# Difficulty getting an almost 10-month old into his crate



## JKOMBU (Jul 18, 2016)

Just wondering of anyone else has experienced this issue. Ruger is almost 10 months old. He has been crate trained since day one and we have had no issues putting him the crate while at home during the day for a few hours, off to bed, to when going off to work etc... Until the other day. He does not want to go to into the crate. Last night we had to switch to a soft sided carrier just to get him to bed. We always say "GOOD BOY" when putting him in the crate and he gets a treat. He has not had any problems with the crate, no bathroom issues, no bad dog or anything like that. It's just like he is saying to us "no way I don't like it anymore". He won't even take the treat bait. It's frustrating. We have a small house and the crate is the safest place for him to be when we are not at home. Any advice would be appreciated.


----------



## nymeria (Jan 18, 2016)

This happened to Mia a few months ago. I think she either got bit by something or maybe got her toes caught on something...no idea. But it was super sudden. She normally runs into her crate when we ask her to. Like yours, she wouldn't even go in for a treat. 

So I went back to the beginning with training. I would sit a couple feet outside the crate and give her a treat. Then slowly move closer to the crate. Then put the treat right inside the door. Then towards the back of the crate. I use clicker training which I think helps her learn faster. 

Now she's back to normal. The process was also a lot shorter than the initial training, maybe just a few days.


----------



## MikoMN (Nov 29, 2016)

We sometimes have this problem with Miko (8 months). Usually it is when we are waking him up from his soft bed, to move him to his crate for the night(which only has a towel, because he ate everything we put in there). He would rather just stay in his bed. Unfortunately we don't fully trust him yet. We have learned that his "normal treat" isn't enough to lure him at these times, but a small piece of lunch meat works every time.


----------



## JKOMBU (Jul 18, 2016)

Thank you MikoMN and nymeria for your replies to the issue Ruger is having. Hopefully it's a temporary issue. 

We are new to dog ownership and selected a Vizsla for our first dog. This forum is very informative. It's nice to have help from people who have experience with the breed.


----------

