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Home : Pets : Dogs : Training : Crate training a puppy
Crate Training. Crate train your puppy for an easier life
Submitted by Tina
Crate training can be a very good idea. It will help you in the home, when traveling and generally controlling your little bundle of joy. You call it a crate but to your puppy it is his home, his security, his place and your sanity
Make sure that they house you buy is large or extra large, according to the dogs approx. size as an adult. It needs some room to stretch out and eat. A cramped puppy will grow to be an unhappy dog and increase anxiety.
Teach him to go in the house on command, and give him a cookie (treat)
When visitors come, you can put him in his own house. They like the house and will go there at night on their own to sleep
Put a blanket (not something that is easy to rip up like a down blanket) in his house for comfort
He will learn to go outside to relieve himself and not your favorite rug!
Will not chew up your furniture or shoes while you are gone!
DO'S & DON'TS On Crate Training
Never crate a dog with a choke collar on. Dogs can choke themselves to death. It's probably a good idea to remove any collar while the dog is in the crate.
Never crate a dog with a leash attached! Same reason.
Safe Toys
Use safe toys only, nothing the dog or puppy can get apart and choke on while you're not there. Rawhide chewies are not good to leave unsupervised dogs with. Squeaky toys need to be monitored because the squeakers can be removed and swallowed and cause the pup to choke.
Good toys that are safe: Kongs. These are made of hard rubber that is almost impossible to destroy. They come in many different sizes and it have an small opening on one end. Some people put a little peanut butter inside and that gives the pup/dog something do for awhile after you leave. Not a lot of peanut butter, just enough to keep them interested
Other reasons to crate train early
Flying
Suppose you have to fly your dog on a plane. They must be crated for this. Flying is stressful enough for the dog who is already crate trained but add the stress of never having been in a crate to a dog who has to fly for the first time. Can you see a reason for the dog to be used to a crate?
Boarding
What if you have to go out of town and need to leave the dog in a boarding kennel? A crate trained dog will understand and adapt to this situation easily. Usually, you can bring the dog's own crate with you to the kennel and allow the dog some comfort in having his own bed to sleep in.
Crating In The Car
Keeping the puppy/dog safe in the car is another reason to crate train. Nobody likes to think of what would happen if they were in a car accident. Car doors can fly open and the dog, if uncrated, stands a good chance of leaping out into traffic and getting hit by a car or running off because they are scared. If you have your dog crated in the car when in an accident the dog may get banged around but the crate will most likely protect the dog from being hit, may help contain the dog in the car itself, and will keep him from being lost if the car doors fly open even if the crate is expelled from the car. If you are hurt in the accident the emergency services people are more likely keep your dog safe and contained if the dog is in a crate and they can easily transport the dog to a safe area.
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