Fine Dining Crate: Being apart is awesome! (Elective)Remember, the purpose of our Fine Dining crate is to teach our puppies that being separated from their litter is not only normal, but safe and wonderful! If your puppies tend to have pronounced transition day distress this protocol will be helpful, making their drive home and first day easier.Here is how Fine Dining works.BEFORE I remove them puppies from the weaning pen in preparation for feeding I prepare a “special” meal and remove a single puppy for Fine Dining. The order is important for this classical conditioning protocol. I often let the Fine Dining Puppy help me prepare the meal, not only does this creating excitement about being separated from the litter, it also saves me some time, because I find it works best to grab my Fine Dining Puppy first, prepare the meal for the entire litter, make the Fine Dining meal “special”, feed the Fine Dining puppy and then feed the litter. I always put a really high value chew in with the Fine Dining Puppy, just in case it gets done early it will have something to do. I also give special samples of the meal treat to the Fine Dining puppy. Making this time away from the litter special is what this protocol is about.1.Place your Fine Dining crate in the preferred location (starting near to the weaning pen and moving it around after each puppy has had a chance to eat in that location).2.Prepare and put in the Fine Dining crate a special meal with the puppy’s regular diet, enhanced with something really yummy, and served in an easy slow feed bowl, and/or with a lick mat, easy enough for the the puppy but time consuming as well. Place a nice chew in the crate also, like a bully stick or raw meaty bone.3.Encourage the puppy to run into the crate and close the door. Alternatively you can pick the puppy up and place it into an elevated crate (this is the beginning of car loading practice). *Here is when you would feed the rest of the litter*4.As soon as the Fine Dining puppy is finished eating, or done chewing on the provided chew, take the puppy back to the litter for a toilet break.This meal is BETTER than the regular meal. I keep canned food, yogurt, ground meat, and other tasty somewhat novel things to mix in meals for use in the Fine Dining Crate. You can also drop treats into the Fine Dining crate AS the puppy is eating. Be sure to let the Fine Dining puppy out as soon as it’s done eating.

Separation is Great: Fine Dining (elective)

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