Crate Training 101: Seven Easy Steps to Crate Training Your Animal By Jill R Kirk

Dogs, cats, ocelots, bobcats, tigers, rhinos, and even elephants.... All animals can be taught to go into a crate willingly.
With some it takes more time than others, but given that time, it is possible.
I have been involved in crate training all of these species and more for various reasons. Sometimes you need to move an animal safely from point A to B. Other times you need peace in knowing that your animal will not tear up your house or harm himself.
Having a crate trained animal has many advantages. The crate can provide a comforting and safe place for your animal inside your home. It can reduce separation anxiety, prevent your animal from tearing up your home or getting into something dangerous, and it serves as a way for transporting your animal safely and effectively. The crate can also be used as a potty training or obedience training tool.
Your animal can be at peace and even enjoy the crate. With consistency and patience your animal and your household can be a happier place.
Here's how...
1. Establish a relationship based on mutual love and respect. The more willing the animal is to work, the better they will listen and follow your commands. You want your animal to be eager to please you just to make you happy and get praised. You do not want your animal to behave based on fear or any other negative emotion.
2. Choose a crate that is right for you and your animal. You can get them just about anywhere. Crates should be large enough for the animal to sit, stand and lay down (stretched out) comfortably. Puppies and kittens will need a smaller crate to start with so that they do not confuse their crate as a space to potty, only eat and sleep.
Crates mainly come in a durable plastic material or an all wire metal mesh type with a removable metal floor pan that can be folded down to lay flat for storage. I have the wire mesh type as Ringo is quite large and enjoys the visibility and airflow of the mesh. He is too large to carry.
If you are looking for something to carry your animal in, you may go for the plastic lightweight crates, but be aware that some dogs will chew on the plastic. They are both fairly easy to clean, and it really depends on your animal as to what you think will be best. Again, be sure it is big enough for your animal to be comfortable.
3. INTRODUCING THE CRATE Once you have the relationship and you have chosen a crate, the first step to training your animal to go into anything is to simply put it where they can get used to it on their own, and make it appealing. You want their first impressions to be positive as they are very important.
Chose a location for the crate and place it with the door opened and secured (if necessary, depends on the crate) so that the animal can look at it and smell the inside and outside. Good places include areas your are with your animal a lot of the time or where you want them to be when they sleep...ie the kitchen or the corner of a well trafficked room. Pick a place that you would want to leave the crate with the animal inside when they are trained.
Make it a great place to check out. Put a few treats in and around it or put a favorite pillow or toy inside to let your animal know that the crate is a new item for them to enjoy.
Feed your animal in the crate or just outside of it. Whatever works for your animal in the way of encouragement to check out the crate.
Often your animal will find the crate immediately and see it as a great place to relax or sleep without any persuasion. You will only need to train the animal to go in when told.
Other times it takes a short while to warm up to it.
NOTE: If your animal shows an immediate negative reaction to the crate just being there, do not push it on them. Try to give encouragement for just looking at or walking near the crate instead of going in at all. Allow the animal to check out the crate full of goodies in his own time with simple encouragement. Forcing an animal to go in can leave the crate looking like a bad place to be and we do not want that.
In a matter of minutes, hours, or days (depending on your animal), your pet will be comfortable enough with the crate to be in or around it on its own, and crate training sessions can begin.
4. "Training sessions" is just a technical term that means you try to get your animal in the crate for a positive reward for some amount of time. An animal could be trained in one session or many. Every animal is different with different needs and should be approached with patience and consistency.
These sessions should be very short at first. Spend maybe 3-5 minutes, 3 times a day positively rewarding your animal for entering the crate.
Baby steps if needed. At first you may reward when he goes near the crate, then puts his front foot in the crate, then the next time when he puts two feet, then three and so forth. Make them work harder for the reward as they improve until you ask them to go in, sit and close the door before rewarding. The animals tend to catch on very quickly and do what is necessary for the praise, whistle, click, or treat... all methods of reinforcement should work here.
It is important to always be consistent with the reward. When the animal does what you want him to, reward him right away each time while in the crate so that he knows why he is getting the reward and will repeat the behavior. You want him to be sure that he is getting a reward for going into the crate and nothing else. No matter the reinforcement, whistle/click/praise/treat, give it when the animal puts his last foot in the crate (or goes in as far as you would like that session).
5. Emphasize the word CRATE (or another word you want to call it) when directing the animal inside so that the animal will learn the word and recall it later. If you consistently say "crate" when directing the animal into the crate, the animal will learn the word very quickly and respond.
You can also use a hand motion while saying CRATE. A sweeping motion from the front of the crate to the back while standing on the side often works because you can reward the animal immediately through the side of the crate. You could also simply stand at the front of the crate and point inside while saying "crate" it if you have a more willing trainee.
I have found it very effective to repeat the word in the praise... "GOOD CRATE! Very GOOD CRATE!" They learn the word faster when you repeat it as a command and as praise. The same principle applies to dog obedience training, house training, etc. You are teaching them English.
6. End each short session on a positive note. If you start to notice your animal losing focus and start to pay attention to something else, ask him to go in the crate as far as he has been going very well and no farther so that you can surely reward him then end the session.
It is common for trainers to choose a word that consistently ends the session each time and tells the animal that the session is over. A phrase like "the end" or "that's all" or whatever you choose will work fine as long as it is one or two words and not more. This is not necessary, but often useful when training an animal regularly for any behavior.
