YOYO Crate Trained and Loves His Crate

I must say, I thought it was impossible to crate train YOYO. He was resistant to go into his crate at the beginning even when trying to lure him in with a treat. Eventually though, tapping on the bottom of the crate got him curious as to what's in this thing. He went in, but a few seconds later he wanted out. Even with us by his side with the doors closed, he would whimper and look for a way out (trying to dig himself out, biting on the metal frame, etc). When we would walk away the first couple days leaving him in the crate, he would make an unbelievably amount of noise. We realized that if he gets what he wants after whimpering and crying, we're the losers. It didn't take that much time for him to realize that we needed him in the crate when we had to leave. Just the other day, we left him in his crate and after 20 minutes he was quiet. My tip to new dog owners is, don't worry too much about your puppy whimpering too much at the beginning. They know they can get away with it if you let them have it every time. It's tough when they are a puppy too, because we instinctively don't want to say no to a baby. But we gotta.

Here are my rough list of crate training tips that I'll give:

• Puppies are always curious. Put a treat or tap to make some noise in the crate to get them sniffing and moving towards the crate.
• When they are in the crate, don't close the door right away, let him/her walk out on their own so they don't feel like they are being locked up. 
• Never make your puppy feel like their crate is a disciplinary area. Make it feel like it's their home. Reward them when they go in so they have something positive to look forward to in their crate. Positive reinforcement works.
• We used towels to block light from shining in on all sides except the doorway. Dogs like enclosed areas or areas where they can crawl into. Too much light makes it hard for your dog to sleep, just like us humans. 
• Give your puppy a treat for staying the crate. Try and toss treats behind them so they turn around to give you some time to walk away. When he / she realizes you are not there, they might whimper. Try to come back before that happens. Gradually increase the amount of time they are alone so they get comfortable.

YOYO was successfully crate trained in 7-8 days. Now, he loves his crate. He voluntarily goes into his crate and brings his toys in and play with them. We're happy parents :)