Having "fits" while in truck crate...

[gdog]

5 month old pup. Knows "kennel" in the house. Runs to her crate and jumps in no problem when told to "kennel". Knows "here". Comes running. Loves to ride in the cab of the truck...but doesn't happen often.

Problem comes when we go train and need to put her in her crate in the back of the truck (which has a shell on it). She knows when I am going to try and get her in the truck and will not come to me. I have to have her on cc to get her to back of truck. Pick her up and basically have to shove her into the crate in the truck. Once she's in ....the fits begins...barking and chewing on the crate door. Basically a hissy fit.

When we are out afield and knows that I am going to put her up in the truck in the crate to go load birds into launcher or whatever...she won't come near the truck. Same when we are ready to go home. Again..I put cc on dog prior knowing I am going to have to crate her. This happens when we leave the house to go train as well.

Any advice on how to get her to go into the truck crate more willingly or change this behavior?

[Kmack]

So loading into the crate in the truck means I'm either going to have to work on things I don't particularly enjoy or stay in here while you go walk around the field with birds. Given those outcomes I would resist also.

I always make sure I take the pups to do something fun when I first start crate training in the truck (swimming, loose exploration walks, etc.). I refuse to make their first trip in the crate a trip to the vet or anywhere they might have a negative experience.

I want them to think they are going to have more fun than they have ever had all because of that crate in the back of the truck...

[snips]

You might toss a bird up there:)

[Keny Glasscock]

Don't give her the option Andrew. Put her on a lead, walk to the tail gate stop her, and say kennel and in she goes like it or not. Be consistent, do this everytime. If she throwning a fit ignore her and don't let her out until she's quiet. The pup should go in on your terms and get out on your terms. She's a defiant little $#!*. Don't let her get away with it now and you'll be on top in bigger battles later.

[3Britts]

+1 on Keny's post, use the same routine every time and your pup will soon learn and the fits will end.

[briarpatch]

I always make sure I take the pups to do something fun when I first start crate training in the truck (swimming, loose exploration walks, etc.). I refuse to make their first trip in the crate a trip to the vet or anywhere they might have a negative experience.

I like that idea also might want not to head home immediately after putting her in the crate from the training field or fun run.. Take her to another fun spot and let her get some more run out or swimming, she may be considering the truck crate as shoot funs over, gotta go home now and not like it as she feels once she's in it she's done with the field and heading home..

when I started mine and I still do this often go to one field and let them run then load up again and head to another field and same thing, or like yesterday took them to the beach and let them swim then loaded them up and took them to a lake for another swim (actually to help rinse off the beachsand) but they didnt know that. So truck kennel means heading for new grounds with more fun possibly some birds I get near my truck kennel the dogs get very excited and are quick to let you know they are ready to go..

Just some ideas for ya
the others brenda bird throw up there near the crate for her to look at is a great idea also and Keny also has a great point that could help ya as well

[Sharon]

Don't give her the option Andrew. Put her on a lead, walk to the tail gate stop her, and say kennel and in she goes like it or not. Be consistent, do this everytime. If she throwning a fit ignore her and don't let her out until she's quiet. The pup should go in on your terms and get out on your terms. She's a defiant little $#!*. Don't let her get away with it now and you'll be on top in bigger battles later.

x2 Well said. I would add that I would NEVER let her ride in the cab. This might be why she is putting up a fight. I used to let my dog sleep on my bed when my husband was out of town. ( Not a bad exchange ), Then she started giving me trouble to go into her crate at night. She wanted the bed.

[gdog]

Appreciate the comments. Its all fun right now. There hasn't been any negative activities in regards to going into the crate and then having to do anything undesirable. Go in the crate and we are either going to run, get birds, go to the park or camping...all good stuff.

Pigeons in the back of the truck in a box...still no incentive to get back there.

I've keep consistent in that she is cc'ed to the back of the truck...put on tail gait and told "kennel" and persuaded (pushed) into crate. I make her settle before she is let out...and I have been trying to get her to stand still on the back of the truck before letting her down.

Thanks again.

