Today's blog is all about Crates and Kennels (depending on the wording you want to use) and well also to show off my new Double Dog Kennel a friend of the family built for me. Ted made this beautiful piece of furniture that I am sure will last a life time and also designed it in a way that if I move it can be disassemble rather easily and it will also be it easy to transport if/when I move again.
Previously I had 2 XL wire dog kennels for the dogs and of course they were very functional and working great but they aren't aesthetically pleasing in the living room so I thought I would up my game and have one built. Because I will most likely always have 2 dogs, and I have 2 dogs now I thought I would build a double. As you can see the project turned out Great! (Disclaimer the top is not yet complete - soon to come)
The main reason I wanted to write this blog is because I posted this picture on my personal page and a friend of mine (a dog owner herself) added a comment asking the question of "what do you use the kennel for?" she has never used one, this got me thinking that perhaps people never consider using a kennel at all when raising a dog, and I guess if I am being honest back in the day raising Bear I had thought the same. So hence me writing this blog to give you some information of why I think kennel training your dog/puppy is helpful even if you are not going to use a kennel daily.
When raising Bear and Moto I did not use the kennel on a regular basis; firstly, because Moto was absolutely terrified of kennels on top of the fact he had extreme separation anxiety, he very much struggled if left behind. I did try many different things to get him adapted to kennel life but non of them worked. Perhaps if I know what I know now I could've make it easier but we did what we knew and he really had a hard time being locked up. I tried every different kennel there was plastic, wire, a large 5' x 5' x 4' kennel that both the dogs could fit in but Moto would drool, cry, bark, sweat, shake and he always attempt escape. so much so that he would hurt himself. As you can see from this picture he broke the welding on the metal, he broke through the roof of the large kennel multiple times until I finally gave up on that idea. At one point I had a trainer come in and she suggested to not ever put him in a kennel and to just puppy proof as well as I could. We had some messes to clean up because he was into everything. So, in saying all of this... some dogs can not be kenneled and that is completely understandable. However, with a little bit of training most dogs can be and learn to love it.
So back to the question of why you would kennel your dog?
Here are some of the reasons why I have chosen to now kennel train and keep my dogs in a kennel when I am not home
· Vet visits -specifically a surgery or emergency (or aftermath of an emergency) your dog will be put into a kennel before and after a surgery, if your dog is already trained to be calm and comfortable in a kennel it's one less thing they will stress about being in a stressful environment.
· Typically, groomers will also kennel your dogs while they are waiting to be groomed and after while waiting for you to pick them up.
· If you ever wanted to fly your dog somewhere they 100% will be kenneled the entire flight so again having them comfortable with a kennel reduces the amount of stress they are under.
· Travelling in a car across the boarder - I have had to do this when pulled in for an inspection. The dogs are removed and placed into a kennel while the officer does the inspection.
· It's a safe place for your puppy when they are not being supervised.
· If you have children in the house the kennel gives a dog a place where they can relax and not be bothered by the children giving them a safe place to rest and relax.
· Dogs like Slicks who have food aggression issues - it's a safe place for them to enjoy their snacks, dog chew, bones etc. without the fear of attack.
· Puppy training! Kennel training a puppy can improve potty training, can help with learning boundaries, and door dashing, time out space when they get to wound up with puppy biting etc.
· A place for a dog/puppy to decompress especially for a rescue dog- When Slicks came home to my house she used that kennel constantly for weeks, she would go outside, sometimes play with Sprocket but as soon as she came back in the house she was in her kennel. I let her be (door open) and have her space to figure out her new life and slowly she spent more time out of the kennel... now 3 years later she still likes to lay in there and have a nap.
· Kennels are a safe place for your dog especially if they are known to ingest items when not supervised - Slicks has an issue with ingesting thing when she feels sick, this is the main reason why she is kenneled when I am not home. The average cost to remove a blockage in a dog’s bowels is between $4000-$6000 plus blockages can cause death so please train/use a kennel if you are facing these issues.
· I also Kennel my dogs during the day because it eliminates repeating bad behaviours of barking/lunging at the windows at people walking by on the road and driving into my driveway.
The second thing people tend to think is that putting a dog/puppy in a kennel is cruel
I tend to disagree that it is cruel in normal conditions. What are normal conditions?
· A properly fitted Kennel - a dog must be able to lay down comfortably, stand and turn around.
· Not leaving a dog/puppy who is highly anxious/distressed in the kennel when they are over threshold.
· Not leaving a dog/puppy in a kennel for long extended periods of time - its suggested for puppies to gauge the time according to their age, for example if the puppy is 2 month old then a max of 2 hours in the crate at a time (unsupervised - meaning you are not home) you can definitely leave your puppy in the kennel sleeping during the night as long as they don't need to go potty. For example, Sprocket could go for about 4 hours in the night before he would need a potty break
· Making sure your dog has a small amount of water if you are going to leave them alone for a longer period.
My experience Kennel training Sprocket
Since I was unable to Kennel train Moto, I wanted to make sure Sprocket was super comfortable in a kennel. The last year of Moto's life he did have multiple surgeries due to that tumor in his mouth and well it was so difficult for him and me. It is so stressful for dogs dealing with all that change he had a terrible time at all the vet visits and had to be administered more drugs than normal would have been needed.
Ok so Sprocket most likely had some kennel training from the breeder because when I picked him up, he was in a kennel, and rode the whole way home with zero issues. The first night at home I had moved a bench along side of my bed so the kennel is sitting at the same level as me and I had the kennel within arms reach of me. If he got upset during the night I could reach through the door and pet him and calm him down... plus he could see and hear me the whole night. Every few nights I would move the kennel a little bit farther away from me until the kennel was up against the wall opposite of the bed. It didn't take long for him to take comfort in sleeping all night long in his kennel. However, when he was 4 months old Bear passed away and that night Sprocket wouldn’t settle and he would absolutely would not stay in his kennel - maybe because he could sense my distress, I don't know but that was the last night he slept in a kennel.
Like I said Sprocket did well at night but during the day in the kennel was not so great. He quickly was showing signs of separation anxiety so I had to get on this issue quickly. I would start our mornings off with a pee, breakfast and a play session and then I would place him in his crate and we would play crate games. The crate games consist of getting Sprocket to hop in (sometimes I would actually pick him up and place him in and then close the door, after a few seconds you open the door (blocking so he couldn’t get out) and with a treat you reach into the crate high and to the back which will get the dog to go into a sit - once the dog is sitting, open the door wide and throw a treat away from the kennel saying the word "break" the dog will hop out for the treat. Repeating this game over and over they will realize that it is very rewarding to hop in and out. This worked so well that Sprocket began knowing that this game was going to happen in the morning so he would run to his kennel and back himself in and immediately sit. This is what you want to see.
Now some dogs are going to have had different experiences with kennels so you may have to start slower - I have used a trick of teaching a dog to place on a mat and then slowing moving the mat into the kennel, I have also taking the top off the kennel (plastic crates can do this) and simply asking the dog to get in the lower half. It just depends on your dog and what they can handle. Don't move the next step until they are comfortable with the current steps. Make it as fun as possible for them.
Remember all dogs are different and you may need to use different techniques to help them alone the way with their training. If you are interested in getting some help with a dog who is destroying your house or has separation anxiety, or struggling to kennel train please reach out and I am happy to give you some training tips.
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