If a dog is taught through positive reinforcement to love the crate, the crate becomes his own private and safe place, much like a bedroom for a child. The crate or kennel is somewhere the dog can go and not be bothered; it’s a perfect destination when the dog is tired or nervous. Dogs have a natural instinct to be in a den. Many dogs take to a crate very easily. Here are 4 of my recommendations for the best crateOpens in a new tab. for your fur baby.

What you need to know about Dog Kennel or Crate Training.

There is great controversy about dog kennel training. Many believe that cages, kennels and crates are today’s answer to quick convenient punishment.

Crate training takes advantage of your dog’s natural instincts to seek out a comfortable, quiet and safe place when the environment around them becomes too loud or overwhelming. It’s also an important tool in preventing dogs from chewing on items in the home or during house training.

Many dogs find comfort in their own place and some find quite strange places to call their own- the washing basket, the bottom drawer….. When dog kennel training you must ensure that you do not put your dog in there when he has been bad as tempting as it may be.

Go to my Recommended Products page to see what crates I like best.

 

6 Things To Remember When Crate Training A Puppy

  1. Choose the right crate for your dog –The first few months of a puppy’s life are very important for training and learning!
  2. Think about crate location – Place the crate in a location where you and your pooch spends a lot of time. Don’t put it in another room and walk away from them, this will make them feel insecure and abandoned and associate this feeling with the crate!
  3. Give your pup time to explore – Create a positive association by allowing your pup to explore the crate on their own. Leave the door open, but don’t force them to enter – it’s natural for your pet to be hesitant about entering for the first time!
  4. Encourage them with food – Once your pup is going in, or staying near to their crate without encouragement, you can start giving them meals inside the crate. When they are comfortable with this, begin closing the door while they’re eating. But be sure to open it again when they’re finished.Slowly increase the time your pup spends in the cage with the door closed. They will soon accept that sometimes the door is open and sometimes it’s closed!
  5. Slowly increase the time you’re away from the crate – If your puppy is not showing any signs of distress when spending short periods of time in their crate, you can extend the time they spend inside with the door closed. Call your pooch into the crate with your normal ‘cue’ word and an encouraging treat! If your pet enters without showing any signs of stress, give them another treat and close the door, praising all the time. Stay close by and in sight, then let your dog out after a few minutes.
  6. What if your pup whines?   Whining can also be a sign that you have moved a little too quickly, and your pooch isn’t settled enough to be left. If this is the case, take a few steps back in your training, and shorten the time you leave your pooch in the crate

It’s important that your puppy does not associate their crate with a negative situation. So, make sure you never use the crate as a “time out” area for punishment. This will quickly become normal practice!

 Also dogs can’t be in the kennel for more than four hours due to the fact that they will need to stretch and need to the toilet. Many dogs start to feel uncomfortable after four hours and then they begin to get anxious. Sometimes the kennel isn’t the godsend some think it is.

A lot of people aren’t using kennels properly and therefore end up with more problems then they had started with. You firstly need to identify the problem that you are using dog kennel training for, it is for housebreaking? Chewing? Making a mess? Once you have identified the problem you then need to utilize the cage to your advantage.

A positive place

All dogs should feel at home when they enter their cage. Food and water should always be available to them and comfortable bedding. For chewing problems chew toys should be available in the kennel and nowhere else and if he is caught chewing show him his chew toy instead don’t shout at him.

Duration

Housebreaking is a little bit harder. Most dogs will not do their business where they sleep. So once you notice your dog start to get uncomfortable in his kennel take him out and let him do his business, once he has praise him and continue to repeat.

Younger puppies cannot be left in a crate for long periods. Physically, puppies cannot hold their bladders very long, and it isn’t fair to ask for that. A good general rule to follow is one hour in the crate for each month of age. A three-month-old puppy should be fine in the crate for three hours. Puppies should sleep in their crates at night, as this helps them learn to sleep through the night. Place the crate directly beside your bed in early first training so that your puppy will not feel lonely and frightened, and can wake you easily in the middle of the night for a bathroom break.

Time-out

If crate training is done properly, your pup will be conditioned to relax and settle inside the crate.

A crate can also be used as an effective and humane punishment. As long as the crate has lots of positive value built up, you can use it as an occasional time-out zone. If crate training is done properly, your pup will be conditioned to relax and settle inside the crate. Putting an unruly pup into a crate as a time-out for a few minutes teaches him to settle, and also removes all reinforcing stimulus for his “naughty” behavior. However, if you are resorting to putting your dog in time-out multiple times per day, you risk developing a negative association with the crate. The crate should be used in this way as a last resort, and only if redirecting to an appropriate behavior or ignoring the undesirable behavior does not work.

Dog kennel training needs a lot of attention and probably aimed at dogs that are very stubborn and hard to train. You may think caging up a dog is cruel but in truth it’s not, what happened to us when we were small? We were left in our crib or playpen to play, that is what you are doing to your dog, nothing cruel or inhumane just practical.