Pet Travel Expert

Today we wrote a blog post about some of the myths surrounding pet friendly airlines and the fatalities/losses reported by them.  One of our twitter followers, @maxandcats, noticed that most of the problems with flying pets comes from not acclimating pets to their crates.  Getting your pets used to their crate is by far the single most important thing you can do to help relieve the stress of your pets during their move.

As your pet sees it, the crate is a room of its very own - a security blanket or comfort zone.  The crate helps to satisfy the den instinct inherited from his den-dwelling ancestors and relatives. Your pet will feel secure, not frustrated, once accustomed to its crate.

However, you cannot just put your pet into the crate and hope they will adjust.  The below video walks you through the steps.

The dog's first association with the crate should be a pleasant one. We have found that the following steps work best when getting your dog acclimated to their crate:

• Before you begin with the crate training, it is best to place the crate in the room most used by the family or next to the pet's food. This will allow him to associate with this new piece of 'furniture' and its addition to their personal space.

• First, remove the door from the crate! Many times, the swinging door is what scares the pet the most. Encourage your pet to enter voluntarily by tossing a treat into the far end, praising them enthusiastically once they enter, then letting them come right back out.

• Over a brief period of time, install the door back onto the crate but secure it open so it does not swing freely. Once your pet enters the crate confidently, coax it to lie down and relax, using food, if necessary. Shut the door briefly, while you sit beside the crate or when there are people in the room.

• When you feel your dog will remain quietly in the crate, leave him alone for 15 - 30 minutes. If all goes well, you can leave him for longer intervals. While traveling, your pet will be in its crate for a long period of time, so it is best to practice longer and longer intervals.

Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age, temperament and past experiences.

It's important to keep two things in mind while crate training; one, the crate should always be associated with something pleasant; and two, training should take place in a series of small steps - don't go too fast.

If you have any tips on crate training your pet (especially for how to crate train pets other than dogs & cats!) feel free to leave them in the comments section below!