Thursday, August 27, 2009

What You Should Know About Crate Training Puppies

By John Roley

Crate training your puppy can be very beneficial to you and your puppy. Many people mistake the crate as being a place to punish the puppy, when actually this is the safest spot for the puppy to go once the puppy gets used to it.

Whenever the puppy gets sleepy, scared, or a bit confused they will usually head towards their crate, if you have one. So when a situation like a thunderstorm occurs, and you have a crate for your puppy, he will most likely go there to hide because he is scared and feels safe their.

Once you puppy gets used to being in the crate at any given time, you can leave him in there for a couple of hours at a time. One example would be if you were not home, you could keep your puppy in the crate, which will also aid in the puppy not destroying the house.

As soon as you get your puppy and bring him home for the first time, you should already have your crate there and situated where you want it to be. You should set the crate up in a central area, but never in areas that have a lot of traffic. Most people who use crates tend to leave them in the kitchen near a door, so the puppy can go outside whenever he needs to relieve himself.

When you bring the puppy home, you should put him inside the house and allow him to start searching for the crate. Leave the door to the crate open, and the puppy should start to wander in and out of it. You can also put a toy or dog treat inside the crate, to give your puppy extra incentive to enter. Once he goes inside praise him, and let him know that he is doing the right thing.

Before you know it your puppy will start to go into the crate on their own, this is a sign that they have a great amount of trust for the crate. When this happens you should praise the puppy and reward it as it is almost completely crate trained.

After a while, you can shut the door and see how he reacts. If he starts to whine, you can talk to him and put your fingers through the door, although you should never immediately take him out - instead wait for him to settle down.

When your puppy is fully crate trained there are many uses for the crate. If you are planning on having family or guests over, or if you plan on leaving the house for a couple of hours you can put the puppy in the crate. If the puppy is fully crate trained he will not have a problem laying around in the crate until you open the door.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment