Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
crating is not an asset in my opinion. I didnt crate my dogs and never will. I think of it kinda like imprissioning them . When ever I would put Oscar in his kenelle he would whine and cry and I would feel super bad, I dont think it is very nice to do that to a dog or puppy. Tikeya has never even been in a crate in her life intull one day when she went into get spayed she had to stay over night and she freaked out!! the vets thoughs she was dieing!!!! !!! She has never been near or in a crate ever since.
First of all, you should never just shove a dog in a crate and expect the dog to be okay with it. You have to slowly introduce them to the crate. Start with the crate door always open and throw some hot dogs (or some other good treat) in. Let them walk in and out on their own several times. Then you can gradually start shutting the door for a few seconds at a time. If they are calm with the door shut, you reward them by opening the door back up. If they start whining, scratching, pawing at the door, etc, NEVER let them out. That will reward them for putting up a fuss so then they'll always fuss if they want out. That's probably what happened with Oscar. Tikeya was also in a strange place which I'm sure was part of the reason she freaked. They just need to be worked with and slowly introduced, not just thrown in.