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Originally Posted by Believer Meeko hates his crate!  He has a wired 24" crate that sits in the living room. Thank God he finally stopped the barking when we put him in there. But he only goes in when we leave the house. If I tired putting he in while we are home, he would bark and bark non-stop. However, he NEVER EVER just goes in on his own to rest or relax. He has water there, food there, a bed and toys. Although, he will go in there to "rescue" his toys. But its the fastest in and out possible. I wish he liked his crate. I want him to have his own "den", but he wants nothing of the sort. At the moment, he doesn't seem to have a favorite spot anywhere in the house to lay down.  He does have a favorite spot under the bed to take things, whether its his own toys or things he is not supposed to have like remotes and shoes/socks etc.)
Can he be trained to love his crate? |
Most likely. Leave treats in there for him. When he goes to "rescue" a toy he will find a treat. Give him REALLY good things when he goes in his crate, like a stuffed Kong. These are messy and I still prefer Loki enjoy them in his crate, even if I'm home. So if I get out the kong Loki RACES to his crate and lays down. We play fun games. One is where I say "Loki - BED" and he runs to his bed for a treat. Then I say "Loki - CRATE" he runs to his crate for a treat. This is helpful because I used to have to chase him to get him and put him in his crate. Now he just runs there even from upstairs when I ask him to. He used to be less than happy with it, now he just curls up and goes to sleep when he's in there. Sometimes after a hard day away from home he will go there himself and curl up, although he tends to choose his beds if there is no reward involved. He does go there when he wants nothing to do with anybody though, because we've trained him that is his time out space.
Repetition and reward is the key. Loki also sits on the rug in front of the door to get his leash on and off when he goes outside. I'm sure he doesn't "enjoy" this but he complies because it's the only way he gets a treat and we do it 10 times a day so he gets a lot of practice.
Try playing a game like that today and try to teach him the word crate. I bet he learns in a day or two that "crate" means to him "i get yummy food if i sit in my crate for a minute"
Then slowly increase the time he needs to be in there with kongs. When you give him a new toy, ask him to go in his crate first. Make all good things happen in the crate :-) Good luck!