General Pet is your source for advice and information for a happy and healthy pet.
Author: Moses Wright Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.
There is more to the crate than meets the eye. It provides a safe haven for your puppy and frees up time for you to go about your daily chores without worrying for the security of your new pup. Those who are not aware of the usefulness of a crate will see it as a form of torture for dogs, however, if crate training is carried out properly, it can be a fun and rewarding for both you and your puppy. It's effectiveness cannot be denied, as shown by the number of professional dog trainers who swear by it when potty training.
Getting the Right Crate Size - An ideal dog training crate should be large enough to allow your dog to stretch out without hitting his head and allow him to be able to turn around easily. The size of the crate is consider too large if you find your dog relieving himself in one corner and playing and sleeping in another. If your puppy is still young and not fully grown, try to block off certain section of the crate with cardboard or wooden boards.
Critical Crate Training Rules - You must introduce the crate slowly to your dog when you begin crate training. Crate him in short intervals, about 10 minutes, and gradually increase the duration over time. Your dog needs time to get used to being crated. Never crate him for more than 30 minutes or longer the first time you put him into the crate.
It is not advisable to crate a young puppy for long periods of time. Your puppy should have the chance to exercise and urinate before being crated. Dogs are clean creatures and do not wish to dirty the space near their personal sleeping areas. However, he might be forced to relieve himself if you cruelly lock him in for longer than he can hold it in.
A rule of thumb to gauge how long your puppy should be in his crate is to add an hour to his age in months. For example, a 2 month old puppy should not be crated for more than 3 hours without any bathroom breaks.
It's common for pups to bark and moan to attract your attention while in the crate. If these things happen during crate training, do not give him any attention! Yes! Do not even look in his direction.
Dogs are intelligent animals. Don't let him know that he'll get your attention when he kicks up a fuss. Simply ignore him. Praise your dog or let him out only when he settles down.
Offer a treat or toy to distract and calm your pup down if necessary. Whatever you do, don't let him out of the crate at that very moment.
If you notice that your dog displays hyper active behavior as compared to before, you might be crating him for too long. If your dog starts to chew on himself, let him out immediately and consult a trainer or behaviorist.
Here are some tips to help introduce the crate to your dog:
1. To make his experience pleasurable, play with him there or spend time watching TV there or reading as he gets busy with chewing a toy. If he is there all by himself, he begins to associate the area with isolation and may resist being there at all.
2. Start crate training at the start of dinner. Give him his food, one piece at a time, by throwing bits of kibble in to the crate and making him search for it. This is one way of making it fun during his training.
3. If you pick up his toys, place them in the crate, so that when he returns he can play with them. To surprise him, you can even hide a biscuit in the crate ? that's fun!
4. Don't crate him for longer than he can hold the urge to eliminate or defecate. If you are gone for long periods each day, you should consider a larger confinement area such as an exercise pen or a small room.
5. The best place to place the crate would be where your puppy can see the environment and family members, hear and smell you, the owner.
6. Do not punish your dog in his crate, it will backfire. If you introduce the crate to him in a fun way, your pup will take to crate confinement quickly and without much fuss. It is meant to be a comfortable and safe space, not where he'll get punished.
7. Crate training cannot be used as a permanent solution to ensuring your dog is kept safe without supervision. Pups must not be left in crates alone for long period of time. Your training duration will be affected greatly if you crate him for too long and he urinate in the crate.
In sum, crate training is a necessary training tool when instilling obedience. Its main purpose is to provide security, safety, reduce potentially destructive behaviors, add to the ease of traveling and protection for short term confinement, whenever the owner needs it. It is one important lesson all puppies should learn from day one.
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Moses Wright is a an experience dog lover with 3 beautiful dogs. He created a Dog Obedience Training site to help fellow dog owners stop their dog behavior problems. You can get a free copy of his book filled with easy-to-use yet effective tips here: Free Dog Training Book
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