Crate Training – It’s More Than Potty Training

Crate Training

Crate training is a positive and effective way to potty train your puppy and create a calm state of mind for your dog by working with the dog’s natural instincts.

Throughout time canines and wolves lived and raise their young in dens.  It is a safe and warm place to be which is what we want to create when using a crate.  It is never used as a form of punishment.

Potty Training

Crate training is great for potty training as a dog’s natural instinct is to not go to the bathroom where they sleep which they learn from their mothers.  It also creates somewhere safe and comfortable for your puppy when no one is around to supervise the dog’s behaviour.

Feeding your puppy on a schedule will help with potty training and the crate is a perfect tool to help you.  We do not recommend free feeding.  If your puppy is on a schedule you will know when the food goes in and have a better idea of when it’s going to come out.  When you are going to put your puppy in their crate it helps to enough time for the dog to go potty beforehand.  This is usually 15 minutes after the dog has eaten he will need to potty.  When no one is available to watch, the dog should be placed into his crate.  When you are home immediately let the dog out of the crate and take him outside to go potty.  After the dog, has relieved himself, let him back into the house.

Puppies left loose in the home can also lead to problems which include chewing, having accidents and pretty much anything they can get their nose and teeth into.  Eliminate these problems by simply crate training your dog.  When using a crate you know that your dog is in a safe place while the you are away.

Initially the puppy may whine when put into the crate, be patient, don’t encourage bad behavior by letting the dog out of the crate every time he is whining. The best idea is to put the dog into the crate before leaving, that way you will not be tempted to let the dog out, and after you leave the dog will settle down, After a couple of weeks the pup will get used to the crate and will not whine when placed into the crate.

Adult Dogs

The crate is not only for puppies.  Crate training an adult dog allows them to sleep.  Many times dogs take short naps during the day or become overstimulated by noises in the house outside and but don’t have the ability to truly sleep where they can shut their brains off a really relax.   Having a dog crate trained where the crate is in a separate quiet room allows for this sleep.

Have fun travelling with your dog.  By creating this safe and comfortable place for your dog in a crate it allows you to easily travel on a plane stay in a hotel where the dog will feel less stressed in an unfamiliar place.  It also helps when your dog is at the groomers or vet where they will often be put in a crate.  For a dog that is crate trained this stressful experience is reduced by having the same positive “den” feeling.

How long can you leave a dog in a crate unattended?  This depends on your dog, and your schedule, but it should not be longer than outside of a workday if you can help it.  When getting, a puppy keep in mind that the puppy will need to go potty more often than an adult dog until it is 6 months of age.

What size of crate do I get?  When it comes to crate training your puppy or adult dog, buy a crate that the dog will be able to grow into. As an adult, the dog should be able to stand up and turn around in the crate (make sure as a puppy that the crate has some sort of divider, so the puppy can stand up and turn around but not walk from one side of the crate to the other).