How To Crate Train A Puppy
Posted on October 19th, 2010 Written by +Brian Benson Email Author
Crate training is an essential and effective part of house training a new puppy or dog. Dogs are generally den animals that need a safe, comfortable and confined place from where they can rest, sleep, and relax. A crate is also an important tool during house training puppies as it limits access to the entire house, which is very important especially if puppies have not yet learned how to follow house rules and basic dog commands. Aside from providing your pets a safe haven or sanctuary, crate training puppies offers a lot more advantages. It is important that you know how to crate train a puppy as this can be beneficial both to you and your pets. Crate training also has long term benefits that you and your puppies can continuously experience even when they’ve grown older.
Benefits of Crate Training a Puppy
The benefits of crate training are numerous. Crates can serve as babysitters that keep your pets when you’re too busy to supervise them. With crates, there is no need to isolate your pets as you can have them nearby in the same room with you. Crates are also beneficial anytime you need to leave your pets for short periods of time.
A crate is also an important puppy housetraining tool. While they are still young and haven’t learned rules and proper behaviors inside the house, you can always keep them inside their crates until they’ve learned everything, have become familiar with your house, and have a basic understanding on which areas are off limits and which are not.
A crate is also a very useful and effective tool to potty train puppies. Puppies will never want to eliminate or soil their sleeping areas and will learn to hold it until they’re outside of their crates. Also, by setting a feeding and elimination schedule, puppies will learn how to wait for the right time. Crates can be effective and helpful reinforcement tools in this type of training.
A crate can be used to teach puppies proper behaviors or train them out of their behavior problems. For instance, if puppies have developed the habit of chewing on your furniture, slippers, and other objects, you can always put them in their crates and give them some chew toys. This way, puppies will learn to control their need and urge to chew on things until they are in their crates or until they’re given chew toys.
A crate is perfect for travel. At some point in the future, you are to travel with your dogs, either to go to their vets or just to travel to places with them. A crate is the best place from where they can stay and relax during the whole trip. Because they’ve become familiar with their crates, they’ll always feel at home even when they’re in some other places.
Crate Training Your Puppies
When crate training puppies, there two important things that you always have to keep in mind. One is that the crate should always be as comfortable as possible and should always be associated with something that is pleasant and enjoyable. Second is that crate training should be done slowly and in a series of steps.
Since every single step on how to crate train a puppy can be very crucial, it is important that you know how to properly do it and incorporate some helpful tips and techniques the best way you can. Discussed below are the different steps on how to crate train a puppy.
Selecting a Crate
The steps on how to crate train a puppy start from selecting the right crate. There are two major factors to consider: the size and the material used. Make sure that the crate is big enough that the puppy is able to sleep, stand up, turn around in, and move comfortably, but small enough that they can’t eat and eliminate inside. Remember that crates are supposed to be their sleeping and relaxing area and if it’s time to eat and eliminate, they need to learn to go out and do it in proper areas.
When it comes to materials, there are many different types of crates. There are those that are made of plastics and there are also metal pens. There are also collapsible crates for easy storage when not in use and large crates with dividers. The latter is more recommended to those who are crate training puppies because the size can be easily adjusted as puppies grow older and bigger.
Introducing puppies to the crate
This is one of the most crucial steps on how to crate train a puppy. Your puppy is more likely to resist and even ignore your newly-purchased crate. To encourage the puppy to go inside, put some small bits and pieces of food or dog treats inside. Bring him near the crate and talk to him in a calm tone. Remember not to force the puppy to enter the crate if he refuses to. You should also make the crate as comfortable as possible. You can probably put a towel or a soft blanket inside. This second step on how to crate train a puppy may take several minutes or even days before the puppy can confidently go inside and learn to sleep and relax.
Conditioning the puppies to stay inside the crate
Every single step on how to crate train a puppy, including the third step, may take several days before the puppy can actually get accustomed and comfortable with it. Conditioning the puppies to stay in the crate is probably one of the hardest parts of crate training. Unless, you have properly introduced them to the crate, you’ll find it extremely hard to condition the puppies to stay inside them. A dog treat can be very helpful in such situations.
Crate training dogs for long periods of time
While crating your puppies and dogs for more than four hours is not recommended, there will be some points or instances in your life that you would need to leave your pets inside their crates for a long period of time, either because you need to do some errands or have to go somewhere else where pets are not allowed. Here is the step-by-step process on how to train puppies to stay inside their crate while you are gone.
