You have to leave the house for a little while so you put your new puppy in the awesome crate you bought for them. How does the puppy react? They will immediately start crying and fighting to get out of the crate. They may even struggle with you when you are carrying them to put them into the crate. Puppies do not like being in a crate. It is a necessity though for untrained puppies because they could destroy the house. Unless you can stay home 24/7, the puppy will need to be in a crate at some point. Luckily, a puppy can be trained to learn to love their crate. This training just takes patience and time to get the puppy comfortable with their crate.
Buy the Right Crate
The first thing you need to make sure you do, is buy the right size crate for your dog. Your puppy will of course be smaller than what they will be at full size. You will want to buy a crate for the size the dog will be when full grown. It would not be useful to buy a crate that the dog eventually outgrows. When your puppy is smaller, you don’t want them to have too much space in their large crate though. Most crates come with dividers that you can use to make the crate smaller.
The reason for not wanting the crate to be too big when they are smaller is for training purposes. Your dog will not want to use the restroom where they lay. If they have a lot of space in the crate they can go in the corner and then move to the other side to lay. If the crate is smaller they will begin to learn to hold the need to go and become trained in holding it for shorter periods of time.
Make the Crate Comfortable
The crate needs to be a comfortable, calm space for the dog. This is important because they will need to spend a good amount of time in it. You want them to enjoy going into their crate on their own. To create this comfortable space for the dog, you want to put things in the crate that the dog enjoys. This depends on the dog. For some dogs, you may want to get a soft doggy bed for the bottom and soft toys. For some dogs, they may chew up a dog bed, so you can just leave the hard bottom and add blankets. This will require some trial and error with your dog but you will learn what they want in the crate with them.
Start With Baby Steps
As discussed above, the first time you put your puppy in their crate they will hate it. The puppy will cry and fight to not be in the crate. The best way to get your puppy use to being in the crate is to start slow. You will want to try to put the puppy in the crate for short periods of time at first. Try putting the puppy in the crate for 20 minutes while you go grab something outside of the house. You don’t want to put the puppy in the crate for a long period of time at the very beginning. A puppy can’t hold their bladder for a long time so they will end up going in the crate. Dogs do not like to use the restroom where they lay. If they are in their too long and end up using the restroom in there, it will not be a comfortable space for them.
Keep Them Entertained
You want to fill the crate with toys and activities that will keep the puppy entertained. This will allow the puppy to feel comfortable in their crate. It will also keep them occupied so they don’t cause trouble. If the puppy has some favorite toys you can put them in the crate with them. There are also toys made to attach to the crate and keep the puppy busy. A really great toy is one you can put peanut butter on and this will keep the dog busy.
If you want the toy to last even longer, you can freeze the peanut butter on it. This will take the puppy longer to lick off of the toy.
They Want to be in the Crate
Lastly, you will want to train them to go into their crate on their own. When you initially want to put the puppy in the crate, you will likely have to carry them in. You want them to eventually go in on their own. This will require training the puppy to go in by themselves. You can do this by throwing a toy in there and getting the puppy to fetch it. It will take some time but they should be comfortable going in on their own to get the toy. The puppy will then think of their crate as a comfortable space and go in at other times too.
Make Sure the Dog Is Free While in the Crate
One thing to keep in mind with the crate – your puppy shouldn’t have a collar on while inside. Sometimes the collar can get caught on something and the puppy can choke. Also, don’t use the crate as a punishment or time out. This will only cause the puppy to think of the crate as a negative thing. You want your puppy to have positive, comfortable thoughts when it comes to their crate.
Crate training can take some time but have patience! By making the crate comfortable and training the puppy to go into it, they will eventually learn to love their crate. This will make leaving your puppy at home easier, or if you have to take them somewhere in their crate.