Fur The Love of Fostering

dun dun duuuunnn….. nasty word time….”KENNEL”. Yup, we need to talk about it. No, don’t go clicking away! Sit! Stayyyyyyy!!!!!

Its that time. You have to leave the house and get Fido in his kennel. You won’t be gone long but you can’t have him out and about because he could destroy something (everything!), work himself into a real tizzy while being without you or lawd forbid, get into something that could really hurt him. No one wants to come home to the wafting smell of hot steamy poo on their pretty carpet, lower sides of their cupboard torn off, baseboards ripped out, curtains torn, blind shredded, table legs chewed to bits and heeeyyy where did Fido manage to find my now destroyed missing slipper? Having to put your pupper in the dreaded box of shame can be a hit to the emotions, the pride and patience.

He might shrink back unwilling to crest the entrance and you have to all but pull your lower back while trying to gently but firmly shove him in while trying not to cry, fighting the frustration and apologizing profusely that it is for his own good. Maybe you get a little flustered with him or yourself because this shouldn’t be so hard every time but he is in now so that is that and we will deal with it again next time because its not too often. Or, maybe he goes in the kennel tail tucked between his legs, belly low to the ground, ears plastered to the back of his skull and looking at you with those eyes wanting to know why are you punishing him? And my favorite, he sees you, your eyes meet, you see the twinkle in his and he knows its time for the box of shame. What does he do?…. RUN!!!! “Neener neener! Can’t catch me now hooman bahahaha! Nice try but you only have two legs you under developed hatchling! You will always be late for EVERYTHING! Tell your boss you didn’t like our job anyway!”

This may be a daily or a once in a blue moon battle for you depending on your lifestyle. Everyone wants to have the doggo that can be trusted to be out free range in their home without incident. You might be one of the lucky two legged hatchlings (Fido’s words, not mine) to have a pupper like this and if you are know that everyone who isn’t looks at you in full Grinch green envy. But what is it you do that I don’t? Was your dog just a natural? Do you have a secret pawshake? Sorcery? Some amazing counter spell from the Winchester brother’s? Give me the recipe! And if you could also say the incantation once into my recorder because I cannot for the life of me pronounce whatever language it is they always have to say them in, that would be great.

My experience in speaking with many owners, fostering and having my own dogs is that some dogs will kennel up with no problems because they just don’t have issue with the kennel, others were kennel trained although don’t necessarily enjoy being kenneled and then there are those that absolutely refuse to kennel. Sometimes there is so much more trauma and fear associated with being in a confined space or away from their people that this will take considerable time to rebuild that trust. So, Heidi, what do you do? WWHD. OK, maybe that’s taking it a bit too far. I don’t need to be responsible for the next cult following but if I am, do know that there will be snacks, beer and your dogs will be invited.

I have learned that there is one HUGE barrier to overcome for animals and humans when kenneling and that is the negativity of the entire event. “Kennel”. Even just the word kennel itself has a very negative connotation and association. We might as well call it the box of shame, a prison, the boo box, cube of doom, the box that must not be named…. We have to start with ourselves if we are going to expect our pup (and us!) to get through this successfully. We are the loving leader and we must lead by example which means getting in the proper head space. This requires core principals of consistency, humility, forgiveness, a pawsitive approach with kindness and a willingness to be wrong. Yes, its OK to be wrong in all things training related because not two dogs are the same, you will make mistakes and your dog may require a tweaked approach but the core principals will always be the same.

First, “Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself” – Hermione Granger. This statement is exactly our first step. No longer will it be the box that must not be named, it will radiate happiness and warmth when we are finished with it. We are going to give this box a nose, I mean name! I personally call our kennels “Casa” because there is no way I can say Casa without feeling joy. I say Casa and I immediately think of the Spanish language, which then leads me to thinking about food and by default tacos. Now before you get on me, basically all things I think of go through a herring trail in my brain to eventually come down to a food. You ever seen anyone be able to think of tacos and be angry? Me neither. Casa it is! Our doggos now sees that when we talk about it, its no longer causing us bad feelings and by default the word will not compound additional bad feelings for them. Fido sees we are in a positive head space.

Now that we have stripped the negativity in the name itself we can start to really tap into our creativity and ensure this bare bones foreclosure dwelling space has some real estate appeal. You can’t tell me that you never had a desire to decorate your bedroom with a poster, a sticker you wanted to hide on the boards under your bed where your mom wouldn’t see but she still did somehow, the custom bedding and your things in certain places and locations. Let’s make this Casa worthy of our best pal, their own special space of zen because it is in essence their own little bedroom. Maybe they might like a crate mat, a cover or le gasp!….even some enrichment!

Now, before you feeling like you need to go blowing a bunch of money, you probably have things around your house that will do just fine for now. It is trial and error at this point. Are they going to shred the mat, pull in and eat the cover and is that little squeak toy filled with stuffing really what you want in there? Start with a basic flannel blanket for the mat or some towels. Use an old flat bed sheet for the cover. What toys are best for a confinement space with your pupper according to their likes/dislikes and habits? Accidents happen and we want to avoid them at all costs.

