Nigel and his den (crate)

One of the first things we have noticed with Nigel is that he will not enter (what used to be) Ray’s wire crate. That crate was Ray’s “safe zone” in that nobody touched him when he was in there. Given that it might be necessary to put Nigel in there at some point, our thinking was to repeat the Ray perspective i.e. If you go in there, you are quite safe and nobody will approach you.

In this situation, training typically involves throwing treats in and encouraging the dog to go in after them. Nigel is highly food motivated but, unless he can reach in to get the treat (and with his feet staying outside the crate), then the treats just stay there. It is interesting to watch him assess the treats from different perspectives as he walks around the crate. We have no doubt that he will soon go in quite happily, and perhaps even chill there periodically, but it is going to take some time.

We were talking today with our contact at the Dog Guides and we learned an interesting piece of Nigel’s history. Apparently, he was adopted some time ago by a couple who decided to move from Ontario to Alberta to be with their children and very young grandchildren. The grandchildren (3) were all under 3 years old and there developed a problem with Nigel. His idea of interacting was likely quite rough when considering such young children. After some nipping and scratching, it was decided that Nigel would have to be returned to the Dog Guides here.

Taking that history in the context of his crate behaviour with us, I cannot help but wonder whether his final period in Alberta was spent in a crate? One can only speculate what his previous owners were thinking when they decided to move so far away and into an environment with such young children but, as I often said about Ray’s start to life …. His previous owners have no idea what a very special dog he turned out to be and, just like Ray, Nigel’s previous owners’ lack of foresight and consideration of his needs, simply became our treasure.

“C’mon guys. Who could not love me eh?”

7 thoughts on “Nigel and his den (crate)”

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  3. We used a crate for Maggie in the beginning. It was in our bedroom and left open all day with her custom made bed in it in which was an old jumper of Hubby’s she’d taken a shine to. It was, as you say, her safe place, and she was only put in it at night or if we had to go out during the day. It was never used as punishment, and when she was older, we didn’t have to use it at all. Maybe Nigel can smell Ray on the crate? A dog’s sense of smell is fantastically superior to a human’s, so even if it has been thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned, he may still pick up Ray’s scent and wonder where the other dog is. Maybe treats aren’t the encouragement he needs but his own toys or blanket?
    He is a handsome fellow though.

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  5. Sounds like an interesting theory to me. Perhaps he was either locked in the crate for long periods of time in Alberta, or he had to travel to or from Alberta in a crate. But somehow or another, he probably had a bad experience with a crate.

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