26/05/2024
For those against crate training...
Meet Coco. He is a little pup that just spent a week running unfamiliar streets after he escaped while on vacation. He was absolutely terrified. He had to be trapped because he was in complete flight mode and trusted no one.
Upon getting him inside out of the rain and hail and giving him a bath to remove weeds and bugs, it was time to let him just decompress. The problem? He wouldn't settle down. It was pacing and looking for an escape, still in flight mode. He eventually cuddled up to me but when I had to leave the room, it was back to pacing, sniffing the door and scratching at it, despite my son still being in the room.
I had to leave and even tho my son would be with him, I didn't feel comfortable leaving him out and about so I set up a spare kennel in my son's room. I barely had it set up and the blanket in before Coco ran in and curled up. For the last 24 hrs, he has mostly laid in there, with the door open. He comes out when I come in the room and snuggles with me for a moment and then returns to the kennel, even if I'm still in the room.
My point is, this is quite obviously a safe space for him. It's not cruel or torture. When properly trained, applications like this are game changing.
A special thank you to Trisha Anderson, Tessie, Greg Holbrook, Karen, Chantel and everyone that helped capture and return this pup to his family! Your combined efforts are appreciated and made this possible!