Presentation Details
Development and Validation of an Efficacious, Modifiable, Reinforcement-based Protocol to Crate Train Dogs 

Kaitlyn R.Berry1, Mindy R.Waite1, 2, Piper W.Artley1, Grace E.Groskreutz1.

1Carroll University, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA.2Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Abstract


Crate training is a procedure to teach an animal to enter and remain in a crate without luring or prompting and without undesired behaviors. Crate training prepares animals for future crating needs, such as veterinary visits, grooming, and travel. However, no validated protocols for crate training exist. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test a reinforcement-based protocol to teach dogs to crate up. The protocol was deemed successful if the dog consistently entered the crate contingent on a discriminative stimulus and sat or lied down with the crate door shut for 30 seconds. The base protocol used a 24-step changing-criterion design beginning with a pattern of treats as both lure and reinforcer. Early steps involved tossing a treat away from the crate (negative and positive reinforcement) and then into the crate (positive reinforcement). Later, prompt fading transferred stimulus control from the lure to vocal and visual discriminative stimuli. All dogs successfully performed the final target behavior, and two dogs required protocol adjustments, consistent with previous studies showing that some dogs require additional, smaller training steps.

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