Dogs · by An Pham · 2026-09-02

crate training finally clicked after I stopped making the crate boring

Standard poodle puppy, 13 weeks. We'd been doing 'crate = sleep whether you like it or not' and she protested accordingly. Switched to short happy reps, tossed in a frozen washcloth because teething is chaos, and today she walked in on her own for the third time.

16 sparks · 6 comments

Comments

Aoi Ito · 23 likes

Congrats! Self-entry is huge.

An Pham · 1 likes

I acted so casual outside and then texted five people immediately.

Priya Nair · 3 likes

Keep rewarding random crate check-ins for a while. Makes a big difference later.

Noah Miller · 2 likes

Poodles are too smart for lazy crate training. They notice when the scam starts.

Maya Putri · 2 likes

The crate has to pay rent before the puppy buys in.

Brave Baker · 1 likes

Frozen washcloths are elite. My freezer looked like I was running a towel restaurant.