The 4Cs of Crate Training

Watching Wildhunde order an entire shipping container of fancy Ruffland crates (and the FOMO of not getting one myself… yet), I thought it might be handy to do some top tips for crate training. My previous blog about crate training (here) is still accurate enough, it’s just written by 10-plus-years-younger-me! Hopefully breaking it down into 4 key C-words also helps.

It’s worth noting, considerations are similar for dogs and cats. Yes, you can train a cat to accept the crate, sleep in one, and even tolerate travel. Also, when we’re talking about crates for either species, we’re not talking about locking them in for extended periods of time for our convenience. The welfare of the pet in question must always be the highest consideration, balancing the welfare aspects of both agency and safety together.

1 Comfort

Just like humans, if our pets can’t get comfy they may avoid things entirely, and sleep could be compromised. Our pets will probably have different ideas of what is comfortable and what is not, and this can change based on season, age, mood, health, and anything else. It also depends what you’re using the crate for – is it bed, travel, or maybe with an investment like Ruffland, you’re hoping for both?

For sleeping, knowing some of your pet’s sleeping preferences is helpful, though you might not know yet for a puppy or kitten. Do they like to sprawl or curl up, dream a lot, dig to make a nest, sleep light & are easily distracted… whatever their quirks, these sleep styles can inform your choice of crate size, type, and bedding.

For travel, it is usually better to err on the smaller side. This is to prevent too much movement but shouldn’t compromise comfort. Pets should still be able to stand, lay, sit, and turn easily, but you don’t want so much room that if there is an accident they are thrown around inside their crate. Any time there is an expectation for your pet to stay in their crate for a bit – if you’re travelling to events for example, or maybe in the case of an emergency evacuation – it is worth considering attachments for water, food, and a fan to ensure the space can be kept well-ventilated.

Either way, I’d recommend a minimum of some kind of crate pad or mattress made of durable fabric. If it is a wire crate, a removable crate cover can be useful, though you can often improvise with a sheet or blanket too.

2 Context

Where the crate is located may influence your pet, especially initially. Dogs and cats are fantastic at picking up patterns, and if they perceive that crate time means they are losing (for example, missing out on fun they can hear downstairs), they can exhibit separation related behaviours and develop containment phobias. And this can be extra challenging to manage with an over-tired puppy.

It is helpful to build patterns that serve you, where you establish a crate time routine that is ideally after play or exercise & a meal, and you can help them feel safe by being present. It may sound weird but be honest with them – tell them what’s happening and remind them they are safe. Don’t try to trick or bribe them in, don’t ever put them in when you’re frustrated or angry, and hardest of all, don’t immediately let them out if they cry or bark.

Ideally we want to get to a place where the crate is your pet’s safe zone, so the context outside the crate has little relevance. Multiple crates or a portable one can help with this.

3 Conditioning for Cooperation

We want to condition our pets to be able to go into the crate when asked, as well as making it available and safe for them to access any time they choose. Often when we first get a puppy it’s really easy to just put them in while they’re sleeping, get them out to toilet, eat, play, put them back in again, and it goes really well until it sometimes doesn’t. Sometimes they start to perceive the confinement, the separation, and throw a toddler-but-I’m-not-tired-style tantrum. The earlier we can start putting crate time on cue, so we can ask and they can earn, the more likely our pet will develop through that successfully and continue to be accepting of the crate.

Create a cue for getting into the crate as well as getting out. This way you can make an in-and-out game to build many contrasting repetitions and make it fun. Then you can build duration between the in & out, add other cues like sit, down or stay to create stability, add distance, add distractions including closed/open door, other pets, etc. Get creative!

Ask them in (lure if you have to) > mark & reward > ask them out (lure if you have to) > mark & reward > repeat
Ask them in > mark & reward > count to 3 > ask them out > mark & reward
Ask them in > mark & reward > ask for down & mark > count to 3 > ask them out > mark & reward
Build > repeat > build > repeat

How long this will take will vary. As fast as you can but as slow as you need to!

4 Consistent Practice

As the normal human beings we are, it can be hard to be consistent but I promise: if you can persist with consistent practice (not perfect, just consistent), both you and your pet will get good at it. This applies for you and all members of the household. While our pets will naturally have differing relationships with each person they interact with, consistency in routine, conditioning, and house rules will provide a solid core everyone can work with.

The more we can create patterns around behaviours we like, be honest with our pets (and ourselves), the more trust you will build. Not only will you have a reliable safe place that can be used any time, you will be able to go more places with your pets, have them cope in emergencies and at the vet or boarding, and live your best lives together.

Our lounge room option for Lois: medium wire crate with a K-mart bed & a cotton blanket as a cover.