it's how I crate trained my dog. I adopted him when he was two and he was terrified of the crate. I would put him in the same room as the crate, put high value food in it, shredded cheese, deli meats, and then leave the room. slowly I would feed him more and more normal things as I got closer and closer while he was in the crate. pretty quickly I was feeding him all of his meals in there, but he would always watch till I left the room before going in.

anytime he earned a treat, for sitting, or laying down or whatever, he had to go into the crate to get the treat. at the beginning I would have to toss it into the back of the crate and then leave the room for him to go get it, eventually he was running into the crate waiting for the treat.

within about 2 months he was sleeping in the crate with the door open

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

That’s a fantastic idea! Taco goes ballistic when it’s vet time and the carriers come out. Vet says he’s not allowed to come in unmedicated anymore.