As a dog trainer, I am often asked questions about crate training – Should I crate train? How do I crate train? How long do I use the crate for?
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I should probably tell you up front that I am a huge advocate for crate training. So, the answer to question one is a resounding, YES! Crate training a puppy is a great way to establish some boundaries and to teach the house rules – ie no peeing and pooping in the house! Puppies do not want to pee or poop where they sleep, so placing them in their crate helps in the housetraining process by encouraging them to hold their pee or poop until they are let outside.
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Another house rule that a crate can help teach is no chewing of the human’s stuff. The crate can be used when the puppy cannot be supervised by you. This helps to eliminate chewing on baseboards, remotes, chair legs, area mats, etc. Your puppy doesn’t know what he or she is allowed to chew on unless a human is there to redirect them to the appropriate chew toys. If your puppy is repeatedly not following house rules – ie biting, chewing inappropriately, etc, – they can be placed in the crate for a “timeout”.
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Timeouts last between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and are used to separate the puppy from their humans for a short period of time. This is a great way to teach your puppy what the house rules are as he or she doesn’t want to be separated from you. The puppy won’t hate its crate as it is simply a holding place
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Crates also create a safe and secure space where your puppy or adult dog can go to rest. This can include when you are having people over, visiting friends or on a road trip in a motel. Think of the crate as a portable home and bed for your dog. Wherever it is your dog knows that is his or her safe space
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Crate training is best done as soon as your puppy comes home, but can also be done with an adult or a rescue dog. Place the crate with the door open in an area where you would like the puppy to sleep and a towel or blanket in the bottom. Throw kibble and treats into the crate and praise your puppy or dog for going in and getting them. A fun game is to hide treats and kibble in the crate ahead of time and then encourage your puppy or dog to go in and find them all. When you do close the door of the crate, make sure that you continue to toss treats in through the spaces of the crate so that your puppy does not get concerned that the door has been closed and keeps hunting! Vary the time that you leave your puppy in the closed crate. Only let your puppy or dog out of the crate when they are quiet. If you open the crate door when they are whining or barking, they will learn that making noise gets me out!
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I crate for life. This means that my dog continues to use her crate for sleeping at night and during the day when we are away at work for her whole life. She is housetrained and she doesn’t chew on inappropriate things so I can leave her loose in the house when I am away, but I don’t. The crate is her happy place where she goes to rest and be “off duty”. I know that she is getting a good sleep and that she isn’t barking at windows and getting herself worked up. If you really want to get rid of the crate, you need to wait until your puppy or dog is completely housetrained and doesn’t get into anything inappropriate. It is usually best to try a short period of time out of the crate and slowly increase this to see how your dog does. But……if you ask me…..your dog will miss it’s safe place.
If you ever have concerns about your pet’s health, don’t hesitate to call the clinic for advice. We are here and happy to help.