Positive Kennel Training Tips to Help a Dog Like the Kennel

In this Omaha dog training session, we shared some helpful, positive kennel training tips. These tips aim to help 1-year-old Basenji Benji. He is shown here on the right with his roommate, 5-year-old Shiba Inu Macy.

Benji is learning to overcome his fear of going into his kennel.

Creative Basenji Training Tricks

We started things off by going over exercise and kennel time. Basenjis are a very high-energy breed and can get into trouble if not properly exercised.

This is challenging since the guardians live in an apartment building so I shared some creative ways to exercise a dog inside.

Since he likes to explore, the guardians were keeping Benji in a kennel.

However, keeping him there for more than 4 hours can cause any dog to have high levels of cortisol in their blood. This is the stress hormone and it’s related to many dog behavior problems.

Training a Basenji puppy takes patience, consistency, and plenty of positive reinforcement. These dogs are known for being independent and stubborn. They do best with structured routines and reward-based methods.

Clicker training and treats they enjoy work well for them. Early socialization and puppy classes can also make a big difference in helping them grow into well-mannered companions.

Hopefully the guardians can incorporate some dog walking or dog day care to provide Benji with stimulation and an appropriate way to release excess puppy energy.

We also talked about the importance of rules, passive training, and petting with a purpose. These help change the leader-follower dynamic.

These are small actions that happen often. If the guardians use them, the dogs will see them as authority figures. Each time they pet the dog or set a boundary, it helps build this view.

Avoiding engaging or moving forward when a dog is excited will also help. This video shows how to teach your dog to stay calm while you leash it up. Best of all, you don’t have to be a professional Basenji trainer to do this.

It just takes patience and good timing.

Easy, Positive Kennel Training Tips

To help Benji get over his negative association with the kennel, we shot a positive crate training exercise.

It took a little bit longer for Benji to lay down than I’d like. It’s important to remember that during kennel training, you should wait for the dog to show they’re calm and relaxed before moving on.

The guardians might want to split it into two exercises. First, they can work on kennel training for a sit. Then, they can move on to kennel training for a down later.

I also showed the guardians a “leave it” exercise. This will help them tell Benji no when he wants to get into something he shouldn’t. We also discussed what to do for mouthing and nipping.

I believe the guardians should enroll Benji in dog day care a few days each week. They should also hire a dog walker for the days he stays at home. This way, he won’t be in a kennel for more than four hours at a time.

The guardians mentioned that they were interested in having our lead trainer come back to do an in-home training session. This would really help Benji with control and discipline and he can start loose leash training.

To help the guardians remember all the positive dog training tips we talked about in this in-home dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.