Crate Training, Part 1

Setting things up.

What size and style crate?

You’ll need a crate just large enough for the puppy to lay down, stand and turn around. She’ll quickly learn not to soil her living area if she’s got nowhere else to go. You don’t really want anything much larger. Once the puppy is crate trained (and it doesn’t take long), you can purchase a larger crate that the dog can use into adulthood.

Some dog owners prefer a crate that has few openings – a cave-like crate giving the dog more privacy. Dogs naturally like to den. They like a secluded, dark, comfortable place to rest and escape life’s craziness. These solid crates are very good for this reason.

We typically use wire crates, however, that are open to the outside and allow for folding up and storing or transporting when necessary. It’s easy to simply throw a blanket over the crate to give the pup his alone time when needed.

Here’s a link to a crate we like: Folding Metal Dog Crate

More benefits:

Soon the crate becomes a safe place for the dog to stay. If you leave a young dog with free rein of the home, you’ll surely return to a big mess…or worse. They’ll chew things, eat things and make a mess everywhere. 

We use crates even with our “in-home” adult dogs. It’s an easy solution when we need to put a dog away for a while if we have visitors, need to clean the house or to simply get a time out…for us or for the dogs. Dogs quickly learn this space belongs to them and they grow to enjoy their rest in the crate.

Does the dog need something soft in the crate?

Besides adding comfort, a good crate pad provides health benefits. It’s not good for a puppy’s feet to continually slide out from under him. Research suggests that not having good footing when a dog is a puppy can cause injuries and possibly contribute to hip problems in the future.

Here’s a link to a crate pad we like: Affordable dog crate pad.

More crate training posts to come…

More posts will follow specifically discussing using a crate to potty-train a puppy. It’s a simple process that requires diligence and consistency. A little bit of work when your little family member is a puppy will prevent many problems down the road and make for a happier human and dog!