7. Once your animal easily goes into the crate when asked, begin closing the door behind him. Because the animal is now trained to go into the crate and still gets a reward immediately upon entering, he should be fairly unfazed by this action. Some animals will freak out when the door closes. In these cases, try shutting the door for a very short amount of time at first so as to not discourage the animal from going in at all. Reward the animal quickly when he goes inside with the door shut and instantly open the door again. Feed treats while the door is shut through the side of the crate so the animal does not focus on the door being shut.
Each time you do this hold the door shut a little while longer as long as the animal continues to enter. In time (minutes, hours, days depending on animal), the animal will know that the door will always reopen and go in with ease. They will trust you and the crate as home.
If you choose to, you can further train them so sit in the crate before rewarding using the same principles. AGAIN, always end a session on a positive note, meaning the animal does what you ask and you greatly reward him and then end the training for that time.
HOORAY! Now your animal is crate trained!
Pat yourself on the back and congratulate your animal! If you run into any problem areas or need some direction please feel free to visit sitringosit.com and ask your questions there. I will try to help guide the steps along.
Every animal is different so please do not get discouraged. Instead, persistence, consistency and patience are the keys to training... that and a lot of love and treats!
HELPFUL TIPS and THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN CRATE TRAINING
1. Make sure to crate your animal at various different times, not just when you are leaving, so that the crate stays a positive place.
2. Never allow barking, moaning or whining to be the cause to let your animal out of the crate. Wait until they are quiet for a few minutes and then reward the silence with the release from the crate, not the noise! This could be an opportunity to train your animal a command like "no bark."
3. As your animal gets better behaved and better at going into the crate, put him in it and leave the door open to see what your animal does. If you can tell him to stay without the door closed and he listens, then you may not need to close the door every time. This depends on where your animal is with obedience training and what your goals are with his training in the future.
4. Physical and mental stimulation is required for your pet throughout the day! You should have an active period before crating and then remove the animal's collar so that they do not somehow get it caught.
5. Start out crating after playtime or after a good walk with you when the animal is sure to be tired and want to rest. I would play ball with my Ringo outside for a while and then bring him in, give him water, tell him to get in his crate and give him a treat when he entered. Then he would lay there tired and go to sleep.
6. It is important to remember that you do not want to leave your animal in the crate for a long time at first unless it is an absolute must. Be at home in another room or gone for a short time the first few longer stints in the crate.
7. Let's be honest, many animal owners work full time. It is unreasonable to think they do not. If you must leave for work, try to come home mid day the first few days at least to let the animal out so that he gets used to being in the crate for longer periods of time but he has a break to potty and run around. Make sure to exercise the animal BEFORE and AFTER being in the crate. If possible, a good rule is to limit the time in the crate to no more than 5 hours (except overnight). If you have a puppy, they will tolerate less time in the crate.
8. If your animal has an accident because he is in the crate too long, do NOT punish him as it was likely out of his control. Clean it up and refresh the scent of the crate. Take your animal outside and encourage him to go potty there.
9. Make the crate comfortable. Put in a pillow or towel and a chew toy that is certainly not going to be a choke hazard. Make sure you have a wide based spill proof water bowl with plenty of water in it.
10. If your animal has potty accidents in the crate, line it with something that hides odor and is easy to clean like a PoochPad so that your animal does not sit in his waste all day. And again, do not leave your animal in the crate as long if he repeatedly has accidents. House break the animal first or make it a point to be there at intervals that your animal generally needs to potty.
11. Puppies chew on everything just like a teething baby so sometimes you have few options with a pillow. The PoochPads have been reviewed to not get torn up by pups. There are chew toys specifically for puppies that should be safe to leave in a crate. KONG Toys are known for their durability.
12. If crating for transport, make sure that nothing in the crate can be chewed up or choked on. Many times, the ride can be stimulation enough. Some animals do get car sick so be aware of that. Again, I would suggest a dog bed if your animal does not chew on them and/or a PoochPad if your animal is known to get sick or have accidents.
13. Also, be mindful of the temperatures. If you are thinking about turning your car off and leaving your animal in it, DON'T. If there is no other option, make sure to leave as much airflow in the car as possible and do not be gone long. It can get deathly hot in a closed car in a matter of minutes. They do make Crate Cooling Fans for crates if you are in need of something to cool your animal in the crate.
Pat yourself on the back again and congratulate your animal repeatedly!
AGAIN, Every animal is different so please do not get discouraged. Instead, persistence, consistency and patience are the keys to training... that and a lot of love and treats!

I am Jill Kirk... a proud mother of two and owner of a well trained golden retriever named Ringo. I have a BS from Texas A&M University in Vertebrate Zoology. I have worked at zoos training various different animals ranging in size and intelligence from porcupines to elephants. I have trained many dogs and cat species, but I will not pretend to know everything. If I do not have the answer, I will find it for you! There is always new information and different techniques that work for different animals.
I am currently taking a break from the zoo to stay home with my two babies and Ringo. I know that a home without a trained animal can be very chaotic and difficult to manage. I want to talk to you and let you know that there is light at the end of the tunnel where your animal listens to you and does what you need him to. Let me help with your pet problems and suggest items that could be the answer for you.
Please visit [http://sitringosit.com/] and let me know how I can help you!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jill_R_Kirk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6695911