![zen dog crate zen dog crate](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/9f/13/dd9f130634eaa3ffd2ff393b21e4a859.jpg)
The crate can be the lens in which the dog views the world from and we want a Zen lens and not a high stress, more anxiety and fear invoking view. Putting the fearful dog's crate in a more secluded, quiet space may be more ideal in that the dog feels like he has a space that he can breathe in, a den that provides calmness and where he can let his guard down. The crate is hardly the fearful dog's Zen Den in this placement scenario. The coming and going, the business of the house, the visual loudness of strangers entering, sudden environmental changes happening around them and even other animals having more access around their space all of this can be completely overwhelming as well as setting up the environment for the fearful dog to actually be more fearful. A dog that is scared may be completely overwhelmed by their crate being in the living room. Placement of the crate might not even be on your radar, but deciding where the crate should go is an important part of the crate training process. You are being kind in giving your dog a Sanctuary, a place to relax, a space they are not only physically safe but behaviorally safe, developing a life skill that can be used later in varying situations and help to regulate their impulses. We have to as the first step to creating a Zen Den, let go of our own mental angst that we are doing something unkind by giving them a much needed safe space. We are doing our dogs a disservice by assigning human emotion onto their training needs. Thirdly, loving a dog by giving them a free for all of your house and/or to practice unwanted behavior and then getting mad at them, punishing them or using aversive training because they tore up the couch or scratched the living room window sill because they practiced reactivity all day while you were gone is more cruel and counter-productive then using the crate as a way to manage the environment for the dog to be physically safe and behaviorally healthy.
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We will discuss this in greater detail later. Positive crate training by definition is the opposite of a negative experience. Secondly, all of these feelings you are putting on your dog are all under the assumption that a dog's crate is negative. Creating a Zen Den is not about how you feel, but about putting your dog's needs ahead of your own judgments. All of these reasons and projections are about the way you feel, rather than meeting your dog's needs.