to be great with dogs and could be around cats they tried to check his reaction to cats in the pound as they werent sure if he could go along with cats. Alass when we came home all he wants to do is chase my cats and I try my best to stop him from achieving this goal , now my 4 cats are all sitting upstairs in my bedroom while the dog stays downstairs ( luckily he cant use the stairs) now how could I best train him to get used to the cats without the cats giving him a swipe off their claws and the dog maybe reacting bad and for example start biting? So far what I did was leash the dog in the living room , and get the cats inside and feed him treats when he looks at the cats and then looks to me , trying to get him to lay down so he looks like less off a threat to the cats , what else could I do ? Sorry for the wall off text but I would truly love it if you could respond to my message with some advice .

[@jesusisaliveannie3594]

We might have a long car journey the very first time we go to bring a new puppy home. Any suggestions?

[@jp410]

What if your pup already has a sit/stay/break routine? Is there a benefit to using physical restraint, rather than those commands? I'm thinking of a situation where your pup sits, and looks to you for permission to enter the crate for the food. Or is the physical routine perhaps for pups that haven't gotten the basic self-restraint/break idea down? Thank you for this and all your videos. I've been "cramming" for the little girl arriving in 2 weeks!

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

The restraint is a classic "drive building" technique. You see a lot of agility trainers and protection trainers using mild restraint to build drive. We use different kinds of hardware and restraint during this phase to trigger an "oppositional response" and then when we release them they go like a race car. Thus, we're building the speed and enthusiasm for the behavior we want. In this way, I would not use a Stay routine for this because a) we wouldn't want to interfere with Stay work, and b) a Stay would countermand the drive we wanted in the first place. I don't want passive behavior, I want persistence and energy. I don't want them to "ask permission" to go into a crate. I want them to get pushy to go in. This is how we teach them to actually enjoy the process of going into it. Adding a Stay adds extra, unnecessary steps. Do you really ever want your dog to have to ask permission to go into a crate? IMHO, that's a no. Hope that helps!

[@jp410]

@@SimpawticoDogTraining Yes, I got it, thanks. Makes perfect sense now.

[@user-qq7xw3pt2f]

Hey ian when are you releasing an online program/course? I'll be the first to sign up

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

I actually have two of them right now: Dog Training Essentials: geni.us/simpawtico_essentials * Loose Leash Walking: geni.us/loose_leash_walking

[@user-qq7xw3pt2f]

@@SimpawticoDogTraining You challenge our friendship, huh? Nice one you Mr. Salesman. I feel like our relationship means nothing to you anymore 😢

[@pyk1835]

I used to use this method and it didn’t go well. My dog loves to go into his crate because he wants treats! He didn’t know what I want is that he relaxes in the crate. If I stop feeding him when he’s in the crate, he screams. So I don’t reward him for going his crate or so. I put him in and carried him around for 1 mins and let him out no matter how he behaves. After a few weeks, he can stay inside for 10 mins or longer if he’s tired. I really want to know how to stop feeding your dog or praise him for being inside the crate

[@AppleyGirl5280]

it's all about building duration by rewarding the desired behavior in addition to making the crate a great place to be. Remember, you want POSITIVE association. There is another video about teaching your dog the holy trinity of Leave It + Take It + Drop It which builds on the same duration premise.

[@Raymundosan]

Do i do this after i feed my dog or befor?

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Definitely before. You'll want their hunger drive high for this activity.

[@sweetchic2117]

Hey Ian, Just started this with my pup, she isn't really responding well to the gentle restraining. She just lays down and offers her paw. Any any advice? should I just skip it?

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Yeah. Just skip that part if it weirds them out. There's the other crate game too, that might be more conducive: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmXRhaqMiNKjjJY

[@jonimzari1687]

What I did was give the stern method basically guide them in, wait til they calm down outside the little gate and then close the gate continue being stern then leave the area and if he wants to bark just be stern QUIET or another word. The good boy method isn't the only way and the dog will learn to accept the crate. My dog has anxiety and he would harm for 15 to 25 minutes til we did this. He doesn't do anything now hes content with the crate.

[@allysonwilfong4937]

I have a dog (he’s around 4) who did not take to the crate well at all. With time, though, he learned to go in and be quiet. Now, (over a year later) he’s behaving badly again. He goes into the crate totally fine, but once i’m not in the room he shakes it, whines, tries to claw his way out. I’m not sure why because nothing has really changed in our routine. Any advice?

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Could be some Isolation Distress. Might need to revisit crate training basics, experiment with short alone time sessions, and don't let him bully you into letting him out (unless of course he's really in distress). Buddy up with a local trainer if you need help to sew it up!

[@laurafairchild6942]

Great tips! Is there any chance you could do a video on lead biting. Archie is 10 months old now and we're having some trouble with it. He' sometimes gets frustrated on walks and will jump up and bite on the lead, this can carry on for a really long time (up to 15 minutes). What are the best ways to redirect etc?

[@zannharasiuk5186]

Laura Taylor maybe try with a treat/ a "look at me" command

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

A LOT of dogs do this in class when we first start working. I found that doing a drop it super consistently for a couple days usually stops it. Even if the dog doesn't know "drop it" yet, you can do it the same way you would with a tug. Make it boring and non-rewarding. I stop dead, give them either a "nope" or a "drop it" depending on if the dog is familiar with drop it already, hold the leash right by their mouth, and wait. Don't tug on it, just immobilize it. They'll usually let go within a second or two and we say "Yes!" and start walking briskly. Sometimes you only get a step or two before you have to repeat. In most cases, though, the leash biting reduces almost right away because it's boring as hell compared to moving and being praised. You gotta be a fascist about it and consistent, but it works. Good luck!

[@laurafairchild6942]

thanks we have tried it, but he now seems to be at the stage where he purposely does it to get the treat. We were also wondering whether he could be scared of the dark since it only seems to be on the evening walk when it's dark out.

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Well hold on there...I didn't say use a treat. I wouldn't use a treat for this. The reward is walking. When he bites the leash it needs to become boring and non-rewarding. Get food off the table. And it's not fear of the dark because biting the leash is not a fear response. Like I said it's super common and you should be able to fix it in one or two sessions if you are diligent and treat every single time he does it the same.

[@laurafairchild6942]

I'll try it out and let you know how it goes

[@MariaJoseRangelUwU]

How long should i be doing each step? Not like how long time, but how long till my pup gives some sign?

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

Ideally you want to see enthusiasm and smooth, loose body language at each step. They should be engaged and into the process without reservation or stress.

[@MariaJoseRangelUwU]

@@SimpawticoDogTraining thank you very much 💖

[@freeriding24]

It's illegal to crate your dog in my country (except during travels and competitions)

[@SimpawticoDogTraining]

That's interesting. What country?

[@freeriding24]

Sweden! :)

[@rebelnuke9795]

That's terrible.

[@priyal1815]

My pup doesn’t care about food 🥲