- Encourage your puppy to go inside the crate by using a verbal command such as ‘go inside’ while, at the same time, pointing your fingers inside the crate.
- Reward your puppy with a treat if he follows your command, and close the door and sit quietly near the crate where the puppy can easily see you.
- Leave him for a few minutes, probably ten minutes. If he doesn’t bark or whine inside while you are gone, it’s a good sign.
- Repeat the same process leaving him inside for longer periods of time. Your puppy will soon get used to staying inside the crate even when you’re gone.
When your puppy stays in his crate for long periods without getting afraid or anxious, you have just been successful with your crate training. You can now leave your puppy inside while you do some errands or have him sleep in his crate at night.
The same processes on how to crate train a puppy for longer periods of time apply if you want to train him to sleep inside his crate at night. Here are some other helpful tips as you go through the steps on how to crate train a puppy for longer periods of time.
- Make sure there are safe toys inside the crate before you leave home. Safe toys are those that can never be torn apart or can choke the puppies. Toys will keep them from being bored while you are gone.
- Crate the puppies at least five to 20 minutes before you actually leave home.
- When you’re done with crate training puppies, make sure you still put them inside their crates from time to time even when you’re at home so they wouldn’t associate crating with being left alone.
- When crating your pets, place them nearby where you can easily see them and they can see you so they wouldn’t associate crating to being isolated from the rest of the family.
- When crating puppies at night, make it a habit bring them to their potty areas to eliminate before putting them inside their crates. This is to avoid frequent trips to potty areas in the middle of the night.
- Never use a choke collar when your pets are inside their crates as this is potentially dangerous.
Do’s and Don’ts of Crate Training
You’ve familiarized yourself with the steps on how to crate train a puppy, but there are some other aspects that are worth considering as you crate train. Here are some of the most important aspects that you need to take note of as you go through the process on how to crate train a puppy.
Compared to older dogs, puppies have poor bowel and bladder control.
This is the reason why puppies should never spend more than two hours inside their crates as they’re more likely to eliminate inside. This, however, is not the case when you put them inside their crates to sleep at night. Establishing a habit of bringing them to their potty areas before letting them inside their crates to sleep can be very beneficial.
Crating puppies should never be used as a form of punishment.
It has been reiterated a number of times already that crates should be as comfortable and relaxing as possible. This is the place where dogs can rest, relax and sleep; therefore, using crates to punish them is not wise as they’re sure to feel anxious and afraid of getting inside. Find some other acceptable ways to punish your pets.
Crating puppies and even older dogs for long periods of time or during the whole day is not advised.
Dogs are social animals that need social interaction and exercise in order to have a good quality of life. This, of course, is something they can’t do if they’re inside their crates for a long time. If you will be gone for the whole day, it’s best that you don’t crate your puppies and dogs. Experts say that dogs should never be placed inside their crates for more than four hours and more than two hours for puppies. Crating them at night, of course, is a different thing.
Don’t let the puppies and dogs out of their crates if they are barking or whining.
This is a very important tip as you go through the process on how to crate train a puppy. Pets that are inside their crates bark and whine simply because they want to go out. If they’re past their meal or elimination time, their reason for barking or whining is obvious; they don’t want to stay inside their crates. Never tolerate such behaviors. This may become habitual, and this can lead to many sleepless nights. Never let them out of their cages until they have calmed down and have stopped barking or whining.
Always use positive and consistent training methods.
The processes on how to crate train a puppy may take time, from several minutes to several weeks, but both you and your pets are sure to benefit a lot from doing so. Being consistent in every training method that you utilize is the key to successful crate training. On the other hand, positive reinforcements and acceptable punishments are far more effective than yelling, shouting, even kicking or crating your pets for every mistake and command that they don’t follow.
The steps on how to crate train a puppy may seem tiring and daunting, but everything is definitely worth it. You and your pets can benefit a lot. Dog owners that have been successful with crate training are proud to say that their dogs still continue to seek their crates even when they’re not instructed to do so and even if the dog house training is already over. This is a very good example of an effective and successful completion of the different steps on how to crate train a puppy. Meanwhile, some dogs have learned how to behave that their owners have become confident leaving them alone at home, free to roam around, knowing that they won’t be destructive.
