We’ve already talked about kennel training your pet on this blog because it is such an important task to complete. If you do not kennel train your dog, they are in for a very hard road when they are not in your care.
Even if you never plan to kennel your dog, the reality is your dog will almost certainly experience a kennel at some point in their life. Usually, without kennel training first, these experiences are traumatic. These experiences include:
- At the veterinarian for surgery or overnight stays
- At the groomers for mental breaks
- When lost waiting at the humane society
- At home when they hurt themselves and are prescribed “Crate Rest”
Dogs who are not kennel trained are often very stressed in the kennel, and when they are sick, lost, or somewhere they don’t especially like, they feel even worse. It’s better to prepare your pup for common scenarios that may pop up in their life, than to let them have that experience separated from you, in pain or distress, and alone.
Kennel training your dog doesn’t mean that you plan to crate your dog at home, it just means you’re preparing your pup for a likely scenario they will encounter. It’s a great kindness to your pup.
Sourcing a Kennel
If you don’t plant to crate at home, it may seem like a waste of money to buy one. I personally have found the majority of my kennels on the side of the road for free. They’re often at thrift shops and on craig’s list for very low prices as well.
If you can’t find one though, you can make a cozy nest with a top, sides and bottom with a big cardboard box turned sideways. You will not be able to practice closing them in, but you will be able to let your dog experience going into and out of an enclosed space voluntarily, which will help.
With that being said, here’s how to teach your pup to relax in a kennel without them hating every moment of it.
It’s Not Jail
Let’s face it, kennels often look like a tiny prison. You probably feel like you’re imprisoning them when you lock them in. Let’s flip the script and turn this kennel into a tiny bedroom. The room should be comfortable. It should have a nice pad on the bottom or a bed, a heap of blankets for burrowing in, and maybe some toys.
When you are practicing longer stretches of time in the kennel, give your pup something long term to do so they are not bored. A chew or food puzzle works great for this.
Introducing the Kennel
Put the kennel somewhere that you like to hang out, so your dog can see the action from their kennel without feeling alone. Leave the kennel door open, and let the dog explore on their own. Depending on their personality, they may ignore the big scary new thing in their environment or wander right in and bed down.
Regardless of your dog’s reaction, it’s important not to shut your dog in when they’re exploring. You don’t want to change their feelings about the kennel from a place to relax into some sort of trap. Just leave it out and let it become a piece of furniture for a few days.
Add Treats
You can encourage your pup to go into and out of the kennel by throwing treats to the back of the kennel. This way the dog will have to at least go half way in (stretched out like the world’s longest dog-noodle, no doubt) to get the treats.
Again, don’t shut your pup in yet. Let them get comfortable with going in and out. Let them discover how wonderful it is to make a nest out of the blankets and snuggle in.
Teach a “Kennel” command
Once your dog is used to going in and out of the kennel to get hidden treats, you can start actively training. Sit with your pup, toss a treat for them to get, and see if they go in to grab it. If they will do so consistently for a treat every time, you can put a word to it. Say, “Kennel!” when they are going in to get it. When they leave, use the word, “Out!” so they have a cue for this too.
Again, the door should be left open for this process and never shut while they’re getting used to the idea of being in this new space.
Add Time
Once they’re okay with going into the kennel long enough to snag a snack, delay them from coming out for a moment. It’s fine to give them a reason to stay in the kennel for a bit, such as a slow stream of small snacks. If they leave the kennel anyway, no snacks and training time is over.
Your pup will probably figure out pretty quickly that staying in the kennel is beneficial to them! If they suddenly never want to come out, you can toss a treat out for them and ask for an “Out” to help them know this is part of training.
Your dog should be able to handle being in the kennel a few seconds before moving on to the next phase.
Practice Shutting the Door
Once your dog is confident about going in the kennel, close the door for just a moment, and then immediately open the door again. You want the dog to understand that the door shutting is possible, but not something to be concerned about. Try this: Toss several treats in the back. Shut the door. Let them eat the snacks and then open the door again.
