Crate Meal Loading:This week we will continue to practice running into crates, adding door closing behind them. If possible, try to remove the puppies from the weaning pen prior to loading the crates, If your crates are outside the weaning pen your puppies are already confined away from the crates.

Note: In some breeds squabbles may break out if puppies run together to the now closed crate doors, because they are so close to the food in the crates and very excited. Know your breed’s propensities! This is one reason keeping puppies a little bit away from the front of the food loaded crates can be helpful.If your crates are your weaning pen, use these initial steps.1.Remove puppies from the pen and load bowls into crates.2. Make note of which crates have SLOW FEED bowls, these will be loaded FIRST. 3.Open the crate door of the crate you want to load.4. Put a puppy in the pen and encourage the puppy to run into the chosen crate. (Always choose a puppy who is manding (sitting) over a puppy who is not but don’t get too hung up on this!)5. Close the crate door behind the puppy, locking the puppy inside with it’s bowl.6.Repeat with each puppy, until every puppy is locked inside a crate eating.7. As the first puppy is done eating, remove it from the crate and place it in your litter box or the outside toilet. Larger puppies can be encouraged to walk from the crate to the toilet.8. Repeat until all puppies have eaten, and been offered a potty break.Remember, you can feed the first few puppies in a slow feed bowl so the puppies all finish eating around the same time. In this case, all puppies will be let out and have a potty break at the same time.9.Remember that puppies are released from the crates as soon as they are done eating. If you keep some special treats nearby you can offer/feed a treat to any puppy that mands (Sits) at the door. Bonus: Food is really excellent for preventing unwanted behavior, if you keep treats nearby you can drop treats into the crates of the puppies to keep them busy while you release them. This can prevent fussing at crate doors from occurring and being reinforced by being released from the crate. Notes: The difference between this weeks crate feeding and last weeks is we now need to contend with crate doors. We are still preloading the crate with the meal, so the puppy runs into the crate and is immediately reinforced for that by finding it’s meal inside. We are now closing the door behind the puppy, a new experience, and one we want to be as neutral as possible.Be sure to observe for puppies who are ready to exit the crate, we are not ready to build duration yet, so we will be letting puppies out as soon as they turn around and move towards the door, dropping treats in if we know the puppy has to wait a second to be released.

Puppy Feeding Games: Meal Routine 2 (core)

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