Crate training George

[Davisl6]

We have had our French Mastiff, George, for about one month now and he is the best dog! We couldn't be happier. Our two year old daughter, Lucy, is madly in love with him and he is wonderful with her. When we first brought him home, he wasn't potty trained AT ALL and he had never been on a leash. Now, he is completely potty trained and is very well mannered.
The only problem we can't seem to fix is his issue with crate training. We have been putting him in his crate whenever we have to leave the house without him and no matter what we do, he always has an accident and chews on the bars and the floor. The longest we have ever left him in it was 3 hours.
We have tried putting treats, chew toys, bones, blankets, stuffed animals, pretty much anything we could think of in there with him so hell WANT to be in there but nothing seems to work.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!
Lindsay

 

[DennasMom]

Just brainstorming some things to think about and/or try ...

Where is the crate? Does he ever go in when you are home?

You could put it in the family room, and leave the door open... every time you walk by it, throw a small treat in and keep walking - let George sniff it out. Once he sees you throwing the treats in, he should start investigating the crate by himself more. Just let him - leave the door open and ignore it.

After a few days of that, you might be able to give him a big treat to eat while in the crate. You can either sit in front of the door - leaving the door open, but baring his way out, or close the door, if he's OK with that - but you stay right there with him while he enjoys the treat. Then open the door BEFORE he asks to be let out, or gets anxious about being locked in.

Do that a few times, and hopefully you can leave him with the treat and the door closed while you leave the room... then come back before he's done with the treat and open the door and quietly walk away... then you can start to lengthen the time you leave the room for...

The slower you can work the process the better. And the calmer and quieter, too. Everything about the crate you want to be calm and relaxing. No reason for anxiety or excitement.
Even if you have times when you put him in and have to leave the house for a few hours... the above should (hopefully) start to help.

Another thought... depending on the size of the crate... when we got Denna her new "condo" (54" wire crate), my hubby crawled in first... then Denna went in with him. I did leave the door open then, too. HA!

Make sure your treats are "crate worthy" - the only time Denna gets a treat-stuffed kong with peanut butter is when she goes in the crate. Little treats won't cut it.
And, it's a given that you make sure he's gone potty before he goes in. I'd also limit water intake 30 minutes before he goes in... and I would not give him access to water in the crate (but others would - if you ever come home and he's panting heavily and can't wait to get to the water dish... I'd give him some in the crate).

Also - when you come home, ignore him for a few minutes, so coming home isn't an excitable event. Keep it calm until you can get him outside to go potty.
He might be having the accident when he hears you opening the door... and just can't hold it when he gets excited to see you again.

Hope that helps!
-Tina

 

[musicdeb]

Great advice Deannas Mom! Any progress with George and crate training? BTW, how old is George?

 

[cyberous]

My crate came with a divider to make the space smaller. If the crate is too big/has too much room he will continue to potty as he can get away from the mess. My pup only pottied in it once...the first night and learned real quick.

 

[Simba_ddb]

We have been lucky with simbas crate as he liked it straight away but we started with him going in there with his teddys and playing it in. When he falls asleep around the House we will put him in there with the door open and made a big fuss while he was in there . The first night was the hardest but repetition is key. I put him in and sat there until he laid down once he was settled slowly close the door but not lock it. Of course he came out lol cheeky boy thought it would be ok if he slept close to it but not in it. But no back in he went big fuss again once in. And this went on a few times then he would fall asleep for couple of hours wake up, out for toliet and we put him straight back in. It was a long night. The next day when he fell asleep round the house I carried him in the crate but locked the door and let him out once he woke up. That night he slept through the night that night, door locked after about 5mins of whining laid down and went to sleep. I think of him like a naughty toddler trying to get in my bed, and treat him the same way I would them. Tonight first night we left him for a few hours and he was great, very excited to see us come home. But when it came to bed went in no probs snoring away.
I also left the tv on while we was out, so had some background noise
He's crate should be a place where he wants to go, blankets over the top helps too makes it cosy
X