[Keny Glasscock]

Anndrew she's big enough to make jump up. You start lifting her in now and you'll be doing it for life. That little PP I had that you saw few weeks or so ago had never "kenneled" in her life. After about a week of "Encouragement" she was jumping in on command and settling down nicely.

[Kmack]

After about a week of "Encouragement" she was jumping in on command and settling down nicely.

What a great word "Encouragement" is. In most instances coming up with the proper mode to fit your situation is the key... Be creative.

[spaniel_man]

my wife and I have had similar issues with our GSP, at home she would kennel just fine, but if her crate was in the car, she didn't want to jump in. What we had to teach her was that there was NO other options to the command. When we said kennel, she had to kennel. We did this by attaching a lead to her and jogging lightly strait at the crate while my wife held the crate door open. Once we were close enough for her to jump in I helped her along by pulling up on the leash. At this point she had two options, she could run into the car bumper or jump into the crate. She did try to put on the brakes and she ran into the bumper a few times, but we were there to make sure she made it up into the crate via the leash. We had to do this routine about 15 times the first day before she decided our way was best. Haven't had any trouble with her since then.

[gdog]

We'll be practicing jumping up into the crate this afternoon.

Keny....I'll be calling you. Want to setup a time to meet up for training.

Thanks to all!

[gdog]

Ok..jumping into back of truck. Little "encouragement" with lead and a few pieces of left over filet from Synders meat market...and we are in business. Will work on this the next few days....should be good to go.

Progress is cool even with the simple things

[mountaindogs]

Will she kennel if it is in a different room? In the garage? on the porch? In the yard? Try making sure kennel means kennel no matter where the kennel is. And find somewhere else elevated to try also. I have a low FF table and I'll put the crate on it to teach jumping into the kennel from lower down... but not until you have tried easier different places first.

Do you think she is feeling sick in the truck at all? or scared?

[gdog]

She digs going for rides in the truck/car....as long as its not in the crate. Probably just mad not being in the air conditioned cab with music.

She has never gotten sick during/after riding in the truck or car. We drove her home to Salt Lake from Bend OR in a car and never had a problem.

[vzkennels]

Gdog you can take this for what its worth.A word of caution for letting your dog jump in & out of your vehicle.Back in the 80's I took a dog to a trainer that use to train & trial dogs for Bob Evans of retaraunt fame.When I went to pick her up after a few months I let her jump into the back of my Bronco,the trainer saw me & politely jumped my butt for it.He said I can't tell you what to do when you leave here but don't ever let me see you do that here again.He said always pick them up & put them in or help them down,then he explained why.He said he had a very promising FT prospect that hind legs slipped while jumping down hitting it's knee joints on the bumper,tail gate,or whatever & damaging that joint which never completely healed afterword ending his FT career.I have since noticed more then one dog bumping it's knees jumping in & out of vehicles.I always lift my dogs in & out even though it's not as easy as when I was younger.

[mountaindogs]

Gdog you can take this for what its worth.A word of caution for letting your dog jump in & out of your vehicle.Back in the 80's I took a dog to a trainer that use to train & trial dogs for Bob Evans of retaraunt fame.When I went to pick her up after a few months I let her jump into the back of my Bronco,the trainer saw me & politely jumped my butt for it.He said I can't tell you what to do when you leave here but don't ever let me see you do that here again.He said always pick them up & put them in or help them down,then he explained why.He said he had a very promising FT prospect that hind legs slipped while jumping down hitting it's knee joints on the bumper,tail gate,or whatever & damaging that joint which never completely healed afterword ending his FT career.I have since noticed more then one dog bumping it's knees jumping in & out of vehicles.I always lift my dogs in & out even though it's not as easy as when I was younger.

yes good point

[Keny Glasscock]

I agree that stuff happens. I see this as a training issue/ question. My dog trailer doors are 20 inches off the deck so if a dog won't hop in "on command" I've got an issue. My tailgate is 37.5 inches off the deck but I expect the same response from the dog when I, a) heel the dog to the tail gate, b) stop him/her and c) instruct them to load. 3 places to work on commands. This approach does minimize the potential for injury but like you said VZ it happens.

