# Ep 150 Crate Training Made Easy: 3 Tips for Successful Separation

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 14 Oct 2026, 8:55.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/19584032-ep-150-crate-training-made-easy-3-tips-for-successful-separation.mp3

Do you want to know the secret to successful crate training? Whether you’re trying to set puppies up for the best possible start or building rock-solid separation skills with your dog, in this episode, we’re uncovering how you can help your dog feel confident and comfortable in a crate, regardless of how old they are! We’ll explore clever ways to flip the script on what the crate means for your dog, plus how making small tweaks to your dog’s daily routine can make time in the crate feel completely normal and effortless! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: Are there currently any lessons around crate training or any podcast episodes anyone can recommend?
[0:06] SPEAKER_00: Well, there's this episode now.
[0:09] SPEAKER_00: Does life with your dog sometimes feel more like firefighting than the dream you originally imagined?
[0:15] SPEAKER_00: You are in the right place.
[0:17] SPEAKER_00: This is Help My Dog, the podcast that turns dog behaviour science into practical, fun strategies you can use in real life.
[0:24] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[0:25] SPEAKER_00: Tom Mitchell, vet behaviorist and dog trainer, and each week we'll help you understand what is really driving your dog's behaviour.
[0:32] SPEAKER_00: From barking and lunging to anxiety, overexcitement, and simply not listening.
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: You'll discover clear explanations, practical tools, and simple games that build the skills your dog needs to make better choices.
[0:46] SPEAKER_00: There's no blame and no shame here, just expert guidance, relatable stories, and plenty of reasons to feel hopeful about what is possible for you and your dog.
[0:56] SPEAKER_00: Let's get started.
[0:57] SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast.
[1:01] SPEAKER_00: And today we have a listener's question.
[1:03] SPEAKER_00: I think it's a really fun one.
[1:04] SPEAKER_00: Are there currently any lessons around crate training or any podcast episodes anyone can recommend?
[1:11] SPEAKER_00: I have a litter of puppies going to their new homes this week, and I'd like to be able to offer some advice to avoid any potential incorrect crate conditioning or traumatic experiences and set both owner and pup up for success.
[1:25] SPEAKER_00: So, to answer the first question, well, there's this episode now.
[1:30] SPEAKER_00: And also in the Help My Dog Hub, there is an amazing course called the called Separation Success.
[1:40] SPEAKER_00: And it's a series of um videos that takes you from a dog that has never been behind a gate or in a puppy pen or in a crate to literally being able to be um uh behind a barrier in a crate or in a puppy pen when visitors come to the house, when you're home and you just need to, I don't know, vacuum the house, I don't know, um, but also be able to leave them home alone.
[2:01] SPEAKER_00: So um that is where I would go for like the start to finish process.
[2:06] SPEAKER_00: Okay, it's about 20 videos, 25 videos, I want to say, um, and it's all in the help my dog hub, included as part of your membership, and you can um get involved in the help my dog hub by going to helpmydog.com, help yeah, helpmydog.com, and then you'll find information about the hub.
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: There's a button that says like join hub.
[2:25] SPEAKER_00: Um so definitely make sure to do that.
[2:28] SPEAKER_00: So if I were to impart one philosophy around crate training to a new puppy owner that would frame every decision that they're making with that um from from now on, it would almost it would probably be three three pillars of success, okay?
[2:54] SPEAKER_00: Number one the being in the crate is a privilege.
[3:00] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[3:00] SPEAKER_00: It's special, it's the desired scarce thing, yeah?
[3:07] SPEAKER_00: Um and yet what most dogs learn is that being out of the crate is the privilege.
[3:13] SPEAKER_00: Being out of the crate is the the prized, scarce, wonderful, high value thing.
[3:19] SPEAKER_00: And I like to flip that around when I'm teaching this.
[3:22] SPEAKER_00: So what this would look like when we're working with a puppy or a young dog or an old dog where we need to rework this is that we'd be putting loads of value in the crate, okay?
[3:32] SPEAKER_00: So that would look like every time they go into the crate, it's like feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed in that crate.
[3:40] SPEAKER_00: But then what I'd be doing is I would be tricking them.
[3:43] SPEAKER_00: So I'd be coaxing them out of the crate and being like, hey, come out of the crate, hang over here.
[3:48] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[3:48] SPEAKER_00: And when they come out of the crate, they don't get anything.
[3:52] SPEAKER_00: And then they shoot back in the crate and I go feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, right?
[3:56] SPEAKER_00: And then I try and coax them out again and they'll get to the point where they're like, human, I'm not being tricked by you.
[4:01] SPEAKER_00: This is the special place, right?
[4:04] SPEAKER_00: Um that's one way, that's one um method that you can do that.
[4:08] SPEAKER_00: Second method that you can um do is you can pop them in the crate, give them a long-lasting chew or a Kong, right?
[4:15] SPEAKER_00: Stuffed with something really tasty.
