Crate Training Your Puppy

What is a crate?

A crate is a portable "kennel" that is used to train a young puppy or safely transport your dog in a plane or car.
It can also be used as a "home" for your dog when you travel, making your dog a welcome visitor in a friend's home or motel.

How does crating work?

Dogs are den animals who seek small, cave-like enclosures to crawl into. Most puppies will look for a place to go to sleep that is a tight fit, like under the coffee table.
With a crate, you are supplying a perfectly safe environment for your puppy. It is a safe haven away from underfoot and small children, and it is a private bedroom which it will not soil if it can help it. Using a crate can alleviate numerous problems, can stop other problems from starting, and can housebreak a puppy with ease.

Where do I put the crate?

The crate should be in a "people" area, the kitchen or family room.
The crate should be within easy reach during the day, so that when things get busy and you can't watch the puppy, the crate is handy, not in the basement or on another floor.
If you need two crates in different parts of the house, get two.
Dogs are social animals and if you lock a puppy away where they can't see what's going on, you will have a harder time getting the puppy to adjust to a crate.

What do I do Now?

Set up a routine that works for you and the puppy. First thing in the morning let the
puppy out to potty. If you want them to eliminate in a certain area, take them there and
praise them when they go. Also, a catch phrase like "go now" or "hurry up", which if
used every time will help your puppy learn faster. The puppy should take all naps in the crate as it will make nighttime easier as the puppy adjusts to being confined. When the puppy is loose in the house it should confined to the room you are in with a babygate or puppy exercise pen. If you can't be with the puppy, use the crate. If the crate is properly introduced, the dog will grow to think of the crate as it's den. Most dogs that are crate trained will use the open crate as a resting place.

The major use of the crate is to prevent the dog from doing something wrong. House manners are just as important as house breaking. It is useless to correct a dog for something that it did 5 minutes ago: you must catch them in the act. If the dog is out of the crate unsupervised, it may do something wrong and not be corrected, or worse, corrected after the fact.

Crate Training Do's and Don't

• Do let the dog out often so that it is never forced to soil it's crate.
  
• Do take the dog out if it whines or barks because it needs to eliminate.
  If they were just out and eliminated, correct for whining or barking.
  
• Do clean the crate regularly, especially if you have added a floor.
  
• Do adjust your schedule so they get out every 4 hours during the day.
  When you are home and can supervise them, they should not be in the crate
  (except at night when you are sleeping).
  
• Do put safe chew items such as cow hooves or proper size "Nylar bones" in in the crate.  Stay away from placing in the crate rawhide & most other toys - as they can
  become a choking hazard when dog is left to chew & swallow these objects unsupervised.  Rawhide swells once swallowed, and can lead to a trip to the vet.
  
• Do put safe bedding in the crate. Most dogs will destroy foam-filled bedding and need only a soft rug (such as a bathroom floor rug), or a pegboard cut to fit the crate, to sleep on.
  
• Don't punish the dog if it soils the crate. Sitting with "it" is punishment enough.
  
• Don't use the crate as punishment.
  
• Don't  rush to give the dog too much freedom out of the crate unsupervised. Start with very short periods and work your way up to longer periods.
  
• Don't give your crate away. Keep the crate handy even for older dogs: Crates are great for special situations that require the dog to be confined.

Crates are the safest way for your dog to travel with you in the - car - van - truck - etc.