Give Your Dog a Den - the Benefits of Crate Training 

Crates are a life saver for people with puppies. Young puppies need lots of supervision to make sure they don’t get into trouble inside – mainly toileting inside and chewing things they shouldn’t! It’s impossible to watch them closely enough all the time, so that’s where a crate comes in handy.

We talk in the toilet training article about how you can use a crate to make toilet training easier for you, your puppy and your carpet! Aside from that, a crate has all sorts of handy benefits and uses, for puppies as well as adult dogs:

• It gives them a “den” – a safe space to relax and sleep. This is an important natural instinct for dogs, as in the wild they would have a den to sleep in, so even domestic dogs will naturally gravitate to a quiet, enclosed area to relax.

• It lets your puppy be near you while you’re busy, without getting up to mischief – going to places in the house you don’t want them in, or chewing things they shouldn’t. This is important because the more times your puppy does those things, the more they become a habit (and therefore harder to stop!) Prevention is the best cure.

• They start to learn to be ok with their own company, so they’re happier when you need to leave them on their own, rather than fretting because they’re only comfortable when they’re right next to you. Being ok with being on their own is an important thing for them to learn, even when you don’t leave them alone very often right now, because if your lifestyle changes in the next ten years so you spend less time at home, it will be much easier if your dog’s already ok with that.

• It gives them a space for quiet time. This is especially important if you have kids, as while your puppy loves playing with the kids, puppies also need lots of sleep and rest, so it’s important for them to have a safe space to go where they won’t be bothered by anyone. Teach your kids that if the puppy is in their crate, that’s their quiet space, and they can’t be petted or played with while they’re in there. This is essential for a healthy and harmonious relationship.

• On that note, it also teaches them to just ‘chill’ inside. Some dogs get into the habit of coming inside and just being super excited about being there, so they fidget and run round and generally drive everyone in the household a little bit crazy because they just won’t settle. A crate helps to teach them to just relax and chill with the family, without being in everyone else’s space.

Most dogs love their crate when it’s introduced in the right way. Sometimes puppies need some guidance in accepting the crate as their den, or safe space, so here are some tips to help ensure that them being in the crate is a positive experience for both you and your dog.

Don’t use it as punishment. If they have chewed your shoes, or peed on the carpet, don’t shove them in their crate afterwards when you’re grumpy with them. Use the crate to prevent that stuff happening, and don’t associate it with them being in trouble, or they’ll hate going in there, even when they’re not in trouble.

Associate happy things with their crate, and give them something to do when they’re in there. This means giving them a favourite toy, or a tasty treat or bone, so they look forward to going in their crate.

Use the crate randomly. Don’t only put them in it when you’re planning on leaving them there for a few hours, or when you’re going to leave the house. You can use it for those things, but don’t ONLY use it for those things, otherwise every time you put your puppy in their crate, they’ll basically think “Oh no, when they put me in here, they always leave me for aaaaages!” Mix it up and put them in there for five or ten minutes, wait until they settle, then open the door and give them the option of coming back out (if they’re sleepy, they may stay put by choice, and that’s fine). This way, they never know if they’re going in their crate for five minutes or a few hours, and they won’t automatically associate it with being left alone for a long time.

Many puppies will whine or bark when they are first left in their crate. This is a normal response to being left alone (remember, up until now, they have always had the company of their mum and littermates, being alone is a new thing that they have to get used to). Make sure they have something to do in there (a tasty treat or a toy to chew on) and leave them in there until they stop barking and whining. This is super important. If you respond to the whining and barking by going over and giving them attention, or letting them back out of the crate, you are encouraging that behaviour. Your puppy will learn that when they bark or whine, they get what they want (in this case, attention, or being let out of the crate), and they will do it more and more and it will get harder to stop. It’s best to teach them right from the start that barking and whining doesn’t work, and won’t get them what they want. In contrast, if you let them out once they settle down and relax, you are rewarding that behaviour (one that you DO want), and they’re more likely to settle down faster next time because it gets them what they want.

A great way to teach them to settle down and relax in their crate is to wait until they’re tired and ready for sleep, then pick them up, put them in their crate, and sit in the doorway, with the door open, but gently blocking them from coming back out. Try not to pat or interact with them too much, just quietly sit there. They should settle down and either lie down and relax, or fall asleep, and then you can leave them there. If you’re around to keep an eye on them if they wake up, then you can leave the door open (so they don’t feel like the crate is always a place that confines them), but if you can’t watch them, then just quietly close the door and leave them to sleep. If you do this regularly you should find that when they are sleepy, they actually take themselves to their crate for a nap (so leave the door open when your puppy is inside so they can go into it when they want to).