[4:17] SPEAKER_00: Um, and then what I do is I try and coax them out of the crate and get them to leave the long-lasting chew or the Kong in the crate.
[4:24] SPEAKER_00: So it'll be like, oh, wow, what's this?
[4:26] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it might even have a bit of food there to, you know, get them to be like, oh, I'll leave that, I'll go grab the piece of food.
[4:32] SPEAKER_00: And as they come out and they eat that piece of food, what I do is I close the door and I lock the crate, and their prized thing is in there, and they're like, hey, let me back in, let me back in.
[4:41] SPEAKER_00: And I'll go, okay, you may re-enter your crate, right?
[4:45] SPEAKER_00: And and so we're just it's almost like reverse psychology, yeah, doggy manipulation, um, where we're effectively setting the inside of the puppy pen or the crate or whatever else as the special place, the place that has to be earned, right?
[5:00] SPEAKER_00: Um, which is completely the opposite of how historically crates have been used as a timeout space, yeah, or uh you've been naughty, or uh, oh my goodness, I can't cope with you anymore, just give me five minutes.
[5:12] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[5:13] SPEAKER_00: Instead, this is like, oh, this is very special.
[5:15] SPEAKER_00: Can I let you in?
[5:17] SPEAKER_00: Oh, I've thought about it and I am prepared to let you in this time, yeah.
[5:21] SPEAKER_00: So that'd be pillar number one.
[5:22] SPEAKER_00: Pillar number two for crate success is that the door closing is a good deal, not a bad deal.
[5:30] SPEAKER_00: So the door closing when they are in the crate is an amazing deal, not a bad deal.
[5:36] SPEAKER_00: It means gain, not loss.
[5:38] SPEAKER_00: And what most dogs learn is that when the door closes, it is a loss.
[5:43] SPEAKER_00: They have lost access to you, they have lost access to running around doing crazy things, they've lost access to all of the good things that happen outside of the crate.
[5:52] SPEAKER_00: How do we reframe that for them?
[5:55] SPEAKER_00: Where we play a game where once they're cool about being in the crate, they want to hang out in the crate and they're actively like this is an amazing space.
[6:02] SPEAKER_00: Then what we're gonna do is we're gonna go close the door, means the bar opens, right?
[6:08] SPEAKER_00: Door closed means bar opens.
[6:09] SPEAKER_00: So what I mean by that is door closes, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed through the bars.
[6:15] SPEAKER_00: Door opens, bar closes, there is no food.
[6:18] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no food until door closes, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed.
[6:24] SPEAKER_00: Door opens, absolutely nothing, right?
[6:27] SPEAKER_00: Door closes, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, feed, yeah.
[6:31] SPEAKER_00: So that the door becomes a predictor of gain, yeah, not loss.
[6:37] SPEAKER_00: So that would be number two.
[6:39] SPEAKER_00: Number three, then what we need to do is once we've got the first two pillars of crate success, number three, it need crates, puppy pens, being behind a gate, being on a bed, whatever else.
[6:50] SPEAKER_00: It needs to just be part of life.
[6:52] SPEAKER_00: It needs to be normal.
[6:53] SPEAKER_00: And the way to make something normal is that it forms part of the day, right?
[6:58] SPEAKER_00: And a decent, decent part of the day.
[7:00] SPEAKER_00: Now that does not mean that they spend prolonged periods in a crate.
[7:04] SPEAKER_00: Quite the opposite, my dogs spend actually very little time in a crate with the door closed.
[7:08] SPEAKER_00: They choose to hang out in there, sure, but um they, you know, very little time in a crate with the door closed.
[7:15] SPEAKER_00: Um, but um, what it does mean is we do something called from bound from one boundary to another.
[7:20] SPEAKER_00: And so, for example, early in a dog's education, it might be that they spend a bit of time in a crate.
[7:27] SPEAKER_00: Then they might hang out with us on lead.
[7:29] SPEAKER_00: Then we might pop them on a bed, then they might go in a puppy pen, then they might go behind a baby gate, then they might go in the garden and we close the door to the house, then they might come back into the house and they go back on a bed.
[7:42] SPEAKER_00: And effectively, they discover that life is about going from one boundary or space to target yourself to to another, and it's just normal, right?
[7:53] SPEAKER_00: And when something's normal, it stops becoming the question of do I like this or not?
[7:59] SPEAKER_00: kind of starts to not be a question that they really ask themselves because they go, This is just what we do.
[8:04] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[8:05] SPEAKER_00: And so when we crack those three pillars, guess what?
[8:08] SPEAKER_00: We get dogs that are cool, calm, and collected about being, you know, in a crate and a puppy pen behind a baby gate, whether you are at home or not.
[8:15] SPEAKER_00: And of course, the full separation success course in the help my dog hub will help you through that entire process in a um in a step-by-step way.
[8:27] SPEAKER_00: So hopefully I've given you that in a succinct way that you can communicate that to all the new kind of new puppy owners.
[8:34] SPEAKER_00: Um, and also definitely direct them to that resource in the help my dog hub as well, because that will literally hold their hand and guide them through the entire thing.
[8:44] SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, you got tons of value, and we will see you next time.

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