Italian Greyhound Hack Series: The Elevated Crate

Dainty Acres Italian Greyhounds 12/31/22, Spring Branch Texas:
Here at Dainty Acres we have morning and afternoon naps in elevated crates in the living room. I learned this hack quite by mistake one day when I was cleaning up the living room and noticed one of my difficult craters smiling at me from the crate I tossed up on a table. I definitely learn more from them than they ever learn from me. #CatchThemInTheAct

Safety:
So since that day, I have made some improvements for safety, like including a padded ladder-back chair to step up and off of, and a rubber backed mat for landing on the floor. Italian Greyhounds are notorious for broken bones. Broken legs and tails seem to be the #1 ER visit for IG's. This is because they are able to launch, and if you add their nervous speed; there is going to be a bad landing eventually. I could bubble wrap them, but knowing my dogs, they would chew that and end up choking. Italian Greyhounds love to please their people, they are hungry for respect, admiration and trust with their humans. So I choose to use that hunger to train my dogs to do fun things the safe way. For example, I teach them how to properly load and unload the crate using the R-A-T Technique. What is the RAT Technique? Glad you asked. It is an acronym for Respect, Admiration and Trust. Crate loading is something my dogs and I can do together to build R-respect, A-admiration and T-trust. Dogs that are running around crazy and jumping off of furniture are not being respectful, nor can they be trusted. It is just a matter of time before before you scramble to find an ER vet and money to pay for it. #NoERVisitsPlease

signs + fun + treats = RAT! and Safety!

We use the grooming stands and my ladder back chairs to guide them to use the chair seat as a step up to the crate. They have been trained to load and unload safely into these elevated crates. I have a padded chair for the first jump, then a rubber backed rug for the floor landing. Teaching dogs a verbal and hand sign is helpful for other loading or unloading situations. I use the same command for loading into a crate as I do for passing through an opened door. To a dog, they are both just a transition.

When we travel space is tight and I have to stack crates. In the car, my dogs travel in crates, so they need to know how to travel in elevated crates. I train my dogs to load and unload their crates correctly. The crates for the vehicle require their cooperation. I need them to stand still and let me pick them up. We have a technique that works for us, it is the same verbal and hand sign I use in the show ring. I pinch my right fingers together and cup my left hand, and they walk into that. And get a treat for doing so!
Signs:
So I have verbal and hand signs for a safe load into the car, on the furniture, up to the grooming table, into the show ring, on the bed, passing through a door, moving to a pen and even the crate. I use the same verbal and hand sign for all these, because they are all the same thing to a dog. They are all a transition from one place to another. So in their minds, I am asking them to transition from here to there by saying "Load-up".

The dog hears the verbal sign, looks at my hand for the hand sign and where my eyes are focused and knows exactly what to do and where to go. He has time to calculate his launch, passage or landing. Safer! The verbal and hand sign for loading into a crate is the same as going through a door. Going through a door or jumping into a crate is the same to a dog, they are going from one place to another, they are "transitioning". Dogs soooo want to earn your RAT, because that is the way they are wired. That is how you are wired too. The hand sign I use is the motion of my hand and the palm of my hand facing the direction I want them to go. High hand or low hand, depending on high or low they are going. For more information about verbal and hand signs check us out on FB at:   / italiangreyhound   or our website at DaintyAcres.com or on Youtube at:    / @italiangreyhounds  

Fun & Treats:
I give a treat when we are working on verbal and hand-signs. I keep it fun with different things to see and touch, and I make it rewarding by giving them what they want. My dogs all love bait. My Italian Greyhounds are not driven by bouncy balls or flying fishing rods. Mine are driven by food! So I can use anything that smells and is tasty. I like the HEB brand of Mini Burgers for dogs. But tasty dog food would work too. #WillWorkForFood



Well I hope you found this helpful! Join us again in the Dainty Acres Training Studio! Please do subscribe! ‪@ItalianGreyhounds‬