Crate Training, Part 3

My dogs have now sat quietly in their crates, eating their food while I, a) go to the kitchen to make my own food, b) leave the house to pick up a package at the door, c) lounge on the couch to watch TV. They will also remain quietly in their crates without food or project toys while I a) disappear periodically into other rooms, returning every 60-90 seconds to treat them, b) lounge on the couch, getting up every 90-120 seconds to treat them, and c) mess with the treats on the coffee table without getting up to give them to the dogs.

Today, I let Caspian out of the crate first, then let Kaia out about 30 seconds later. She had no problem with that. Caspian is likely to get upset when I reverse that process, but I'll find out how upset when I try it tomorrow. I'd also like to start separating them - I'm thinking in a few days, I might feed Caspian in his crate, and feed Kaia outside on the porch. Kaia won't care, so long as she has food, and that way I can stay inside with Caspian initially. I'm reluctant to call it separation anxiety, because I really think he's more frustrated than anxious, but he really has an issue with being left completely by himself. It doesn't usually cause trouble, because he's totally fine if he has anyone for company. So I can leave both dogs at home with no problem, because he's not completely alone.

Still, I'd eventually like to be able to have Caspian in the crate in one room while I work with Kaia in another room. Or, when we move, I might need to put him in his crate in a hotel room while I go get Kaia from the car. (Assuming we're doing that well by the time we move.) And it was a pain last month when Kaia hurt her hip - I had to put Caspian's harness on, get both dogs into the car, and then leave Cas in the car when Kaia and I went in to see the vet. He's okay being left in the car - he whines a little at first, but settles down much quicker than he does at home, and he doesn't get destructive. In all fairness to him, he's only been destructive a few times in his life..but they've coincided with the few times he's been left in the house by himself. So, crate training should both limit Caspian's ability to be destructive if he does get upset, and should keep him from getting so upset. I hope.

I really am pleased with how it's going. I'm even more pleased with how consistent I've been - usually with training like this, the problems begin when I get lazy and stop working as diligently as I should. I think it's because I'm so excited about moving back to California, and this particular behavior is one I'd like to have down by the time I move. I think I'll stop by the bookstore on my way back to work and reward myself with the next book in the series I started in Portland.