I guess crate-trained means the dog is trained to get out of the crate

Last Updated on April 8, 2022 by Dave Farquhar

We should have named the dog Houdini.

The first night with the dog was difficult, because she wanted to play all night. Since they told her she was crate trained, my wife went out and got a crate the next morning.

When we put her in, it took her 35 minutes flat to get out.The pet store recommended twist-ties to keep the crate shut. Well, she chewed through those. But we anticipated that. We figured if we put 20 or so on there, she wouldn’t be able to locate all 20 in the dark and chew them off in 8 hours.

We were right, but I switched to using binder clips just to be on the safe side. This dog is smarter than some people I’ve worked with in the past.

One time when I was putting her in the crate, she showed me how she was undoing the latch. She knew that the latch had to go out, then to the right, and she knew how to hit it to make that happen. Two points for figuring that out, minus one point for showing me what she knew. That latch got the big, heavy duty binder clip.

Oh well. She’s still smart enough for middle management. We’ll have to see how many more of her secrets she shows me before I make the call on whether she’s CIO material though.

Well, and we’ll have to see if she’s good enough at golf.

Update: For what it’s worth the binder clips worked, and Houdini turned out to be the best dog ever. She lived with us 16 years, but never became a CIO.

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One thought on “I guess crate-trained means the dog is trained to get out of the crate

  • September 5, 2006 at 1:18 pm
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    David, I am encouraged that this canine has not outsmarted you. You must cherish these small victories. You may yet break free from your Scottish caste.

    Aristocrats, on the other hand, have servants to clean, maintain, and butcher their estates’ animals. These resources also prove useful when R. Collins visits, as the cleanup duties are similar.

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