Using small bits of liver to make the crate pay

Liver treats for crate training work as small bits tossed to the back of the crate, so walking in is what pays, with the door left open in early sessions. Once your dog goes in easily, pay while it stays in, and count every crate bit against the day's treat budget.

How do you use liver to get a dog into the crate?

Start with the door open and the dog outside. Toss one small bit of liver to the back of the crate. Your dog walks in, eats it, and walks out again. That is the whole exercise, and it is supposed to feel boring to you. Toss another bit and let the dog go in and out a few more times.

What you are doing is attaching a payment to a doorway. The crate has to be where the good stuff lands, and the dog gets there by its own feet. Do not lead the dog in by the collar and do not push. A dog that is hauled in has not chosen to walk in, and choosing is the part you are paying for.

If the dog hesitates at the opening, toss the bit closer to the front for a turn or two. Then move it back a little at a time. Short, easy rounds beat a long one that ends with a dog who has had enough.

When do you pay a dog that stays in the crate?

Once going in is easy, change what earns the bit. Instead of paying only when the dog enters, pay while the dog is in. Pass a bit in through the bars or the door gap while your dog is still inside. The payment arrives in the crate, not out in the hall after the dog has left it.

That timing matters. If the liver shows up when the dog comes out, you are paying for coming out. Paying while the dog is in makes staying in the thing that earns.

Closing the door comes later, and only briefly. Swing it shut, pay through it, and open it again before the dog has any reason to object. Build from there, step by step, and keep each round something the dog can win.

How small should the liver bits be for crate work?

One mouthful each. A big piece can mean a dog that turns around and carries it out to finish elsewhere. Our pieces are medium sized and break apart by hand, so split them until each bit is a single quick bite for your dog.

Break a handful before the session starts, not while the dog is waiting at the crate door. Small bits also let you pay often without one session using up the day's liver.

How much liver can crate training use in a day?

Everything you toss comes out of the day's treat budget. It does not live in a separate pile. Per VCA Animal Hospitals, treats and snacks should stay at no more than 10 percent of what a dog eats in calories each day. A run of crate work adds up fast when each bit is a reward, so plan for it.

The calculator in our how much liver for dogs guide gives you the day's liver as a weight, starting from your dog's calories. Weigh that out first and work from it. If the crate session uses a good share, the walk and the other training for the day get less. The same liver is also what high-value training treats are for: save it for the asks where your dog needs the extra push, and the crate often is one.

Should you leave liver in the crate when you walk away?

No. Liver goes in when you are standing there, and anything the dog has not eaten comes back out with you. The bag says: "Always supervise while feeding and provide fresh drinking water."

Feeding is something you do while watching, not something you leave behind.

When the session ends, pick up any stray bits and put the bag away sealed. The label asks you to reseal after opening and store the bag in a cool, dry place, and since the liver is shelf stable it does not need the fridge. Our freeze-dried beef liver is one ingredient, so the crate bits are liver and nothing else.