growling

[Ronnie & Emma]

so Emma once in a while she would growl slightly if i try to pick her up and bring her to the crate at bedtime. For the past times, I have just ignored te growling and just picked her up and brought her to the crate. Today she did it again just from asking her to get out under the table..so i can supervise her better. seh started growling..so i read from somewhere that you should hit the muzzle slightly and say no. so i tried that today. she got abit scared..what do you guys suggest?

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

How old is Emma? Malu was really reluctant to go in his kennel until a couple of weeks ago. (He is 5 months, 1 week). He did not growl at me, but he would go across the room and lay down when it was time for the kennel. I would have to take him by the collar (under his neck, not over) and gently lead him to the kennel, then show him the Kong or other special treats in there. Sometimes I even had to push him in gently from behind. But always be gentle and have a happy voice when getting her into the kennel, never an angry voice, because that will add to her not wanting to go in the crate.

Another thing you can try is to put peanut butter smears on the wall of the kennel in random places. Then you might want to have your mom/sister practice putting her in there, so that she has multiple experiences with this.

Remember that many times the other people won't be as persistent as you will in training your dog, so you have to make sure they are reinforcing the same techniques that you use and not confusing Emma with other signals. So take a moment to show them how you get her in, then watch them try to put her in, and look for things that might be sending other signals to Emma.

[Ronnie & Emma]

hi minga,
emma is also aournd that age. she's close to 5 months and 1 week. my trainer said she's going thoruhg juvenille stage. since she's a goldendoodle...she will be in it till 2 -3 years old. so i did try some peanut butter around her kong. and she loves it..becasue of the smell.she just walks into the crate.
should i just leave the kong inside the crate? or just when she's inside the crate?

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

You can choose to make the Kong a crate only treat if you like. Definitely the easiest way to get them liking the crate is to have a really special toy that is a crate-only toy. So it is up to you. I personally use our Kongs in and out of the crate.