::A Geek in Korea::

With fall soon to arrive, and a pet subjected to cooler temperatures on the veranda by the day, we were forced to think up solutions to a problem before we had a frozen pup come winter. A trip to local pet stores provided no help. We wanted a large cage of some kind with no top, with a way to clean the bottom easily. Since we have a larger apartment than before, we could try to get a slightly larger cage than any of the pet stores had. We also needed something that could be folded up later, and that was portable and light enough to be moved around if needed. Again, we had comfort in mind, as Yoshi would need to stay inside whatever we bought while we were away from work, and any nights that were too cold for him to be outside.
My wife searched the Internet for a cage that meet our needs. Eventually we found one with what we wanted cheaper than any stores in the area even with delivery. Bless the Internet-tubes! The cage arrived while we were at work yesterday, so the security guards took it for us. The large block print lettering that say "DOG CAGE" in might have been a clue that we were planning on keeping our dog for a while, but the guard was too busy about to make his "rounds" to say anything to me when I picked it up.

I set the cage up myself, and the final test was putting the dog inside. Yoshi has a fear of grates and mesh of any kind. He absolutely will not walk on it and avoids anything of the kind when we go outside for walks. The bottom of the cage is similar to what was in the pet store he was born in. If dogs have neurosis, this would be Yoshi’s little quirk. He will not walk on the grate if possible.

I tried a series of experiments. I opened the cage door, placed his food inside, then waited for him to jump inside the cage. He’ll do nearly anything to eat, but he simply stared at the cage. He walked around, stretching out his neck from the door trying to get some of his food from the bowl without having to enter the cage. No luck. He circled the cage looking for a way to get closer without going into it. No luck. Eventually I wanted to see if he would use the door to leave the cage, then we could work on going inside later.  I placed Yoshi in the cage with his pillow and put the food right outside. All he had to do was leap out. Nothing. He was so timid he wouldn’t move off the pillow. Even me tempting him with snacks and affirmative commands did nothing.

The only way for him to get out the door was to take his front paws and get him over the threshold. Then he would hop out with his back legs. If you left the door open the entire time he was in the cage, he would be unlikely to do this himself. He spent the night in the cage last night just as a "test", He started whining, so we pulled the cage over by our bed room door and left it open for him to see us. He was quiet and slept the night silently.

He was a little better today. He got in and out of his cage on a few occasions, but he’s very leery of it. Post-traumatic pet store memories of some kind.