Training

Training your dog to be comfortable in their carrier is very important to travel in the cabin, the hold or cargo. When they are comfortable and in their "safe" place, they will have less stress. 

I read a Cesar Millan book that had a small section on crate training and from their looked on the internet to read about what others were doing. What I learned was to start slow. Never force the dog. That only stresses him out. I put treats in the back of the carrier and when Diego went in to get the treat I praised him. This happened for about 2 or 3 nights until he sat for a bit. I didn’t zip up the entry right away. I allowed him to enter and exit the carrier as he wished for about a week. I put one of my t-shirts on the bottom and every so often, one of his toys in there as if to say, “see, Mr. Giraffe likes to be in there!”

*You may hear a lot about Mr. Giraffe. It’s Diego’s favorite toy. One time while driving on highway 59 from Sugar Land to Houston, I thought I had left Mr. Giraffe at my mother’s house. I actually pulled the car into the parking lot of a doctor’s office and called my mom. She couldn’t find it so I looked in the car. Have you ever seen Best In Show? I’ve always loved that movie and recently watched it again. I love the “busy bee” part when Parker Posey is frantically trying to find the dog toy, then goes to the pet shop. No, I didn’t go THAT crazy! Long story short, I found it in a bag… close call!

Back to training… Eventually, Diego began staying for longer periods of time and I would close his carrier for a few minutes at a time, eventually building up to 8-9 hours through the night.

About 2 weeks before his first flight, I put Diego into his carrier in the middle of the day, two or three times a day. I would sit on the sofa and place him at my feet, just like a flight and would use the “white noise” app on my iPhone to simulate the sound of being in an airplane. I wanted to see how he would react and if the white noise was calming. I placed the iPhone on top of the carrier and read a magazine or book, not paying attention to Diego. He was usually quite calm during this time. I haven’t done this in a few months, but am thinking about doing it again before our trip in June.

Now all I have to say is, “let’s go on a trip!” and he runs right into it. Diego is not in the original carrier in which he was trained (that’s a story coming up in another post where the emergency bag came in handy). However, I do not think it matters. As long as they have the same feeling, any carrier will do. Does anyone have other experiences with crate training? Please let me know! I would love to hear your thoughts and stories!