[MikeB]

GDog,

Is the crate you use in the truck the same crate you use in the house?

Do you secure the crate in the bed of the truck? How?

I am pretty sure the back of the truck scares her when your moving. Bumps, turns, air blowing in or around the crate making noises maybe. I am sure there is a re-hab method to working on this problem. I would use the same as dog that get nervous and vomit in the car. I know there is a procedure for that problem.

With out driving or moving the truck.... I would start with feeding her in the back of your truck, then in the crate in the truck for a week or so. Work on training her to "Kennel" into the crate and let her right out. Build up on the time in the crate. When you put her in the crate put a raw meat bone or stuffed Kong with really tasty food in it, in the crate with her. I would do all this over a 4 week time frame. Work at 1 week segments.

Then do it and start the engine of the truck but don't move the truck. Then move in and out of the drive way or in and out of the Garage. Then slowly up and down your street. Get the picture?
It becomes a slow process to re-condition her NOT to get frightened in the crate in the truck.
The slower you work at it keeping her calm during all steps is best.

Let us know if you can make any progress.

[Sharon]

Gdog you can take this for what its worth.A word of caution for letting your dog jump in & out of your vehicle.Back in the 80's I took a dog to a trainer that use to train & trial dogs for Bob Evans of retaraunt fame.When I went to pick her up after a few months I let her jump into the back of my Bronco,the trainer saw me & politely jumped my butt for it.He said I can't tell you what to do when you leave here but don't ever let me see you do that here again.He said always pick them up & put them in or help them down,then he explained why.He said he had a very promising FT prospect that hind legs slipped while jumping down hitting it's knee joints on the bumper,tail gate,or whatever & damaging that joint which never completely healed afterword ending his FT career.I have since noticed more then one dog bumping it's knees jumping in & out of vehicles.I always lift my dogs in & out even though it's not as easy as when I was younger.

Glad you mentioned that. I was going to mention it too but I thought folks would think I was....... My vet told me that vets regularly get dogs who bang their chests on the tailgate on the way up. There's a name for the injury but I can't think of it. I still let mine jump in but I'm watching to see that they still have lots of power to do it. My 11year old wants to jump in too, but I've been lifting her up myself.

[Keny Glasscock]

I've heard this dog bark in the truck. It isn't an "I'm afraid" bark, it's a "don't you know who I am let me out of here" bark. Dogs are smart and know how to get what they want. This is a smart pup.

[gonehuntin']

I never ask a dog to do something, I tell it. First, the dog isn't obedience trained because you can't catch it. That's fine at his age, just don't expect him to comply with a command until he's taught it.

First, work on the crate OUT OF THE TRUCK. Do it on your front lawn. When he kennels, go into the house and leave him for 15 minutes or until he starts acting up. When he does, walk out there, open the crate, and cuff him one, telling him NO!

Keep at it until he is cooperative in the crate, then move to the truck. Even if you're driving down the road and he starts acting up, immediately pull over and whack him. Don't tolerate than nonsense. It only gets worse, never better if left uncorrected.

[mountaindogs]

Is the dog ecollar trained yet? to the extent that he thinks ecollar means going hunting, or least get excited cause their gonna work birds maybe, like mine do? Start jumping around and bouncing until I give them a "whoa" when they see the collar in my hand.

If so, if they know what it is all about and like it, I'd put a bark collar on AFTER I made sure the dog would kennel eveywhere else as mention before. The dog is acting up cause he knows you are up in the truck and a bark collar will be pretty quick in teaching that even if you are away. Because the truck is causing vibrations I would be sure not to use one that works only on vibration. But it will not make the dog want to kennel up because he will not get his way in that kennel anymore. So you have to get the kennel up part first or have have it twice as hard if you wait until after.

So start with making them kennel in all those othe places, with the kennel up in the tuck last. Don't go anywhere. Just walk outside with the kennel up there say "Kennel" and make them jump in (you can help, but the shouldn't fight and should walk in nicely after getting up in the bed) and give them 2 minuts or so and then let em out and go back inside. Again and again and again.... Until the dog gets it. g'luck