How to get dog used to kennel?

Start off by putting him into the kennel for short periods at a time when you are home both during the day and at night. Have a favourite toy or nice chewy snack handy and pop him in. Try not to respond or let him out when he barks and scratches as it will not be long before he realises that barking means out and he will only get louder and more determined.

Once he realises that he will always be let out, that going into his kennel means a lovely treat or toy that is kept specifically for that purpose, he will almost look forward to going.

During this process, praise him when you let him out. Never let him out while he is barking and gradually increase the length of time until he's quiet most of the night.

It will work. Good luck.

Hi. Sorry-you just taught your puppy that he can win. Now it'll take twice as long to reteach what you're trying to accomplish. Start by having him spend a few minutes at a time in his kennel, when you're there during the day. Reward him for however many seconds he lasts without barking or scratching. Gradually, increase the time he spends in it, with you in the room, until you're rewarding him for an hour at a time. Then, try exiting his sight line. This may start all over again until he gets the idea that you'll always come back if he's quiet, with a treat. Never go back until he settles down and there's no noise, then praise, praise, praise! The best praise a dog can have is your love and attention-they'll try to get it whatever way they can-so be careful not to reward bad or unwanted behaviour. Good luck-it really does work!

1) Start slowly: Only keep him in for a short while at first. 30 minutes a day for the first week. One hour a day during the second week. Etc.

2) Provide treats: Hide treats and toys in his crate. This will help him associate his crate with something positive.

3) NEVER put him in his crate as a form of punishment.

4) Be patient and allow him to progress slowly.

Put him in the crate for 20-30 min. Wait for him to quiet down, ignore him if he whines/ cries/ etc. Praise him and treat him when he's quiet. We did this with our dog, it was hard at first, she had to be shoved in at first, and cried/ whined/ etc. We ignored her, and praised her when she was quiet. Now she likes her crate. Try covering the crate, it might help. But you'll get a few restless nights. Never let him out for whining, only when quiet.

Put him in for small amounts at a time. Feed him there. At night, put a radio on near and cover kennel with a sheet to let them know it's time to go to sleep.

three websites on how to crate train a puppy. the info here helped me a lot.

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rc207100/info-pub.htm

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

http://www.planeturine.com/pettips/dsp_crateTrainP...