Fizz has been home for a week now, and in that time, I have not once allowed her to walk out of a crate. Instead, any time I opened her crate, I would lift her out, so that coming out on her own has no value to it, as it has no reward history. With Fizz, this has been easy, she usually sits at the edge of the crate and waits for me to get her. This behavior was already in place while she was with her litter. When ever I went to the puppy pen, she'd come forward, sit and give strong eye contact, and wait to be lifted out. What a girlie!
If you want to know how to implement Crate Games, you'll need to purchase Susan's DVD. While I did record our whole session, I'm not posting it for two reasons: a) it would be large in size, and b) that would be no better than scanning a copyrighted photo and posting the scan......it's flat disrespectful, to say the least. When we started, Fizz had no value for her crate. She's had a few meals in it, but most have been earned through training, and thus fed outside of the crate. After about 20 minutes of work, she now demonstrates high value for her crate, manifesting as not wanting to come out on release word.
C.G. is a wonderful way to start building duration for the sit, for teaching the dog to understand resisting distractions, and that you only come when verbally released. This will transition over to very solid "stays" Note: I don't use the word 'stay' ever in my training, it's a human superstition, not a command. Sit/down/stand means sit/down/stand until I either release you, or give you another cue. Period. Once this duration of behavior is understood, it transitions very well out of the crate, and has great value in Start line stays, obedience work, and general impulse control. A huge "thanks!" to Susan Garrett for her pioneering ways, and this wonderful teaching tool!!
For her socializing "outing" today, Fizz came to church with us. She slept in her crate in the car during the service, and then hung out outside to meet/greet as people left. What a variety of people we met, all ages, quiet people, boisterous kids, those with fascinating scarves (oh BOY said Fizz!), and blowing skirts. She does so well with it all! Yesterday, we went to Team practice at gymnastics, and she was literally swarmed by 1st-3rd grade girls. She loved it, gave lots of licks and shared her puppy fuzz all around. I just love how unbothered she is by anything, and by the restraint she is already showing in not playing with strangers in the same manner that I allow her to play with me (we roughhouse). At pick-up time, we got to meet lots of the Dads, and several pre-teen boys. The 'flooding' continues! :)
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