So, Jock has always been fearful of pens, crates and kennels. He'd much rather sit out in a storm with torrential rains and terrifying winds than go into any small space.
I've been working with him these last few weeks, and today, he did it!
I have a collapsable crate that my young female sleeps in, and she loves it. I've been using that to train Jock about how nice pens can be. Once he's happy in a crate, he can come and live in the house permanently, so we've been working hard.
Before today, the only way to get him into a crate was to push him, physically, in, and close and lock the door quickly.
Today, after hiding treats in the bedding, I managed to get him into the crate. He'd gone in and out a few times, and I thought I'd lock him in there for a few minutes. Well, after we did this, he still looked absolutely petrified, but did it because I asked him to.
Eventually, I had him running into the crate, turning around and coming back out again. No pushing or shoving, no coaxing with food, nothing. He did it because it was fun. Twice I managed to get him to stay in the crate by giving the 'stay' command, and as soon as he stopped, I let him come out again and made a big fuss of him.
My boy did it. He went into the crate all by himself! He's far from cured of his fear, but he's definitely making great progress!
We can't do any outside training today because it's raining again (which is lovely) so at the moment he's learning to sit still on his mat by my side.
Well done Jock!!!
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