Guide to Crate Training Puppies
A few years ago, my sister phoned me and told me the wonderful news, she had purchased a new puppy and was overjoyed about bringing him home. The first question I asked her was if she needed a crate, since I had several that I wasn’t using. Of course, like many other dog owners have done, she reacted in horror and was adamant about not using a crate.
Unfortunately, her puppy had other plans and a few weeks later, I received a call requesting one of the crates after her puppy had destroyed several items, including her kitchen cabinets.
If you are unsure about crate training puppies, don’t feel like you are alone, many new owners are unsure if crate training is the proper thing for their puppy and it is a decision that every new puppy owner will face.
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One thing that I want to stress is that crate training puppies provides a number of benefits to your dog and virtually no disadvantages. The benefits of crate training puppies are:
- Your puppy gets his own “room”.
- Your puppy gets a safe place to go when he is scared.
- It provides security for your puppy when you are not able to watch him.
- It prevents your puppy from having accidents when you aren’t home.
- It makes sure that your puppy is following the rules, i.e., he is not up on the couch when you are away.
- It keeps your puppy from destroying things when he is bored.
- It aids in training your puppy, especially when it comes to potty training.
Crate training is an excellent tool to have in your home and most puppies learn to enjoy it so much that it becomes their preferred sleeping area even when their owners are home.
When you start crate training puppies, which can be started the very first night you bring your puppy home, it is important to have the right type of crate.
First, many pet stores, at least in my experiences, tell owners to purchase a crate for the size of their puppy. This can be wonderful, if you have the funds to do so, but it is not necessary. What you want to do is purchase a crate as to your dog breed. If your puppy is a large dog breed, than purchase the large kennel that he will use as an adult. You won’t use it all at once, but it will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
Other than the size, there are a few things that you will want to look for in a kennel:
A Removable Tray: Trust me; this will make cleaning the crate much easier if your puppy does have an accident in it.
Metal or Plastic: You can purchase a number of different types of crates including mesh but the best type to get is a plastic or a metal crate. Personally, I prefer the metal since plastic crates don’t usually come with that removable tray. Never purchase mesh since a puppy could chew threw it.
Dividers: If you can find a crate with dividers, then that is the best option but if you can’t, you can always make your own, just make sure your crate can be divided.
When you bring your crate home, you will want to set it up for your puppy. As you have read, I mentioned dividers several times and what I am referring to is a piece of wood, or plastic that can be slid between the bars of the crate to reduce the size of the crate. As your puppy grows, you move the dividers back until the whole crate is used.
Put in a comfortable bed for your puppy and some newspaper or a puppy-training mat on one side just in case your puppy has an accident. Make it comfortable for your puppy to want to sleep in it and make it safe for your puppy.
When you are first crate training puppies, you are going to want to avoid putting food and water dishes in the crate since your puppy will need to go to the bathroom shortly after getting in there.
Lastly, place the crate in a common area of the house so your puppy can go into it with the safety of people being around when he does.
Once you get it set up, it is time to start introducing your puppy to the crate, which we will look closer at in the next article: Guide to Crate Training Puppies – Part Two
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