Crate Training

Every veterinarian and dog trainer I have known in the last 20 or so years recommends crate training. I was a holdout on the theory that it made the dog feel secure -- I stupidly thought they would feel like they were in prison. The husband cured me of this 16 or so years ago when he would only agree to a dog if I agreed to crate training. Done!

Our puppy has been crate trained since the moment we adopted her.

For Christmas, Santa brought the puppy a pop-up, portable crate. I'm sure he thought it would be great for the lake trips or other overnight needs. I took it to the lake. The first night, she figured out how to unzip it. The second day, she figured out how to scratch a hole and put her head through it. Then she figured out that she had enough body heft to move it around. She just bounced it around -- she looked like a slinky toy bouncing down the stairs.

I called the husband and said, "When you come to meet me, bring the real crate." Once he did, she ran in there so fast it was comical. She was safe and my anxiety eased.

Big Daddy and I disagree on a lot of things. Crate training isn't one of them. One of my girlfriends made an off the cuff remark that she should have tried crate training with her children. I'm considering it for the oldies.