Just how do you do dog crate training ? Keeping your dog in a crate can help eradicate undesirable behavior, so it’s no surprise that so many people year on year ask the same question! It is one of the most important weapons in your armory when training your dog.

What does the crate mean to your dog?

If your considering dog crate training than rest assured, most dogs absolutely love being in their crate.  It is just like having a den in the wild…dogs like to have their own small space just for them where they can feel happy and secure. This is what a crate does…give them their very own space.

How to do dog crate training

In an ideal world you would start dog crate training when your dog is a puppy…it can be a big change for a fully grown dog to suddenly go from a large space into a much smaller one and quite distressing. It may well also distress a puppy but what he doesn’t know what hurt him, so if he knows no different then he will soon come around

It’s probably for the best to keep the crate close by …even moving it into the bedroom of a night. There will come a time when you can leave it in one space but in the early days your puppy will be a lot calmer if there are close by to your reassuring presence.

You should make sure that in his crate your puppy has a clean and cozy place to sleep, a toy, access to water etc.  The crate should match the size of your pet.  Too big and the puppy could walk about perhaps even foul in it.  The general rule of thumb is that your puppy just needs enough space to turnaround…you are not being cruel; dogs really do love their crates!

One common mistake can be to let your puppy out of the crate should be get upset.  You are only telling him that if he can get your attention any old time he likes by making an almighty fuss. Only ever let him out after he has been quiet for say 5 mins…then by all means lavish him with affection and a treat…this shows him the correct way to behave.

Start out with short sessions in the crate – sixty minutes or so at a time. As time goes by this can be lengthened to a whole night’s sleep of when you are out at the office

Learning dog crate training the right way leaves you with confidence to leave your dog knowing that they are happy and that they won’t do any damage or annoy your neighbors with incessant barking etc. Puppies soon catch on too which make the whole process far less stressful for the whole household.