Crate Training Your Puppy
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The Crate as a Training Tool
Puppies are extremely busy. After all, there’s a whole brand new, exciting world surrounding them! Everything must be sniffed, licked and of course chewed. Puppies discover the world around them in this manner. What this means for you, is that you must keep track of a very energetic, very curious little fire ball of energy and fur. Sometimes you are going to need a break. Use the crate as your sanity saver for those times when you’ve had enough. A puppy in her crate can’t cause havoc and chew stuff in the house. Plus a little quiet time by herself each day is good for puppy.

Bedtime
Get into a routine for bedtime with your puppy. Set your puppy’s bedtime and stick to it each night. Dogs are creatures of habit and like their routines. This will provide security for your pup as well. You can use a simple command like “Bedtime”, then lead her outside to go to the bathroom. When she comes back in, direct her to her crate, “In your crate”. Throw a treat into her crate as you say this. Lock the door and pull the sheet down on the side of the crate. This will signify to your pup that it is time to go to sleep. If she fusses, DO NOT let her out. She has to learn it is bedtime and it is sleep time and quiet time. If she continues to fuss for a long time and you suspect she may need to go to the bathroom, let her out to do her business, but as soon as she is done, it is straight back to bed. Do not pet her, cuddle her, play with her, talk to her or interact in any way other than to give commands (i.e. “Outside” or “Go pee” or “In your crate”).

If you are unable to watch puppy every moment and don’t want her roaming around, create a puppy play pen for her. Directions for this setup are if you are facing the front door of the crate. It is best if this is set up in the kitchen or on some other flooring that can be easily cleaned. Using an exercise pen, clamp one end of the pen to the back right hand corner of the crate. You can use carabiners, hooks or clamps to attach the pen – anything that will keep the end of the ex-pen secured to the back of the crate. Wrap the ex-pen around the crate and attach the opposite end to the front left hand side of the crate. Make sure you keep the crate door open. Put puppy’s water and food dishes within the set up and throw in a variety of toys. Puppy will now have space to play and when she gets tired, she can take a snooze in her crate.

Do not leave puppy unsupervised in this set up – it is only meant to contain your puppy when you need a some time to complete work or make dinner without have to watch puppy every minute. This works especially well if you are unable to use baby gates or other barriers to keep puppy confined in one area. We have an open concept house, so baby gates were useless as the doorways between rooms were far larger than the baby gates would extend.

Your Pup Will Love the Crate
With consistent use, your pup will come to love her crate and you will soon appreciate the peace it will give you as puppy grows up!