Operation "Cratequake" was a incredible success!!

[Jess & Stewart]

I read up on discussions about barking in the crate, came across a bunch talking about making an "earthquake" in the crate along with a loud "quiet" or "no", then praise and treat with something high value when they're quiet.

SO, I came home, ignored him for a few minutes, then started on Operation Cratequake. Within 5 minutes he was COMPLETELY silent. He whimpered a bit when I was testing to see how long he could be quiet, but another 3 gentle shakes of the crate stopped that. I treated with very high value treats, tiny pieces of hot dogs. I got 3 minutes of silence (ASPCA guidelines), then let him out. I had him go in with the lure of the hot dogs, then go in without, he RAN in he crate. Then kept door open, walked around, kept door closed walked around, no noise whatsoever. The icing on the crate is that I walked out of my apt, counted to 30, walked back in and he was silent!

Since that training at 5 pm today, Stew had been walking in & out of the crate throughout the evening, I praised and treated each time I caught him in there sniffing around. As of 11:30, after last potty break & a game of fetch, Stew walked into his crate and put himself to bed!

Who knew all I was missing for 6 weeks was tiny bits of hot dogs! I can't believe I hadn't tried the quake method before! Attached is a picture of him sleeping soundly!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Keep up the good work.  You are meeting each challenge, figuring out a solution, and solving the problem. Stew is such a cutie.