Archie's training is proceeding at a brisk pace. He's the perfect study break. Of course his attention span is very short, although it is improving daily, along with his motor coordination. He still flings himself through life but his aim is a little better now. Even so, I keep his training sessions even shorter, which means sometimes I have less than three minutes to make things count. Planning is required.
Crate training is super important but it was on my list along with a couple of dozen other critical behaviors. By crate training I mean two specific things: the dog will run into the crate willingly and with enthusiasm then remain in the crate until released, even if the door is open. The general behavior of sitting quietly in a crate once the door is closed gets lumped into another category of skills.
To back up a bit, I have a crate for each of the dogs. It is their crate--other dogs aren't allowed in there. Mimi's crate is really just a hidey-hole for her, a place for her to chew on super high-value things. She sometimes naps in there when I'm studying since her crate is right next to me. But even though she has the run of the house during the day, she still has to get in her crate to receive a treat before I leave the house.
Azza and Archie have nice big crates that face each other across the living room. Both of them spend the day in their crates. Both of them have to get in their crates in order to get a treat before I leave.
The routine is this: once I do a final check of my backpack for the things I need for the morning, I say "get in your boxes!" as I go to the fridge to get a yummy soft treat for each dog. I have trained them to, and expect them to run, not walk, to their respective crates, dive in, and wait for me to deliver the treat.
Archie had to be formally introduced to those two specific behaviors I described earlier. I introduced "get in your box" using the clicker in three separate training sessions spaced about two days apart each. To keep Archie on his toes, I train three or four different behaviors in each training session. In sum, I probably went through thirty clicks and thirty treats on the "get in your box" behavior. Remember, I expect the dog to RUN into the crate with enthusiasm. I trained the release command separately, not in the context of the crate but in the context of sit-stay-release. Thirty treats may seem like a lot but I can deliver thirty treats in well under two minutes, depending on the clarity of my training and the focus of my dog--and these were spread out over three different training sessions.
I turned to working on other skills and put the crate training aside. Of course, Archie still had to get in his crate every morning. I simply opened the door and tossed a treat in for him. I'm not a purist and not at all above luring if it seems to be the appropriate tool at the time.
Imagine my astonishment when two days ago, after I said my usual (and invariable) "get in your boxes!" (it comes out more of a sing-song than a command) and headed for the fridge, I noticed Archie was not under my feet as usual. I turned the corner to find him standing in front of his crate. The door was pushed shut so he was looking at the crate, looking at me, looking at the crate, dancing back and forth on his toes, clearly communicating his desire to get in his crate right now! I opened the door and he shot into the crate like he'd been fired out of a gun, whipped around, and stared at me, waiting for his treat.
My jaw hit the floor.
Okay, sure, he's seen this behavior modeled by the other dogs day after day. I didn't specifically train the "wait in your crate until released" but he's seen them do that too. And I did train a stay-release sequence so he had the general idea.
I thought it was a fluke. I released him from the crate, and using the treat intended for Mimi, I said, "get in your box!" and he shot in the crate again! He's flawlessly repeated this behavior every morning and lunch time since. And at night, he now goes into his sleeping crate (pushed next to the bed) on his own.
To be clear, he never resisted going in his crate. I never had to stuff him in a crate against his will. And the breeder had him sleeping at night in a crate from about 10 weeks of age. Heck, he's already crossed international boundaries in a crate on a plane. He's traveled in cars in a crate. The crate isn't even the important part of this whole affair--it's really all about drive and excitement. What is huge about this leap is that he made it so quickly and with so little formal shaping on my part. He watches the other two dogs closely. He already loves the clicker so much that just the sight of it causes fox terrier boinging--training him at this point is a matter of his focus.
I could not have devised a more perfect diversion from the trials and tribulations of vet school.
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