Crate Training Puppies

Crate Training Puppies

Crate training puppies will give your new little dog a skill that he will benefit from time and time again. When your dog can stay in a crate without worry, when it comes to events such as visits to and overnight stays at the vets, during travelling or illness, or following accidents, or perhaps when frail visitors may be coming over, life for everybody will be much more relaxed.

When your puppy is crate trained, he or she will be able to seek refuge in their crate and see it as a place of comfort and security as opposed to a place of confinement or punishment. Not only that, but during the early phases of your dogs life when he or she may have an insatiable desire to chew everything that doesn’t move out of the way, it will save much anger, upset and heartbreak of destroyed possessions.

Of course, training your dog not to chew is also within your capabilities, but that’s on another page, Stop Chewing Dogs.

When you dog has had enough training that he or she is reliable in the house and toilets appropriately and doesn’t chew things apart from her own toys, the crate will usually only be used for specific occasions, such as those listed above.

Having said that, separation anxiety is one situation that may call for the regular use of the crate. Having your dog or puppy crate trained so that they do find comfort in the crate can help them rest more easily when you’re not there.

Crate training puppies works very well when done at night when a lot of the time is spent asleep. The crate is put in your bedroom and the puppy will sleep in the crate. If you intend to allow your dog to sleep on the bed, and that’s entirely your choice; (I’m afraid all 3 of our dogs sleep on the bed!) it’s probably best to wait until the adult nature of the dog emerges before you make that decision. If it turns out that the temperament just isn’t suitable; there may be dominance issues for example and a dominant dog should not be sleeping in the pack leaders bed, it is much easier to get an adult dog not raised to sleep with his head on a pillow back onto the floor than it is with a dog who’s spent every night since puppyhood curled up in his owners arms.

Getting your puppy to sleep in the crate when you are in the same room and he can hear you breathing, smell you and see you when he wakes is much easier than if he wakes up alone and doesn’t know where anyone is. Don’t forget, that he is part of the pack, and with the pack is where he will feel safest.

Also, with everyone else getting ready for bedtime and lights out, the routine for the dog also gets firmly established without much bother.

Crate training puppies will be easier if you keep to a regular schedule of food, water and toilet trips outside. If, or should I say when the puppy needs a toilet break, it should be a low-key affair, with the lights on dimly, low voices and definitely no playtime.

There will be times when your puppy makes a noise in the crate. Hopefully, you may have learnt to recognise the noise that means he needs the toilet, and that one needs paying attention to. If you’re able to ignore other noises, problems usually pass quickly, and he will understand that he gets no reward for making a noise and will give up on the project.

It’s a truth, I’m afraid that there will be some sleepless nights, or much broken sleep at the very least, but please persevere through these few days. It will make the crate training complete in a far quicker time and will help to prevent problems in the future.

Crate Training Puppies - What Not To Do

The worst thing to do when your puppy starts making a fuss in the crate is to wait and wait and wait, hoping he will stop and then when he doesn’t to go to him anyway. You have just taught your puppy that it take 20 minutes of yelling to make you come to him. Not a good way of making progress! Making all that commotion, for so long, is also very stressful for the dog and can cause the dog to then view the crate as an unpleasant place to be, which in turn has implications for dog crating situations in the future.

Make sure that you know he has eaten and drank and toileted when he should, that his crate is safe and will cannot injure himself, and perhaps if there is just a gentle glow from a street light so that if he makes a fuss, you can see with one eye half open that he is not in physical danger, then ignore him for as long as it takes. I found this really hard. My puppy cried for seemed like most of the night. In fact it was an hour, but I persevered. The next night, it was half that time. Within a week, it was nothing more than a murmur.

You want your puppy to learn that nothing bad will happen to him as a result of being alone in the crate. You want him to know that he can make a noise if something isn’t right or he needs a toilet break, but that you won’t come running to a loud racket, even if it goes on for hours.

When your puppy has become quiet, then is the time to check on him if you have any doubt.

Crate Training Puppies - Potty Breaks

If your puppy is not ready to go through the night without a toilet stop, try to arrange it so that you wake the puppy and take him out, and not that he wakes you. Also bear in mind that if your puppy hears other people get up in the night, his body will awaken and need to toilet. Someone will need to take the puppy out.

Crate Training Puppies - Don’t Trick Him

When you put your puppy in his crate, give him a treat by all means. This quickly lets him know that going into the crate is a good thing, but don’t be sneaky about shutting the door behind him. Simply close the door behind him. Another no-no is to wait until the puppy is asleep and then lay him carefully in the crate. He will wake up not where he was and feel trapped. He will begin to distrust you and the crate. As pack leader, you must be trustworthy.

Make sure that you don’t abuse the crate and use it as a substitute for personal supervision. Puppies are living, breathing, playful and intelligent animals that need company, exercise and mental stimulation. Too much crate time will not provide those vital components that help create a happy, stable dog. Your puppy will sleep for over 12 hours out of every 24, that should provide ample time for crate training your puppy, without the pressure of having every minute of crate time awake.

The crate needs to be a pleasant place for your puppy to be and spend time. Give him a few safe dog toys, something to sleep on and a treat. This will help make the place his little sanctuary and will in turn make for a better doggy environment for all concerned.

As a responsible dog owner, you may like to have a look at a whole A-Z range of expert dog training information together with extras about dog behaviour and health issues, please feel free to have a look at Secrets To Dog Training. You can get a free report exposing some of the current dog training myths from here. You can also get a free 6 day mini course on dog training from here.

Enjoy and good luck with your canine companion!