Crate Training Your Dog The Right Way
Many people believe that crate training is cruel to dogs. They may be considering a crate as similar to the cages at a zoo. However, there are some aspects of crate training that are definitely of positive and valuable benefit to a puppy. For example, crate training can keep an unsupervised puppy from chewing shoes, furniture, electric cords, and other household items. You can think of training a puppy to a crate as a parallel to putting a baby in a playpen for short periods of time.
Think about how dogs behave when they are in the wild. Usually, older dogs seek out a safe area where they can sleep securely. When a female dog has her puppies in the wild, she selects a safe area in which to raise them. She keeps this area clean until the puppies are older and ready to go off on their own. The mother trains the puppies not to relieve themselves in the same place where they sleep. You may have noticed that domestic dogs also create their own safe areas. They like to sleep in protected places, in a corner, near furniture, or underneath a table, if there is no special place designated for their bed. Far from being cruel to puppies, dog crate training provides them with a secure area where they can rest safely.
You put a young dog in a crate so that he will learn that it is his own area. If he cries when you place him in the crate, the best thing to do is just ignore him. You don't want him to become accustomed to sleeping on the bed, the couch, or any other furniture. If you don't provide crate training when a dog is quite young, it will be much more difficult to change your dog's behavior when he is older. You need to be able to set rules for your dog and then stand by them.
If your puppy was raised by a breeder, he will already have become used to sleeping in a crate. You won't have any problem training him to his new sleeping area if you prepare his crate ahead of time. Ask the breeder if you can have a piece of the bedding that was used for the puppy in his first crate. This will have all the familiar smells of his litter on it. You can add this to the padding in his new crate, and the puppy will feel right at home.
You should make an effort to disregard any negative associations you may have with crate training. When you bring a puppy home from a breeder, you need to be able to provide the puppy with a crate all ready for him to sleep in. You can help him get accustomed to the new crate by placing a treat inside it, and leaving the door of the crate open so he can explore the crate and go in and out as he pleases. Crate training will not only give your new puppy a sense of security, but it will forestall many of the problems that can arise in training a dog to household life.
Have a great "dog training" day,
Dr. Alfonso
