How to Crate Train Puppies Successfully

If you need to teach your puppy about particular behaviors, crate training can be a very efficient and worthwhile technique to employ. When used in a correct, safe manner, crate training will not harm your puppy at all, despite the fact that dog owners are at odds about whether this method of training is humane or not.

You need to employ specific steps if you want to effectively crate train your puppy, however, to be sure that you’re doing it right. Disaster or even puppy abuse could occur if you don’t follow these steps.

First, you need to get your dog acquainted with the crate. Your puppy might see the crate as a dangerous place that causes fear at first. You must decrease their sensitivity to the crate and make them feel that they should not fear it. In order to encourage your puppy to check out the crate on its own, position the crate in an easily-accessed area of your home. Forcing your puppy to immediately start crate training is unacceptable. You have to let the pup find out they have no reason to fear the crate. Try putting some treats into the crate to entice them to enter it, then compliment them when they go inside. When the dog enters, do not make any effort to close the door! Don’t start closing your puppy in until at least a few days have passed, and your puppy has become comfortable with being in it.

It is safe to begin closing the door once your puppy doesn’t fear the crate, and has become used to going into it. After your puppy enters the crate by themselves, close the door slowly. This doesn’t need to be a production - just quietly close the door and leave. Your puppy will want to be let out, so it will most likely whine and cry. Be sure to leave the dog in the crate until it stops fussing, because you do not want them to think they can get out whenever they whine. After the puppy is calm, go over and open the crate door. Let your puppy know that their behavior was good. This way, they will understand that being silent while in the crate is positive behavior.

Acclimate your puppy to being put in the crate by doing this for a couple of days. Place some of your puppy’s favorite toys in the crate to make it a little easier on them. This can lessen the possibility of them getting bored when they are in the crate, and it can decrease the amount of whining they do. You can start to train your puppy to go into the crate when you tell it to once it has become used to being put in the crate for small amounts of time.

Make sure to always use the crate as something positive when using it to train your puppy. The crate should not be associated with punishment, but rather with good behavior. Also, never leave the puppy in the crate for long time periods. That kind of behavior is potentially abusive, as well as irresponsible, and may ultimately harm your new puppy.