I think with many dogs you can't introduce a crate that way.
I'd recommend starting to train the puppy to go into the crate on cue. You just need to mark it and reward it for showing interest in the crate, putting the paw in the crate, and so on and so on until your puppy goes into the crate. From there you can put that behaviour on cue. For my dogs I just say "go to your house" and then they go.
From that point you can close the crate door, mark and feed treats through the crate door but then immediately open the door to let the puppy come out, but if the puppy remains in the crate give a couple more treats.
Work on that gradually increasing the amount of time you keep the crate door closed. Use treats and praise to make it an enjoyable thing to him. Work up from just a few seconds to a minute to a number of minutes. Increase the amount of time in the crate with the door closed . Only let him out if he is quiet. If he cries and whines, don't let him out. Wait until he is quiet before letting him out. But keep a mental note of how long he went before starting to cry, and in the next crate-training session just decrease the amount of time so that he is successful. And then obviously in future training sessions you'll want to try increasing the amount of time again.
In addition to the time aspect of the crate training, you'll have to train for the puppy to be ok without you near the crate. So its the same type of thing where you start small and then work up to more. So maybe you begin by just walking across the room and then immediately back and give a treat. And then work up from there where you're gone for longer periods of time and even out of sight.
If he can be in the crate for a long period of time and be ok without having you in sight without crying, then you're doing good.
Sometimes leaving a food stuffed rubber toy like a kong in the crate can also make his time in the crate more rewarding.
Crate training takes many sessions over many days. But the general type of formula I laid out will work. The main thing is to just start small and work up. You can't just put the puppy in the crate and close the door. That generally does not work and of course the puppy will just cry for hours while left in the crate. |