Is your dog crate trained?  This summer I’m taking Farley, my wheaten terrier, on a plane for the first time. I’ve flown several times with Chica, my yellow lab, but never with Farley.

Farley was crate trained as a puppy, but hasn’t been in a crate for three years.

I decided I better get him used to it.

This is how I did it:

• Put him in crate and let him walk right back out
• Fed him in crate for four days in a row and let him get out as soon as he finished eating. The gate remained open during this time.
• Put him in crate for 10 minutes with door open and me the room.
• Increased time by 10 minutes each day up to an hour.
• Closed the door, but I stayed in the room
• Started leaving room for 10 minute intervals, then increased the time.
• I remove him from the crate before he started to fuss.

Yesterday was the big break through. Farley fell asleep in the crate.

I hope this helps you if you are trying to get your dog crate trained. Farley rarely barks, so barking in the crate hasn’t been an issue.

Let me know if you have any other tricks that might help.

Related articles

• Traveling with a Dog (kristinastanley.net)