We adopted our three year old chow-mix a few weeks ago. He's a dream.
There are times when we want to crate him for a couple of hours here and there. We can't get him to go in. It's the right size, we put his toys, treats, etc in there. He'll kind of circle around if there's a treat and fly in and out really fast after getting the treat. He looks like he's scared to death so we haven't pushed.
BUT....
We took him to be groomed today. The groomer told us she had a bit of trouble getting him into the cage at first (said she kind of pushed him in) and the second time he went in with no problem. So he obviously isn't phobic.
How can I show him I'm the boss and that he needs to go in there from time to time??
And don't have too many toys and treats in there. Just give him one special treat for going in and give it through the back of the crate. Also, have one or two special crate only chew toys, of which one should be an interactive toy such as a stuffed kong.
Remember to praise for going in never for coming out.
Oh, I didn't know whether it was a big or small dog as I've never seen one. Just toss a treat in there and as soon as he goes in to get it, close the door.
