Hey all,
I am a foster parent currently of Bubba and I wanted to give you all some news about my wonderful little foster boy. When Bubba came to us about two weeks ago he was very shy, wouldn't eat, would barely sit down, and most of all would not go near the crate. He apparently had never seen a crate. So we decided to put the crate training aside at the beginning and get some of the other issues taken care of first. Did I mention he was surrendered with his brother and they had been together since they were three months and five months. They were inseparable and loved each other dearly. So I did what any good foster mommy would do and I plead to Mary and Kim to try and adopt them out together. Even though I knew there would be no-one that would probably adopt two at once I still tried to keep them together. After all my calling I realized that Mary and Kim were right and I took Bubba's brother to another foster home and after some adjustment things turned out just fine. Anyway we got over all Bubba's quirks and then came the crate training. I started out with the football hold, where I basically looked like a defensive lineman and he came running at me and I took him out into the crate, by the way that only worked about two times. Then I tried leaving a trail of food for him and he wasn't buying that one. I also tried backing him up into the crate that worked once and then he got wise to it and ran around me. Although everytime I got him in the crate using any and all these techniques I gave him tons of praise and a couple of treats. After doing all these tricks and him still hating the crate I realized something that he hated the treats I was giving him. So I quickly ran out and bought some new treats, started showing him the treats and saying crate. After some walking to several areas of the house he eventually goes into the crate and lays down. He then gets two treats and lots of praise but everyday is getting better for my little foster boy. He is so sweet and such a special dog. I just wanted to share how much fun we are having with out foster baby. Thanks for reading my trials and tribulations with Bubba and if you have any advice for me on the crate training I would be more then glad to hear it.
Sincerely,
Jen B.