I have been training my westie to like his crate in preparation for getting him used to being on his own at times. He will readily go into his crate on command in anticipation of a treat and often voluntarily goes in and waits expectantly for a treat. My question is should I give him a treat each time he spontaneously goes into the crate, and when to stop! because he expects a constant flow of treats. When I stop he immediatley comes out of his crate. I have not yet been sucessful in getting him to stay in his crate without barking while I am out of the room (2mins tops and he starts)

For the first day or two i would give my puppy max a treat for going in on his own , now he only goes in at night and always expects a treat before i close the door.

Just be consistant with this and you will see a big improvment soon , promise!

This is the problem people often have when using treats to acheive a behaviour.  The technique to decreasing the treats is to not treat every time, but to throw in a 'jackpot' of treats occasionally - say every 2 or three times to start with, then slowly decreasing it down to every 2 in 10 times for example. 

Hi June,

Perhaps you need to go a bit slower with the crate training. Hide some titbits in his bedding, so that he spends time inside the crate looking for them. Drop in titbits every so often without him noticing. The idea is to keep him inside the crate for a duration.

Make sure the crate is somewhere where there is a lot of activity, like the living room. Have it nice and cosy with chews and toys and put a blanket on top of it so that it is like a den.

Then when you are about to sit down to watch a TV programme , give him a stuffed kong, put the crate near you and close the door. That way he will be kept busy with the kong for a while and you will be there to reassure him that he will not be left on his own. Then on intervals, go to the kitchen and make a cuppa - do not return if he is crying, but wait until he is quiet, come back and just ignore him and carry on watching TV.

The aim is for him to feel secure that he is not being left, but at the same time for him to learn to settle down as he will not be getting attention. After a couple of weeks of this, he should have gotten the message that he is not going to be left alone for ages and then you can start to ignore any cries or barks. He should quietten down within 5 minutes.

You can also gently put him in it when he is sleeping.

Don't worry, just take it nice and slow and you'll get there at the end.

All the best,
Patty