OK we are all set up, the door is wide open and they are just going to walk right up, smell the area and walk right….away…….. Hmmmmm. If they go in without the need of any of the steps, awesome! But if they don’t what now? Time to resort to 1:1 training of building some trust. If your dog is highly treat motivated or has a most favorite toy, practice anytime he/she is near the Casa. I’ve learned the below to be highly successful for me:

1. Let them see what you have to give them while you are by the Casa
2. Say the action “Casa” ONE time
3. Offer the reward for the action by throwing the treat/toy all the way to the back or drop it through the slats at the back if its an open wire kennel but either way they have to see you doing it so they know where to go to get it. If that’s too far for their comfort start closer to the entrance and work your way further back. No two dogs are the same, tweaking is allowed and it is OK to be wrong.
4. Mark the action with a word of praise that you normally use when the dog goes in the kennel and gets the treat. Good, Nice, Yes, WooWoo, Holla!
5. Again! Do it again and again.

Practice Casa time throughout the day, every day. Only give those high value treats out at that time. Consistency is key. If your dog isn’t highly treat motivated, I promise you, you just haven’t found the value that they are seeking yet. ALL people and animals have a price. We already know mine is tacos. Boiled chicken, rare steak, duck feet, green beans, salmon, carrots, blueberries, pumpkin, the possibilities are endless. And it is reserved ONLY for Casa training.

FYI – NO punishments allowed, pawsitive vibes only. This is their Casa, their custom bedroom, their place after your fresh coat of paint to draw on their walls in the most inconvenient color possible that no magic eraser can ever hope to compete with. It is imperative this is a place of safety for them so support that.

Hopefully they will now go into their Casa when you say the action with hopeful eyes for that juicy treat instead of rubbing belly to the ground or running for the back door far far away from the Casa. If not, let me know, I would be happy to help! Its OK to be wrong and no two dogs are the same. But say they do go in now. You both have succeeded!!! WooWoo! Very well done! We are good now right? Nope. Just cause I got them to go in doesn’t mean they want to actually stay in there longer than it takes them to consume that treat. Now we need to increase duration of time they are willing to spend in their Casa.

Were you ever asked/told to go to your room with nothing to do or play with for an extended period? How long did ya last in that room? Oooo is that a paint chip on the wall? Maybe I should flick it off, whats behind the wall anyway, heeeyyyy maybe I should just look behind there myself! *looks around for something to help destroy the wall” True story BTW, there was only dust and more wood but don’t worry the hole did get patched and I never did it again. Sorry mom! My point is, if idle hands do the devils work then a bored dog is going to most likely destroy for a variety of reasons too. Keeping the brain engaged is a wonderful thing. A fan favorite in my house has always been Kong balls stuffed with wet dog food frozen overnight. Snuffle mats are also a lot of fun too but be careful if your doggo is a destroyer or eater of things they should’t.

Start out in small increments according to the dogs comfort and make sure you are home during this time. It is important to always be there when learning new things or expanding existing learning should anything ever lawd forbid go wrong. Put on some relaxing music. I like Instruments for Studying on Pandora. Remember, consistency is key. Let them see, Say the action, Offer the rewards and Mark the action. A filled frozen Kong depending on the dog can take sometimes fifteen minutes up to an hour for them to get all the way through. If you need to cut some calories, add some green beans to it providing their are no food restrictions/allergies to them. If you can do this at the same time every day they will learn to expect it, start to be ready in time and eventually become excited about it. But this thing called life happens and it isn’t always at 11 am every day. That’s OK. This is training, remember? It OK to be wrong.

Last but not least, tone is everything. I am learning more and more that I can’t always sound like Mary Poppins in all situations fresh off a cloud after a couple spoonful’s of sugar. Sometimes I sound more like Animal from the Muppets and there was that one time when I didn’t have a voice and squawked like a seagull. My point is, it is a good idea to learn to say commands in other tones, even in other voices because the situation may be someday that you need to hustle them in and you don’t want it to be a bad moment because they are used to only being sung into the Casa by Snow White.

I understand that kenneling is not for everyone, some are avidly apposed to it, some are believers in it, there are certain conditions in which this is not optimal or recommended and please know that I always first and foremost advocate for the success of the animal and their human in all things. I am not a professional trainer (yet!), qualified medical professional or in any capacity representing myself outside of direct experience as simply a gal who loves animals way to much adventuring in the foster world wanting to share all I have gleaned in hopes of helping others. Occasionally, there will be a dog that just cannot be in a confined space successfully but not for lack of effort, patience and commitment to trying. This is not a failure on the pupper or the human, it simply is what it is. Trust and trauma both take a lot of time to establish as well as heal and fur the love of fostering, this gal won’t ever give up on any of them just like I know you won’t.