Crate Training Puppies – Is it a great idea?
If you’ve ever thought that crate training puppies might be a good idea, that’s absolutely true. If you have the right training and expertise, you can teach your puppy or dog to view his or her crate as a place to be secure. For this, you need the correct approach. If you use the wrong one, this can mean disaster for your puppy and you as well.
The first thing that you need to understand when it comes to Crate Training Puppies is the fact that the crate should absolutely never be used as a means of punishment. You should gradually and gently introduce the concept of crate training to your puppy. The crate should be used primarily for potty training purposes, and you should turn the potty training process into a truly happy and positive experience, at least if you want your puppy to view the crate as a good thing.
Give your puppy a good balance between crate time and time out of the crate to be active. Dogs require a lot of exercise so that they can stay healthy. This is important as a part of crate training your puppy, as is potty training puppy, too. If the puppy is in the crate for too long or too often, this can become a negative experience and negatively effect your puppy’s personality and behavior.
By the same token, if your dog is let out of the crate too often, this may give him or her a chance to get into trouble. It may also make your dog insecure or overwhelmed. When crate training puppies, here are some tips that should make the process go smoothly.
If you can’t be present to supervise your puppy, make sure that the puppy is in his or her crate. The same should be true if you actually have a grown dog and not a puppy. Unless your dog is very reliable in terms of his or her potty training, limit freedom outside of the crate so that you can make sure there aren’t accidents.
Choose a crate that fits your dog’s size and weight. This may mean that you’ll buy larger crates as your dog grows. Don’t buy a crate that’s too large or too small for your dog. There are crates that are adjustable, but these are not normally enclosed. They do not give your dog the same level of security that a normal training crate would provide.
If you don’t know how long you should leave your dog in his or her crate at any one time, use your dog’s age in months to give you a rough estimate. For example, a one-month-old puppy can be crated for about an hour at a time. A 12-month-old puppy can be crated for much longer periods of time.
Never use your dog’s crate to punish him or her. Do not bang on or shake the crate, either. The crate is meant to be a place of safety, and violating it in such a fashion can lead to other behavioral problems as your dog ages.
Filed under: Training