Crate training is widely agreed by dog owners to be the best technique to house train a puppy. Puppy crate training certainly involves a crate. A crate basically looks like a cage, and is used to temporarily restrict your puppy’s movement to a specific area when you’re unable to keep an eye on her. Your puppy should be in that crate at all times unless she’s eating, going for a potty break outside with you, or playing under supervision.
The crate serves as your puppy’s den, which is a place where your puppy feels safe and secure, and enjoying spending time in, whether she’s sleeping, napping, or simply needs to be alone. Because it’s a dog’s natural instinct not to soil her sleeping area, your puppy won’t want to dirty her own resting place, so she is likely to hold her poop and pee until she’s out of her crate.
Choosing a crate
Choosing the right size of crate for your puppy is very importantI. If the crate is too large, your puppy will comfortably use one end as her sleeping area, and the other end as her toilet. This then beats the entire purpose of crate training your puppy, and will delay the house training for several weeks!
With regard to selecting a crate, choose one that has enough space for your puppy to easily stand up, turn around and lie down. But don’t worry, you don’t have to keep purchasing new crates as your puppy grows and increase in size. You’ll be able to save money if you buy a crate that can last till your puppy grows up.
Get a big wire crate fit for an adult dog, then use dividers to block away unneeded space to make the crate seems smaller for your puppy. Boards or wire grilles serve well as dividers. As and when your puppy requires a larger area to move around as she grows, you can remove the dividers to give more space to her. If you like, you could make a crate yourself, then replace it with a bigger one as your puppy grows.
Making the crate welcoming
You can make the crate a welcoming and inviting place for your puppy to go. You may lay a layer of thick blankets in the crate, and also place inside a chew or some toys for your puppy. The door should be always opened when your puppy is out of the crate, but must be firmly closed when she’s in the crate.
Take note: before your puppy is fully house trained, you shouldn’t allow her to move freely in the house to prevent soiling accidents. If you let her wander freely in the house before she’s fully house broken, you’re like ‘approving’ her to do her business anywhere she wants to. And every time she does this, it’ll be easier for her to do it again.
Where to put the crate?
During crate training, you would want to keep your puppy’s crate close you. The best spot to place the crate is the center of family activity, usually the kitchen or the living area. Keeping your crate puppy close to you not only makes your puppy house breaking process easier, since you can keep a close watch on your puppy’s movement, but also helps build the bond between you and your puppy. Being new to the environment, it’s important that you make your puppy feel that she’s not alone, and that she’s now a part of your family.