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The little dog in my signature belongs to my mom. I originally joined this forum to get advice for any issues that arose with Nikko and people here have been so helpful. Well now we are dealing with a very upsetting life change in that we need to look into putting my mom into assisted living. So far none of the places we have toured take dogs, though they are allowed to visit. In reality my mom is unable to continue caring for the dog anyways, so most likely he will come to live with me as I could never let him go to a shelter.
Ever since he was a puppy, Nikko has been terrified of the crate. While my mom tried to crate train him years ago, he always cried and cried and would lick his paws non stop because he was so stressed in the crate. She quickly gave in and the dog has been sleeping at the base of her bed for 5 years now.
A few months ago I tried working with him to get him used to the crate using high value treats. If I put a piece of chicken right near the door he would stick his head in and get it. But as soon as I started moving the chicken more into the center of the crate where he would have to actually step inside, he would not go near it.
Teaching him to accept the crate is very important if he ends up living with me. My husband has some allergy issues so there is no way we can have a dog in bed with us. The dog would need to sleep downstairs in the kitchen inside the crate. Does anyone have some suggestions for what I could try? I am certainly willing to hire a trainer as he also needs to learn to walk properly on a leash. The last couple years he has pretty much just gone out in the yard to do his business. Thank you so much.
Ever since he was a puppy, Nikko has been terrified of the crate. While my mom tried to crate train him years ago, he always cried and cried and would lick his paws non stop because he was so stressed in the crate. She quickly gave in and the dog has been sleeping at the base of her bed for 5 years now.
A few months ago I tried working with him to get him used to the crate using high value treats. If I put a piece of chicken right near the door he would stick his head in and get it. But as soon as I started moving the chicken more into the center of the crate where he would have to actually step inside, he would not go near it.
Teaching him to accept the crate is very important if he ends up living with me. My husband has some allergy issues so there is no way we can have a dog in bed with us. The dog would need to sleep downstairs in the kitchen inside the crate. Does anyone have some suggestions for what I could try? I am certainly willing to hire a trainer as he also needs to learn to walk properly on a leash. The last couple years he has pretty much just gone out in the yard to do his business. Thank you so much.