Crate training a dog can be quite a challenge. For many of us we find the idea of crating our dogs’ appealing. The warmth and safety that this provides us is a great temptation for us. However, we don’t need to do this all the time.
The reason that this technique is not so good for your dog is because he is not going to see this as a safe area. He is going to view this as a prison and it his territory.
How will your dog feel about it?
Here are some things you can do to help him enjoy his crate.
Remember that crate training is all about providing a pleasant experience for your dog. It should not be a prison.
A tip from a friend who does program management and recently crate trained his lab told me, “Provide toys to make sure that he doesn’t become bored. Stuffed Kongs are great because they can be hollow in which you can place some goodies inside. This way, instead of going to town on his toys he won’t be inclined to chew on anything else.”
If he has some bones in it also, then this is a chewy alternative to bones.
Make sure that he can still go outside and play when he is in his crate.
You can place his blanket in his crate, if his favorite spot is not that of a crate.
If he wants to go out (and he should because he is a house dog) leave him a little time after he is used to his crate.
One of the biggest challenges for us is potty training a puppy. Crate training can help tremendously with this.
If you keep your puppy in a crate at night and then take him outside for a walk first thing in the morning, then you automatically part of the crate training when your puppy gets older.
This can help tremendously, especially at night, when you are trying to get him potty trained. This is also a good method for soothing your puppy when he is over excited.
For your crate training, put blankets with your dogs’ scent on it. One of my dogs has a blanket with her name on it. This way it is her blanket and she knows that she is herding at night and when she goes outside.
Don’t make that prison (oh what is there to say?) A nice place for your dog to sleep is a box, or a crate that is big enough for him and he can stretch out. But don’t leave him in there for a long time; it will become a place of his own and he will want to be there all day. Yes, we have made the crate part of the morning time routine so that he is in it for 8 or 10 minutes before we go to work. We plan on this being a daily occurrence for a while yet.
Just keep in mind that crate training and potty training are very different things. Crate training has more guidelines for you to follow, but potty training is a completely different ball game. If you potty train your dog properly, accidents will be rare and you will not have the smell of pee in your home for days and days.
We have a lot more to cover in more articles about how to potty train your dog. But we are done now. Think of these potty training articles as a do so for those of you who already have dogs and are just curious. You will get a few good ideas on the spot.