Crate Training your Puppy

Crate training your puppy will be one of the best things you ever do. Many breeders use crates or pens for the puppies and this is a massive help.

Crates need to be trained properly before use. Do take time getting puppy used to his/her crate and recognising it as a safe space in which to sleep and chill out. This needs to be done with the door closed.

I hated crates when they first appeared on the scene for puppy training. I know many others who felt the same.

When you use one and see the difference it makes to your puppy. How happy and settled he/she is in the crate, and how they choose to wander in there when they want peace and quiet or a rest, you will see the real value of crate training your puppy.

Close the door when training

So many times people say, ‘yes’ my puppy is crate trained but I can’t close the door! The whole point of the crate as a training aid is that you can close the door.

Don’t only close the door when you leave the room 

Teaching a puppy to feel safe and secure in a crate and to sleep in a crate means you don’t have to worry about your young pup chewing things around the home when you’re not there. It’s not just about damage to your home, it’s also about safety for your pup.

When you go out you need to know your pup and your home are safe.

A well-trained crate is a great training aid to support puppy biting and toilet training.

Need help with puppy biting – check out the article here to help.

Help with toilet training can be found here.

Toilet training is very difficult without using a crate or a pen.

Make the crate a happy place

Crate training your puppy is about making it a positive place to be. Feed puppy in there, play with him/her through the bars. Simply sit next to the crate and read a book. Don’t make it the place you ONLY put puppy when you are leaving the room or the house.

You do need to train puppy in the crate when you leave the room too but don’t make this what happens every time you close the door.

Teach puppy to sleep in his crate

Teach your puppy to sleep in his crate from day 1. Even if this is in your bedroom. Personally I prefer puppies to sleep in an other room in their crate but I realise not everyone wants to do that. Teaching puppy to sleep alone in his/her crate will help prevent separation anxiety which is a massive issue at the moment, post covid lockdowns.

Using the crate for time out

YES YOU CAN!

A matter of great confusion. I’m often asked, ‘can I use the crate for time out.’ Yes, you can. As long as you have trained puppy to use it in a positive way and puppy is happy and relaxed in there.

Often when you need time out for puppy, it will be because puppy is tired or over excited. The perfect place to help puppy deal with his emotions is the crate. At times like this puppy will often fall asleep.

Crate Training a Puppy

• Make it a positive, happy place
• Train with the door closed
• Don’t only close the door when you leave the room
• Don’t only put puppy in the crate when you leave the room
• Teach puppy to sleep in his/her crate
• Be sure to give puppy access to the crate as and when he/she wants it

Train it well, use it correctly and you will have a brilliant training aid to help you develop a confident, happy puppy, that knows how to behave in the home.

If you need to book your puppy training, join us for positive, fun puppy training classes in Hedge End, near Southampton.

Not close enough to come to us? Check out our online puppy training programme.