Crate training is the number one most important thing to teach your puppy. The benefits are endless and it’s a skill that will be used so many times in your dog’s life, even if you choose to let your dog roam free in the house once they’re older.
Benefits of crate training
- Potty training made easy! Dogs will naturally avoid using the bathroom close to where they sleep, so with a properly sized crate you can easily teach them to hold it.
- Keeps your puppy out of trouble when you can’t supervise or when you leave the house. They can’t counter surf, chew things, potty in the house, or bark out the window if they’re crated. Therefore they are far less likely to learn some bad habits that are totally avoidable!
- Their crate gives them a safe “den” to hangout in whenever they feel like it. Dogs are den animals, if you teach them to love and enjoy their crate when they’re young, don’t be surprised if they hangout in there randomly when you’re home as well. We always keep the crate doors open in case they want to go relax in there.
- If your dog gets hurt and need to go to the vet or simply need “kennel rest” to heal, they’ll be far less stressed out than a dog that isn’t used to the crate.
- If you go away on vacation or unexpectedly have to leave your dog for any period of time, you’ll need a place for your dog to stay. They’ll be well adjusted enough to stay anywhere; Whether they stay at a dog kennel , or even if you have an in-home type dog sitter, your dog sitter will definitely appreciate a crate trained dog. It keep them safe while your dog sitter is away from them and makes their job much easier. If you send your dog to a groomer or a doggy daycare to play, they may need to wait in a crate for a few minutes or a couple hours, a crate trained dog is happy to do so, while one that isn’t used to the crate will be stressed out and possibly even hurt themselves attempting to break out.
- Creating a good “off switch”. Have you met a dog that runs around constantly whether inside or outside, they just can’t relax? That would be a dog that hasn’t been taught to relax. Some dogs are natural born couch potatoes, but most dogs need some help learning to relax in the house. A crate teaches them that it’s okay to relax and chill even when we’re around as a puppy. Once they can relax well in the crate, you can slowly start teaching your puppy to relax in a playpen, on a leash with you, and eventually how to relax free in the house.
- When eating something messy like a raw bone, or filled Kong toy it saves your house from needing to be cleaned when they’re finished. It much easier to sanitize a crate than it is to sanitize your couch, rug or whole house.
Choosing the right crate
Firstly a crate that is the correct size is important. For a puppy you can either start with a smaller crate and buy a larger one when they outgrow it or you can buy a crate with a divider so that you can section off the crate to make it the correct size. It should be just big enough to stand up and turn around comfortably. If it’s too big your puppy could get into the habit of using the bathroom in the crate away from their sleeping area, and if it’s too small your puppy will be uncomfortable and cramped. Once your puppy is full grown and well trained you can upgrade the crate to be bigger if you want to give them more space during the day, but for training purposes a properly sized crate is important. Wire crates or plastic crates work well for most dogs, stronger metal crates are also available for stronger breeds. While fabric crates are best used for trials, dog shows and shorter term crating.
The crate should be a safe and happy place for your puppy, so start by putting some of their favourite things in the crate. Favourite toys, safe chews, and a blanket that smells like you are all a good start. Once you have a comfy crate, you can start teaching your puppy to go to their crate on command.
Training the “go to your crate” command
Start by saying your command (“kennel” “crate” “go to bed” are all good ones.) then immediately throw a treat into the crate. Your puppy should follow the treat and go to their crate. Once you practice a bunch of times they should start going to their crate before you throw the treat.
Once they have that down pat, you can start keeping them in there for longer. To start this next step, send them to their crate then throw multiple treats into the crate one by one for a few seconds. Slowly start increasing the time in between treats, and when they’re finished eating the treats, quickly release them from their crate. To keep them in there even longer you can send them to their crate, throw some treats then give them a frozen Kong treat and monitor them when they eat it, then release them. You can build on this with duration and eventually start closing the door.
The next step would be teaching them not to bust out of their crate until verbally released. When releasing them open the door, and they will try to leave the crate, quickly shut the door, then open again. Repeat until you open the door and they stay put, then say “okay” and allow them/ call them out. They will catch on quickly, usually within 1 -2 days, and you’ll be thankful that they no longer bust out of their crate. Impulse control is something you can never work too much on! With an adult dog that always busts out, it will take longer to teach them, but they will eventually catch on as well!
Another super easy way to teach them to love their crate is always feeding them in their crate; Simple yet so effective at teaching them that their crates is their happy place!
Crate training puppies: Important tips
It is extremely important when crate training to never let your puppy out of the crate when they aren’t calm. If you let your puppy out when they are whining, barking or scratching at the bars, you’re teaching them that all you have to do is be loud and struggle and you’ll let you out. Puppies cry and bark, they are babies so it is natural. The first few nights they will most definitely cry at first, but if you never let them out while they’re crying they will learn super quickly. It is however super important that you understand that when they cry at 3 am, after sleeping peacefully all night, that they do in fact need to potty and you should listen to them.
Placing the crate beside your bed when they are young makes them feel comfortable and not alone. When Petunia would start crying, I’d stick my hand through the crate so she could feel that I was there, without taking her out. When she calmed down and fell asleep I’d take my hands out. Remember that until you bring them home, they are used to being with their litter mates and momma 24/7, it is a big adjustment for puppies.
When letting them out in the middle of the night it is equally important that you never play with them or feed them during their potty break. Middle of the night pee breaks should be all business, out to potty then directly back in their crate. Puppies learn very quickly that if they wake you up in the middle of the night and you play with them or feed them, they will wake you up earlier and earlier because it’s fun to get out and play. This is the same reason that we never feed them first thing in the morning, wait a little while after waking up to feed them, otherwise they’ll wake you up at the break of dawn every morning for breakfast, and nobody wants that! We feed them at a random time every morning so that they never get upset if breakfast is off schedule.
Never leave them in their crate too long, 4 hours is typically the maximum amount of time a baby puppy (8-16 weeks) can handle before going outside, and that includes overnight! Some puppies, like Petunia mature quickly and start sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, and others take much longer before they stop waking up in the middle of the night. Adults can usually make it 8 hours or even longer, but it’s not fair to them to force them to wait that long everyday without a potty break, unless you exercise them vigorously before and after work. A dog sitter letting them out for a potty break mid day is always a great option as well.
Always exercise your puppy and let them potty before crating them. If your puppy has already used the bathroom, you know for certain that if they cry they don’t need to go out and you can ignore their crying. A tired puppy is a happy puppy, and it makes crate training a much better experience. Even my full grown, well trained adult dogs get lots of exercise before crating them, it’s super important!
Give them a filled Kong toy when you kennel them to calm them and keep them occupied during their time in the crate.
Happy crate training!