A dog crate, commonly known as a den is a kennel made from plastic or small wire where you can safely place your dog when moving him from one part of the house to another or when you need to travel with him on a plane or in a car. The crate will protect your puppy from other animals and people. It serves as a safe place in which the puppy can sleep without the fear of being bothered, attacked or harassed. Another benefit of puppy crate training is that using a dog crate which can also improve your puppy’s behavior and help your puppy in behaving well. However, all those benefits will not be achieved if you don’t have an effective method for crate training puppies.
Crate training puppies can also help in potty training a puppy and therefore is related to different housebreaking attributes and living habits. Good crate training prevents your puppy from getting injured, chewing & biting undesirable things, coming into contact with poisonous household appliances, touching hazardous things or developing any puppy behavior problems. The training also prevents dog separation anxiety, and helps your puppy in overcoming different depression or psychological problems. Therefore, if you want to know how to crate train a puppy the right way, these are some things to consider:
- Size – make sure you buy a suitable crate with enough space for him to move around. For big puppies, you should consider the ones with a size of about 28-30″ W x 30-32″ H x 36″ L while 24″W x 26″H x 32″L is more suitable for smaller puppies.
- Timing – timing is very important in crate training puppies. You should close the door of the crate immediately after your puppy enters to eat. At the same time, it is essential when he finishes eating, you should open the door immediately. After some time, you should increase the duration to about 12 minutes. At the end of 12 minutes, you need to retain the puppy there, and you should not let him out even if he whines. This will teach him a lesson that he will not be let out each time he whines.
- Rewards and Treats – you should always offer your puppy a treat. This is very encouraging for your puppy and good motivation to always obey you. Make sure that this forms part of the training. Without a treat, your puppy may see the crate as a way of punishing him. With a treat, you’re helping him see the entire process as a way of living.
Crate Training Puppies at Night
Crate training puppies at night is something that you need to handle carefully. At night, you should put the crate close to you or even in your bedroom. This makes you aware when your puppy starts to whine, wanting to be let out. You should place some of his toys nearby, as this helps to prevent him from barking or crying. In fact, this is one of the useful techniques in crate training puppies at night.
There are some things that you need to carry out in relation to successfully crate training a puppy overnight. These are a few of them:
- Exercise – you should give your puppy plenty of exercise during the day. This helps him feel tired before going to his den, and then sleep for longer hours. This will prevent him from waking up in the night crying, whining or barking.
- Water – it is important that you do not give the puppy too much water before going to bed. It is good practice not to give water 1 or 2 hours before bedtime. This will prevent him from having to go outside at night.
Remember that just like all other stages of puppy training this process can be challenging, because it also requires you to be patient, and some young puppies need more repetitions of the process than others. All puppies react in different ways to this training, but with commitment you will soon find that your puppy is fully protected from many dangers to himself and others.
If you use these important tips on how to crate train a puppy the right way, you will soon discover that there are many benefits to crate training puppies most noticeably the improvement of your puppy’s behavior.
