Crate Training

& Other Ills of our Society

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Crate Training and Other Ills of Our Society

by Terry Thistlethwaite

The term "crate training" is a misnomer.  There is no "training"

involved in locking someone in a box and leaving them to

deal with it.  Animals will "adjust" to imprisonment just as will

people.  Humans who have spent a good deal of time living in

a prison situation will have difficulty living in normal society,

just as dogs who spend a great deal of time being confined to

a box will have difficulty living in a normal home environment.

Both will seek to retreat to the prison when faced with unusual

or upsetting circumstances. Dog owners typically point to the

"happy dog" electing to sleep in the box as evidence that the

crate is a "positive" experience.  Dogs which have never been

forcibly confined to these contraptions, however, will rarely

if ever venture into them.  While it is fully possible to accustom

virtually any dog to this manner of imprisonment -- either for short

or long periods of time -- it is not correct to term this treatment

"training".

Crates were created as a means to transport dogs safely

in railroad cars, and later in airplanes. They came into more

common use by show dog handlers transporting multiple dogs

in vehicles, and eventually by unwary pet owners encouraged by

the idea that "anyone can own a dog" as long as they have a

box to place it in when they are either too busy to deal with it

or don't want to play with it any more (expanding on the definition

of "toys" to include dogs).  Crates became the darling "tool" of the

rescue community wanting to place a dog in every home,

whether the family was up to the commitment of training and living

with a dog or not.  The fancier community joined in, noting that

dogs abhor the thought of soiling their sleeping area,  thus the

task of housebreaking a puppy is eased by making the puppy

sleep alone in a box (which is notably also fully against the pack

nature of puppies and dogs).  A good majority of breeders today will

encourage new puppy owners to buy a box for the puppy to both

sleep in and retreat to when the family is otherwise involved.

The fallacy that wild dogs live in small dens is typically used to

support the idea of a crate as a "substitute den".  In reality, wild

canines use dens only as a place to give birth and raise young

pups until they are old enough to toddle out of these whelping

areas.  Even at that, dens do not possess locking doors.   

Wild dogs live in packs and abhor isolation.  To a domestic dog,

their human family is their "pack", and even when other pets

are present, the humans are always viewed as the primary pack

members.   

Amazingly, our grandparents and their forebears owned dogs, and

lived with those dogs in their homes without ever putting them in

boxes!  Those dogs were the ancestors of the dogs we have today,

and they were housebroken, well mannered, and very much

members of the household.  Notably, it was toy breed dogs

especially who were kept as house pets -- the breeds most people

today will tell you are "difficult to housebreak".  Yet our human

ancestors had no difficulty at all in housebreaking these diminutive

ancestors of the toy breed dogs we have today.  Rather than

locking them in boxes for their personal convenience, our

grandparents took the time to take their dogs outside or to a

specified "potty area" as often as necessary to TEACH them what

was wanted.  They also took the time and made the effort to

TEACH their puppies how to behave in other ways, resulting

in dogs typically being accepted as "part of the family" and 

brought along to the market, to the neighbor's homes on visits, into

places of worship, and virtually everywhere else the family would

go.

Today we have people who have no clue as to how to TEACH a dog

anything.  Sadly, many of these folks call themselves "dog trainers".

Highly intelligent dogs, once prized by societies of people who

understood the animals they lived with, are typically given up by

owners who hire these "dog trainers" only to be told the dog is

"stupid" when he does not respond as they wish to their "methods".

One brilliant little American Eskimo Dog, for example, was about to

be turned in to rescue after three "top dog training experts" had given

up on him.  Asked what the problem was, the owner said the dog

barked incessantly every time someone came to the door, and

would not cease until the visitor left.  The first "trainer"

recommended putting the dog in a box.  When the barking

continued from inside the box, the "trainer" had the owner toss a

can full of nails at the box and shout "No".  When that didn't work,

the "trainer" proclaimed the dog to be "stupid", collected a

thousand dollars for his "trouble" and went home.  The second

trainer placed a choke collar on the dog and recommended choking

him every time he barked.  The dog quickly learned to fear the collar

as well as the hand that attempted to place it on him.  After the

owner was bitten in an attempt, the second "trainer" gave up in a

fashion similar to the first.  The owner, not wanting to abuse his

dog further,  then sought out a trainer who proclaimed the use of

"positive reinforcement".  That "trainer" proved to be a person who

positively reinforced the unwanted behavior.  The owner was told to

give the dog "treats" every time he barked with the explanation that

the diversion of eating would curtail the barking.   Of course, the

dog learned to bark as a way to be rewarded with food.  The owner

explained that the "treats" were becoming costly and the dog was

getting fat -- not to mention that his bank account was depleting

quickly after paying these "top trainers" thousands of dollars.

When the owner called me to relinquish the dog to rescue, I asked

if he truly did want to keep the dog, and would he do so if the dog

could be trained not to bark when visitors came.  The man very

skeptically replied that he did love his dog and did want to keep

him, but couldn't imagine that he could be trained after all of these

"top experts" had declared the dog "untrainable".  I then asked if he

would give my recommendation "two weeks".  He agreed.  I told him

that every time the dog barked, he, and everyone else present

(including the visitor at the door)  were to go into the nearest corner,

face the wall, and not speak or turn around until the dog became

quiet.  If the dog began to bark again once they turned around, they

were to resume facing the wall.  The owner said, "That's all?"

I told him that it was very important that this procedure was

followed every time the dog barked, and followed by everyone

present, so it would be best to alert potential visitors ahead of time

and make sure they were fully prepared to follow through. 

He agreed.  Three days later he called back and proclaimed me to

be "brilliant", saying my method not only "worked" but "worked

immediately" and he was in no way ever going to even think of

giving up his "smart little dog" again.   

I have a friend who trained his puppy to help him with his disability.

The dog steps carefully along by his side and guides him on a

straight path, offering his shoulder if the man should falter.  He

also picks up dropped items, opens doors, turns on lights, and

performs other "Service Dog" duties.  When I asked him if he ever

used a crate or a choke collar in training this dog, the look on his

face said "You have got to be kidding!"  Then he said,  "You know,

dogs are actually very easy to live with, and they adapt very well to

your needs and your likes.  I have never trusted a person who

cannot live with a dog, or respected one who has to have a box to

keep one in, and a choke collar to keep one under control."

Interestingly, he added, "Of course, I have only ever owned well

bred purebred dogs.  The mixed breed dogs that the shelters are 

bringing in from other countries to inflate their numbers are probably

an example of more feral breeding and less domestic

behavior -- I don't know.  I do know the rescue groups who deal with

them are sold on choking and imprisoning, but I could never

do that to a dog." 

It is sad to consider many of the things a given society comes, thru

whatever perverted means, to accept as "normal" and "common

practice".

You're listening to:

"Don't Fence Me In"

written by

Cole Porter & Robert Fletcher