Kennel Training Basics
No matter what your situation is, leaving your dogs alone can cause a lot of anxiety for all parties involved! Let’s work on setting your dogs up for success and preparing them to feel secure and settled while you are out of the house.
This first step is providing a solid foundation while you are spending that initial time together, not when you are leaving the house for the first time. It is important to work on building positive associations, trust, and progress at your dog’s pace.
Getting your dog accustomed to a kennel is super beneficial even if you decide it is temporary until they can be left out alone safely. First, let’s talk about all the whys!
It supports you in house training! Keeping them in a smaller environment lessens the likelihood of them learning to find an acceptable spot away from where they sleep to soil in.
You will prevent unnecessary damage to your home. It protects them when you are out of sight. It also provides a calm environment to enjoy a meal, a special long-lasting chew or stuffed Kong when you have a busy house.
You will help your dog learn to be settled. With training your dog can go in the kennel and be calm alone.
It prepares your dog for vet visits where they will have to be confined in a small space. You will want to practice that behavior so that your dog can be resilient for those types of appointments, surgeries, and any emergencies.
Travel! Whether it is a goal to enjoy travel with your dog or something you want to prepare them for in any type of scenario. It can be a very valuable skill to possess.
A natural emergency or evacuation. Your dog may be forced to endure a long time in a kennel, and I can only imagine we all want our dogs to feel as prepared as they could be in those types of situations.
Along with a kennel, having an x-pen (exercise pen) type of flexible barrier can be super helpful for you in creating limited space and to section off certain areas. It is under utilized and perfect to use when you are teaching your dog to feel comfortable with being alone. It can also be invaluable for families with another dog in allowing controlled introductions and interactions. And most importantly keeping them safe from making any wrong decisions while we are teaching them what we expect instead.
These steps can work with any type of barrier! The goal is to help them get accustomed to their new kennel or pen. We can risk adding unnecessary trauma to our dogs if we do not set them up properly or rush through the steps.
To start, set up the kennel in the middle of your high traffic living area. Leave the door open.
As you are walking by, occasionally toss some treats to the back of the kennel and allow the dog to find them on their own. You can progress to feeding their meals inside it as well.
Allow them to enjoy their special toys and food enrichment Kong’s and lick matts inside the kennel. Always ensure you supervise if they can ingest any toys, bones, or bedding.
Once you know they have a good association after a few days, going in and out freely. You can introduce a cue, for example “in your kennel” and toss the treats inside, praise your dog as they eat the treats. Choose another cue for their release, but make sure to keep it low key and do not reward them for coming out. Repeat this step numerous times so that they enjoy going in and out for a treat.
Now you can ask your dog to go in their kennel first, once they are in, you can reward them with a treat. Make sure when you cue them to come out, they are calm, and no rewards or praise is offered.
If your dog is hesitant to go in the kennel, wait it out, do not repeat the cue. If they still do not want to go in on their own… end the session quietly and do not show any frustration. You may just be moving too quickly at this point. Simply try again at another time and if they go in…. provide jackpot rewards!
When your dog will go into their kennel on cue, begin to shut the door when they are inside. Deliver your treats repeatedly while they are in the closed kennel to start. Only leave them in small increments at a time and slowly begin to increase.
Begin to get up and move around the kennel and the room while remaining in their sight. Always make sure you return and are rewarding only when they are calm.
Start to increase their duration and keep yourself busy while they are hanging out in the kennel. Go back and reward when your dog is being quiet but ignore any minimal crying or whimpering. Remember if you are hearing a lot, you are most likely progressing too fast and can risk making it a negative experience for them.
Next you can start leaving the room and stay out of sight for short periods, follow the same steps and build it up positively.
As your dog begins to use their kennel more, you will find more success if you are not just using it when you are leaving the dog home alone. They could easily begin to only associate it with negative events.
Make sure you are always creating a positive space around the kennel. And remember to practice often, keep your sessions short and super fun for both you and your dog. You got this!
