Crate Training Puppies

Crate training puppies is something that every dog owner must learn in order to keep their house relatively clean and fresh. By a dog’s natural instinct, they won’t soil their sleeping quarters, or where they eat. Giving your new puppy a “safe haven” that is clean and comfortable, with a warm blanket or dog bed, a bowl of water, and a chew toy will improve it’s psyche and self-esteem. A crate or cage that’s big enough to stand and pace back and forth will provide this safe haven in a setting that is portable, so that whether its in a different room, car, hotel room, or friends house, your puppy will always have a familiar place to call it’s own.

The primary goal of crate training goes hand-in-hand with house-breaking your new puppy. Taking a few minutes to learn about crate training puppies will greatly expedite both ventures and improve chances of success. Instead of trying to teach your puppy not to relieve itself anywhere in the house, you can narrow it down to it’s own living space, where natural instinct will help to prevent this from happening. Once the puppy understands the concept of keeping it’s own house clean, the concept can then be applied to your house as well. Crate training puppies has many other uses as well, but remember to never use the crate as punishment or a “time-out”. This trains him or her to associate negative feelings with the dog crate, which does not work well when trying to introduce the crate as a home.

When traveling your puppy, having a safe crate is extremely convenient. Having a crate that’s not too big,  strapped down securely near the back of the car or SUV, is much better than allowing the dog to move freely around the entire vehicle. Keeping the dog crated while driving also provides peace-of-mind for both dog and driver. The dog is able to stay inside his mobile home while being taken through unfamiliar territory, and you can relax knowing the dog is safe inside the cage. Lastly, sticking to the dog crate while driving will help to encourage your puppy to “hold it” as it will be confined to its sleeping quarters for the trip. If you’re traveling more than a few hours, be sure to make a few stops to allow him or her to relieve itself.

What are the best dog crates to buy? When buying a new dog crate for your home, the most important thing to do is to make sure the dog crate is big enough. The dog should be able to stand up and walk in a circle. Before your new best friend is fully grown, you may want to use a divider to prevent it from using half or part of the cage.  This can reduce the likelihood of the pup using one side of the area for sleeping, and the other side of it as a bathroom. If this begins to happen, use a safe divider to ensure your crate training goes smoothly. Be certain the crate is durable and strong enough to avoid the sharp edges caused by cage damage. A washable bottom-tray is handy too, as you want the crate to be as clean and comfortable as possible.

Need more information?

• Here’s the fastest, most effective, and most FUN way to train your puppy or dog.
• Check out this video on Dog Crate Training

So you’ve brought home your brand-new puppy and spent the whole day getting him/her acclimated to the new surroundings. Now the sun has set and its time to get some sleep, but your afraid of what the puppy will do without your conscious supervision. So far you’ve been able to keep everything going smoothly because you’re right there to provide the necessary commands and corrections, and you need to know that things will continue to go well as the night progresses. So begins the delicate process of crate training puppies at night.

First you must realize that until the puppy is around two months old(sometimes younger) he or she will need to go outside every 2-3 hours. Don’t worry, a few weeks of lost sleep more than pays off when you have a well-trained puppy and a fresh-smelling home. The best thing to do is to keep the crate in whatever room you’re in, at night this would be the bedroom. This way, you’ll hear when the puppy needs to go outside, either by crying or rattling the cage. Two or three hours before you go to bed, give the puppy its water. Later, when its time to go to bed, let the puppy out for at least 10 minutes, giving it enough time to relieve itself. At this point you can almost guarantee that you’ve got at least two hours of sleep. Lock the dog in it’s crate, rewarding him/her as you do so. If the dog begins to whine or fuss before that two hour mark, its important that you ignore it.

Crate training puppies at night is a gradual process. As earlier stated, the most time you can give yourself is around two hours, but after a week of this, extend the time to three hours. Your puppy’s ability to hold it will increase with time, so remember to take advantage of this. At the end of a 6 week training process he or she will be able to remain in the crate all night. Another way to think about this would be:  at the beginning, the puppy has to go out 3 times per night. After a week (sometimes two, depending on how old) you can reduce this to only twice per night. After one or two more weeks go by, you’ll be able to sleep for exactly half the night before taking the puppy outside.

Remember that every puppy is different, so the exact timing of crate training puppies at night varies from case to case. During the day, you can gauge how long you puppy can hold its urine and bowel movements. Use this information to set the appropriate time at night. By using this method, you know you are not forcing the puppy. Forcing it will only result in pain and discomfort, and eventually the puppy with have an “accident”. If you can sleep through a puppy crying, set an alarm to go off when its time to take him or her outside. One final important note: if you wake up to find the puppy has had an “accident” you must not punish  or acknowledge this behavior. The only time for correcting a dog’s behavior is while it is taking place. A dog will not make the connection between your punishment and what happened ten minutes ago.

Dog crate training Videos:

Summary:

• Bring your dog out of the crate in the morning and allow him to relieve himself
• Have dog go back to crate and feed the dog while he is in the crate (this will also make him more comfortable in the crate)
• Let dog outside for about 30 minutes. Usually the dog will go #1 and #2 and then have some time outside
• Bring dog back to crate
• Don’t give in if the dog wines and cries while in the crate. He will eventually get used to it!