Crate Training is one of the most important steps in your relationship with your new family member. When done properly crate training is actually helpful in many areas such as potty training, quiet time for your puppy and you, safety assurance, and boundary setting.
Before you crate train, please be aware:
Dogs are den animals by nature, they actually like to have an area to curl up and sleep in, but your puppy or dog should NOT be left in a crate for more than 3-4 hours. Dogs that are left in a crate all day, and let out in the evening after work for a few hours and put back in the crate for the night can become neurotic and destructive. If you crate a puppy for long hours and struggle with training due to attention issues and hyperactivity please do not blame the puppy! They are a pack animal and need interaction and exercise on a regular basis. If you are unable to let your puppy out for longer hours, then perhaps now is not the best time to add a new family member.
*If you work all day, we recommend that you find someone who can take your puppy out for potty time and exercise during the day. If you are only able to let the puppy out for a short period at lunch time it may be best to consider the puppy pad training method. See the Potty training page.
We suggest getting your crate before bringing your puppy home so you are prepared for their arrival. It is important to make sure you get a crate that is not too small or too large for your puppy, your can ask your Vet or us for help in sizing if needed. If your crate is too small your puppy will not feel comfortable and will have a very hard time adjusting to the crate. If the crate area is too large they will possibly use one end as the potty area. Dogs do not want to soil where they sleep or eat so using that natural desire is what helps to teach them to control the urge to go potty inside. We prefer the wire crates for a variety of reasons, one being they are more versatile. They normally come with a divider so you can easily size the crate to your puppy and still have room for expansion as your puppy grows. This allows you to get the larger size, so you have a one time purchase. They also are more open so your puppy doesn't feel so confined and a bit isolated. We like the fact that at night when you want it more enclosed you can put a blanket over the crate for bedtime, this helps your puppy to now oh ok its time to settle in a go to sleep. We also love the fact that they fold up and are much more compact then the plastic hard sided crates. The best value we have found is the Pet Lodge brand from Farm and Fleet. We normally suggest the large or even the XL large. Remember the divider it comes with allows your to size it down at first, and then you have room to grow with.
The Training Process:
Crate training is an added tool to the potty training process this helps to speed up the training process by aiding in setting a schedule for you and your new family. Of course the crate also helps by keeping them safe as they learn their new surroundings. So, for the first 4 to 8 weeks we suggest using the crate when you are unable to directly supervise your puppy. When out of their crate keep an eye on them as they learn their boundaries and what your are expecting from them.
We suggest feeding your puppy their meals in their crate at first, some chose to continue to do so as the puppy grows, others eventually feed in a different location later. Feeding your puppy their meals in the crate does a few things:
1. It helps your puppy to associate yummy food with the crate making it a more pleasurable place to be.
2. It helps to set the foundation for boundary training, such as this is where you eat, this is where you sleep, this is where you do not potty etc...
3. It allows you a time to have the puppy eat and then wait for you to take them out to go potty without having an "accident". This gives added control over the timing of the potty training allowing you and your puppy to get the same schedule.
When starting your puppy out in the crate please not that they will most likely whine, you need to let them "whine it out" so to speak. Normally when the puppy starts to cry we will take them outside the first time for a potty break, so if they need to go they can and this helps them understand that we want to know that they need to go potty. During this time do not play with your puppy, this is "business time" once they finish praise them and take them back in and place them in the crate. It may take a few days even but they will understand that whining only gets me out to potty, not to play.
When taking your puppy out of the crate do not just open the door and let them run out, make them sit and stay before you let them out and eventually make them sit before you even open the door to let them out while waiting until you ask them to come out. Doing this is an added way to use the crate as a training tool for your basic training.
Having your dog crate trained is a great asset in times that you need your dog to be in a safe area in case of an emergency, or just to give your dog a place to call their own. Several of our dogs have a crate that is open all the time and that is where they prefer to take a nap.
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