Quiet Time in the Kennel
Once your dog is comfortable with going into and out of the kennel and is aware that it’s possible for the door to be shut, it’s time to let the dog have quiet time in the kennel.
I prefer to introduce this to the dog in a way that makes sense to them. This is with either their dinner bowl all the way in the back of the kennel (you may need to remove the bed for this so it doesn’t spill everywhere) with a favorite chew snack, or with a stuffed kong.
This both gives your dog something to do while in the kennel but also makes sense to them. Why is the door shut? Why, to keep annoying kids/other dogs/other pets out while they’re eating!
My dogs quickly learned and appreciated the value of being alone in the kennel with a chew snack. They can take their time eating something without having to worry about their food or treat being taken by other dogs.
If your pup is an only dog with no “competition” in the house, they’ll probably think eating their food in the kennel is just as good a spot as any and not give it a second thought.
Yelling to be Let Out
Ideally, kennel training should never get to the point where your dog is yelling and banging on the door to be let out. However, when you have settled your pup in the kennel for a dental bone while you cook dinner, and they finish unexpectedly early, this can happen.
It’s fine to let your pup out when they ask to be let out, but try not to do it when they’re screaming at the top of their lungs. They may take this to mean that screaming is the cue for getting let out, and will only use that cue from now on.
You can disrupt the screaming by scattering treats in the back of the kennel. They can’t scream if they’re eating. When they pause to eat snacks, listen to a funny noise you made, or suck in a new breath, open the door.
Proofing
Now that your dog can go into and out of the kennel in familiar spots around the house, try moving the kennel outside and practicing. Your dog should be either in a fully fenced yard, or on leash for this. The goal is to have your pet experience going into a kennel in a different location.
It’s not necessary for them to spend an excessively long time in the kennel. Simply have them in their potty spot or in a backyard, and work on asking them to go in and out there. They may find this a little bit harder.
If you ever take your dog to dog sports, shows, parades, or other events that take a while, bring their kennel and have them practice resting in it there.
By incorporating it into your life, you can make them understand that kennels are good things that mean they can relax for a bit.
Rules for Kennels
Although it’s relatively easy to teach a pet to be comfortable in a kennel, it’s just as easy to spoil it by making the kennel a miserable place. Therefore, I’d like to mention a few specific rules you should use to make the kennel comfortable at all times.
- The Kennel is a Safe Space
Don’t allow children to pester the dog in the kennel. (Also, adults who act like children.) While getting a pup in and out of a kennel is fine, the space in the kennel is for the dog to rest. If someone can do horrible things to them while they’re in the kennel, like yell in their face or poke their eyes, it’s not a bedroom, it’s a trap.
- The kennel is not a storage box for dogs
Lots of people use kennels for potty training. It can help communicate to your pup that pottying in the house is unacceptable, and that is fine. The issue becomes when the dog is put in the kennel from 8AM to 6PM while the owner is away at work, and then from 10PM to 6AM while the owner is sleeping. The result is the dog spending only 8 hours of it’s daily life out of a kennel—and that’s if they’re not popped in to cook dinner or something instead.
Chihuahuas especially can’t hold it that long, and the result is a dog living in their own filth waiting for a moment of daylight. This isn’t kennel training, this is cruel.
If you have to work and your pup can’t be left loose in the house due to potty training, take the dog to daycare, have a family member pet sit, or hire a dog walker. There’s a lot of options out there that can both let your dog be out of the kennel more and still get the dog potty trained. Spending 16 hours a day in the kennel surely isn’t one of them.
Moving On
By now, your pup should be able to comfortably go into and out of a kennel and not panic if the door is shut for a few minutes. We’re now going to move into the final part of prepping your pup for the groom salon itself, novel situations.
Similar Posts:
- How to Kennel Train A Chihuahua
- 4 Reasons to Kennel Train Your Chihuahua
- Separation Anxiety in Chihuahuas
- How to Escape the House Without Your Chihuahua (humor)
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