Learning To Ask Politely, Crate Manners 101 (elective)If your puppies have been manding, for things they want or need, for a couple weeks. We can take advantage of this foundation by teaching our puppies they can likewise request release from the crate by manding (Sitting, standing, or even downing can be your chosen Manding behavior, all work fine for crates). I want to stress that “asking out” isn’t about installing some micromanagement over our puppies where we deny them access to things unless they “do the behavior”, that type of old fashioned top down way of dealing with dogs is especially detrimental for puppies. Instead of thinking about asking out as some type of rule you have to impose over your puppies think of it instead as one of those “puppies are always learning” moments. Because puppies are always learning, and consequences are happening constantly, the clever breeder can if they choose to take advantage of those moments to introduce the idea that there are certain behaviors they can use to request something from us, or express a desire to us. Our new owners will appreciate their puppy for being so clever, we will appreciate a little less mayhem in the puppy pen, and the puppies will appreciate having some clarity around how they gain access to things they need or want. It’s a win for everyone. Further, I know it seems counterintuitive, that we can let puppies out of the crates when they ask (especially if we were taught that we have to lock puppies up to get them to submit to confinement) to build up their confidence with being in the crate, but this hinges on the fact that choice is a primary reinforcement, as powerful as food, or rest, or play. Anytime we can give a dog the freedom to make choices they will repay us with better, calmer, behavior. So yes, if we let puppies out when they ask out their confidence being confined will grow.

To start our door manners work we are doing to use a food drop. The food drop will distract the puppy from being frantic at the door of the crate, the puppy gobbles up some yummy food, while we open the door. This is not a permanent solution, but this is absolutely another good skill to share with your new puppy owners, because it’s a “good enough” way to prevent frantic behavior while being let out.You might even find that a Food Drop allows you to open crate (and pen) doors without puppy nails scratching you, or puppies jumping up and grabbing your hair. Basically food drops are very useful when managing puppies. Now, as the week goes on, and the puppy starts to trust that they are not trapped and can get out when they want and that we can be trusted to let them out, they will start to relax at the door and anticipate their treat drop. We can then try waiting, just for a second, and see if the puppy mands. If the puppy mands, you will immediately open the door and let the puppy out.If your puppies have not learned to Mand, or if you just prefer a stand to a sit, substitute “Stand with front feet on the ground” for sit in any of these exercises. So, if your puppies DO mand but just can’t pull it together at the crate door yet, you can also accept “stand” at first, It never hurts to start easy when teaching something to puppies. Manding Supercharged: Lesson 11.Approach Crate with some small tasty treats.2.Drop a few treats inside the door area of the crate.3.While the puppy is eating, open the door, dropping another treat for the puppy as you do.4.If the puppy is slow to leave the crate, praise it and pop one more treat into it’s mouth before moving on.Manding Supercharged: Lesson 21.Approach the crate.2.Feed the puppy a single treat through the bars.3.Stand up and see if the puppy will sit (mand) or Stand.4.If the puppy does, feed it a treat through the bars.5.Open the crate door, feed puppy one more treat (if it stays inside the crate)6.Move on to the next puppy.Manding Supercharged: Lesson 31.Approach crate2.Puppy Mands or Stands3.Feed one treat through door.4.Open the door and feed another treat if the puppy waits inside the crate.5.Move on but return frequently to feed any puppy still in their crate despite an open door. If your puppies have not learned to Mand, or if you just prefer a stand to a sit, substitute “Stand with front feet on the ground” for sit in any of these exercises. Remember, this week we are letting the puppy out even if it does not mand. And we are not forcing the puppy to stay inside until it’s “quiet”. We are going to try to remove the puppy before it starts to vocalize but if a puppy does start to fuss or cry, we are going to LET THEM OUT.Of course, we are working hard to make the crate so awesome, that they won’t be frantic to get out, but at first they will want out and that’s natural.

Manding for Entry:In our crate loading order, we have been giving preference to puppies who are manding by the weaning pen door and loading up and feeding these puppies first, before the puppies who are jumping about.Up to this point we have had an open crate waiting for each puppy so we put them down and they just run into the crate via the open door, but now we will close all the crate doors prior to loading each puppy. This means that whatever happens right as we are giving access to the crate WILL be reinforced (by going in the crate and gaining access to their meal).So the new routine will be to select a puppy from outside the pen to put down in the pen. That puppy will run to the crate and find all the doors closed. If this puppy has already learned that Manding will get you to choose them for entry to the pen they should with very little experimentation try to mand and see if that works in this context too. It’s normal for most puppies to experiment with other behaviors that have worked in the past, you might see jumping or climbing on the crate, or jumping on you, it just depends on what the puppy has learned ”works” to get help in their short life, coupled with heritable traits for behavioral predispositions. Either way, give the puppy a few moments and see if they offer their Manding behavior (usually sit) if they do, open the crate and let them in. If the puppy doesn’t sit don’t try to fuss about it at that moment, with all the other puppies to deal with, and that puppy frustrated and confused, instead make a note of this puppy, load them up and move on to the next puppy. By the end of the first feeding you will have a general idea of who understands and who is confused. Any puppy that does mand is let into the crate that moment. If they don’t I would recommend giving a puppy to the count of 5, if they haven’t guessed right by then they are likely to just get more and more frustrated. This is not a teachable moment, it’s a data gathering moment for us.

Manding For Exit:For this first week of duration building we will be letting the puppies out the moment they want out. We want the puppy to be able to choose how long they stay inside the crate, and we want them to feel confident they can get out when they want. Trust comes before confidence.We are NOT going to get into a fight with our puppies about asking out. If the puppy goes to the crate door we will let them out, even if they are vocalizing. Because nit picking baby puppies just degrades trust, there is plenty of time to work with perfecting door manners later on.So for these early days, if a puppy goes for the door of their crate, open it and let them out. If you are a bit away from the pen and you miss that moment and the puppy vocalizes to get help it’s perfectly fine to let that puppy out. There is nothing to gain at this point in “making them quiet down” by refusing to release them, all that does is make sure the puppy really regrets going into the crate in the first place. Don’t feel bad if you miss a puppy asking out and they vocalize and have to wait a bit for you to get there, just tell the puppy you hear them, I use “just a second” and then make my way over as soon as I can. So just to highlight, it’s not the end of the world if a puppy fusses for a moment while you go let them out, let them know you hear them, go over, and let them out. It will be ok in the end! .

Remember: We are not going to get into a battle of wills at the crate door, bickering with baby puppies rarely has long term benefits. So if a puppy is fussy at the door, and won’t eat treats, and can’t think, just let it out. Set that project aside for another day and regroup. Evaluate the treats you are dropping, what else might you try? Are there so many puppies that each puppy is waiting too long? Brainstorm and it’s likely you can find the sweet spot. Free yourself of the idea that a puppy making a mistake, or being unable to comply in a moment, is worth fussing over and stressing ourselves and our puppy. All we will accomplish for sure is creating in our puppy feelings of dread and frustration around the crate.

If you notice that all the puppies seem unable to sit, or stand, calmly that means they need more practice in the Manding behavior you have chosen. If you are not using Puppy Culture and are unfamiliar with using a clicker to teach baby puppies reach out to your instructor, either Susanne or Rebecca for a tutorial. If you have access to Puppy Culture then review the section on Manding and plan a couple Manding sessions with your litter, both individually and as a group. If you notice that there are just a small number of puppies that seem to struggle, then devote a couple sessions to Manding around the crate to help them get the idea.

Week 4: Learning To Ask Politely an Intro to Puppy Crate Manners