Mary Allen
If you are wondering how to crate train a senior dog or if it is even possible to crate train a dog, we have great news for you! With patience and a strategy, almost any dog can be taught to value their crate. Crates are often used to housetrain dogs, but when you’re hugging a new old dog, it’s often a game of trial and error to figure out if he’s being home trained or if the hell will eat your sofa when you aren’t once at home.
A crate can keep him out of trouble if you can’t watch until you decide he’s well behaved to give him more freedom when he’s independent. Many dogs with a mild case of separation anxiety may feel much more secure in a cage, although for severe separation anxiety issues, crates can make the problem worse.
Observe a qualified behaviorist if your dog shows signs of frantic or extremely anxious behavior when you are around. But there are other reasons to create an older dog even if they already have excellent house manners.
Why Bother at All? My Dog is Great Around the House
A box, used judiciously, is a great tool for house training, controlling harmful behavior, and learning manners. However, there are even more important reasons to train your dog to be relaxed and comfortable in a crate. A dog crate is a safe way to travel with your dog in the car. Many states have laws that require you to control your dog while a vehicle is moving so that it does not disturb the driver.
It’s also a fantastic way to protect him from being flung around under braking. For large dogs, you may need a station wagon or larger SUV to maintain the size of the crate you need, so a car crate isn’t always an option. You can attach smaller dog boxes to the seat with a safety belt. Crate training may be required if you wish to climb it. Many kennels want your adult dog to be more comfortable in a crate if you plan to leave them for an extended stay.
Hotels and motels will insist that your dog is also crated. This condition is a reasonable request to keep their chambers free from damage in case you leave your dog alone.
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Visiting family or friends you need to limit him. Parties can stress your dog out, especially an older dog, also is able to take his den together and put it in a quiet room you can keep your dog calmer. By the way, it’s ideal to bring your older dog to a party at your home if the excitement gets too much for him.
Air travel means a longer stay in a cage. Traveling by plane can only be a traumatic experience for a creature, but once they’ve learned to be comfortable in their box, it becomes just as frightening. Many times any dog will need to be created after surgery or injury, sometimes for an extended period of time. If he already loves being in the crate, he’ll be able to adapt much more quickly, potentially reducing his recovery time.
You may have noticed that the list above requires that your dog already knows how to relax and be at home in his cage. If you haven’t taken care of it by the time you need it, you’re too late. So let’s see how to do it now!
What Are the Special Challenges of Boxing an Adult Dog?
Because an older dog has a background, either with you or in another home, they tend to be more resilient to the idea of being restricted if they’re new to them. He might get upset, and you might hear your dog barking and whining in the crate at night.
A recently adopted adult dog might not only be becoming firmer in his regularity, but he might also come across the crate with baggage: he might be overweight (almost all the time) or even previous owners have crated him in a crate. Because of this, he may refuse to go into a crate, even for his favorite treats or toys.
If you have a dog who is comfortable going in and out of the cage and you also want to teach them to relax and stay indoors, check out our article on basic cage training. The procedure is exactly the same for older dogs and dogs when the dog has no significant resistance to the crate. If things are a bit more difficult for the older dog, here is a step-by-step plan to help him get started in the crate.
After he’s been in and out confidently, it’s time to play games and give some direction to make him feel great about going inside and staying there. Before the exact flow skips well, we need to make some preparations.