KENNEL UP WITH THE LEASH

Teaching your dog to kennel up is a very important step in teaching him about compliance. A kennel ( travel crate) is his private place of rest. his bedroom if you want to think of it that way. A kennel is also a place just as heel is a place. when you think of training your dog, you need to place train him ( kennels or crates, your heel left or right, the a spot in the duck boat are places.) and action train such as come, sit, and fetch. When I command a dog to kennel up I want him to think of the word KENNEL as "go to your place the kennel" . When teaching this concept of dog training you will have a dog that understands how and why he needs to kennel and not become upset, or excited about it. I want him to kennel up to rest, relax, be quiet, and down the road I will use the kennel ( place) concept to teach him how to handle.

When teaching the kennel up command with a leash you first want the puppy to enter his crate for something he wants like a treat or his toy. when your dog is comfortable going into his crate and doing it with some excitement. you can then start to teach him how to go forward into his crate to release the pressure from the choke chain. ( as in the previous lesson you taught your dog how to come to you with the long rope and choke chain. when he steps forward he releases the pressure from the chain and keeps the pressure off by comming to you.) Now you want to teach him how to go into his kennel to turn off the pressure from the choke chain.

Place your travel crate on the floor up against the wall for support. open the door( tie it open if you need to). walk your dog up to the crate with the leash and choke chain and command him to kennel up. your chain should be tight and pulled forward towards the crate door untill he enteres the crate.( look at enclosed photo) when he does thiscorrectly release the chain pressure immediatly as he goes into the crate. Once he is in the crate block the door with your legs so he stays in for a few moments. When your ready command him to come out ( command word HERE... or COME...) and pull on the leash like you did before in the come command training. When he comes out. release the leash pressure. and praise him.

Repeat this process a few times each lesson , you should train a couple of times a day every day for a week or so. or untill he get the idea. your goal is to have your dog entering the kennel on command to loosen the leash pressure. When your dog is reliable at this with no distractions. add people to the room, and later on other dogs in the same room.( the other dogs should be on a leash during this process and sitting quietly next to their handlers.)

When your dog is kenneling up on command from a distance of ten feet or so. you may move to the next step in reinforcing the kennel up command with the E-Collar.

Roger Hess