Success!

As I've mentioned before, crate training Forest has basically been hell. That puppy could make the most dreadful noises when we put him in his crate, whimpering and moaning and barking, like we were burying him alive or beating him with a hammer. Lord knows what the neighbors thought we were doing. It was all very sad, but also extremely annoying.

Before we got Forest, Nick and I read books and articles about raising a puppy (none of which mentioned how vile puppy poop could smell, all you new or soon-to-be puppy owners out there beware). They all said you could train your dog to go into his cage when you said a specific command, so we choose the obvious phrase "Crate". Since the very first day we brought Forest home, we've repeated the word "Crate" every single time we've put him in his cage (which may seem really simple but can be tricky to remember when you're shoving a crying, shaking puppy thru a cage door while praying that he doesn't pee on you).

It was months before Forest would venture into the crate by himself, and then usually it was only for a few seconds so he could snag the treats we kept leaving in there for him. But he slowly started to realize that :

a) the crate was not a backdoor to hell that would eat him alive

b) he was going in the crate whether he liked it or not, and wasn't coming out until he was good and quiet

c) most importantly, we would always give him a treat every time

Eventually he stopped whining when we put him in his cage. A little while after that, he started walking towards the crate when we said the command and only needed a little push to cover the last few steps. And finally, he officially gave up and started walking completely into his cage when we said the word "Crate".

Now if you watched Forest you would never know he ever had a crate phobia. We don't even have to say the word "Crate" any more. If I'm standing next to the cage and take out a treat, Forest quickly scampers into the crate and lies down. I'm convinced that we never would have won this battle if we didn't bribe him with sugary treats every time, but at this point I really don't care. I'll try to keep this in mind next time I see some parents buying their kids fast food.

Success!