English Bulldog & Timeout

Question
My bulldog is 4 years old and for the last year he's been acting strange at times.  He basically puts himself in timeout.  He goes into his crate and barks at you until you shut the cage door.  Then he seems happy to chew on a toy that might be in his bed or he takes a nap.  If I ignore his barking he will get right in front of me and bark.  On occasion he has lunged at me.  Again, once he's locked up he quiets down.  Have you ever experienced a dog with such behavior?

Answer
This is extremely odd behavior and smacks of superstitious behavior (meaning, a behavior created by an event -- perhaps small -- that has begun to grow into a ritual.)  You certainly do NOT want to encourage this by rewarding it.  I have these suggestions.

First, watch the clock closely.  Try to determine what hour of the day (approximately) the dog demonstrates this behavior and do some detective work.  Is it in the evening, are there noises outdoors, sun going down, lights going on, sounds outside like traffic, etc.?  Keep a casual journal and try to determine what might have set this chain of behavior in motion or what triggers it, so that you can then begin to associate totally different behaviors (asking the dog to 'work' in positive reinforcement training) when the stimuli (whatever they are or it is) is imminent.  Be CERTAIN that before you institute any positive reinforcement training you are well in advance of the stimulus and not in the middle of the dog's response to it.

Second, until you have gotten some sort of handle on the cause, whenever your dog enters his crate and begins exhibiting this behavior, LEAVE THE ROOM.  Put a closed door between you and him for a minute or two, then go back in and resume whatever activity you were engaged in.  Wait to see if the dog repeats his performance (don't wait until he gets to the bossy stage and stands in front of you).  If he does, LEAVE THE ROOM again, and repeat this until the dog literally GIVES UP and either stays in his crate with the door open or finds another activity.  At the point where he has given up (clearly given up), put him in his crate with no reward (no toys or cookies) for about 20 minutes, then release him with no comment, no eye contact, etc.

Third, once you have one solid trained behavior (like "sit" but use another word, one you make up), make him EARN going into the crate and reduce the time he's in there by five minutes a session, from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5.

What should happen is that, whatever component of this superstitious behavior has been trained (inadvertently by rewarding with your attention and giving the dog what he thinks he wants) will be totally extinguished, and your dog should absolutely 100% stop demonstrating bossy behavior toward you.  Also, by keeping track and doing detective work, you might very well come up with a sure fire reason for his having developed this problem, at which time you must RE POST so we can evaluate cause and go forward with behavior modification to correct it.

I also suggest you bring this behavior to the attention of your dog's veterinarian ASAP, as it could be a sign of physiological problems or illness.