Getting your dog or puppy used to a crate can be useful in many situations. Your pet may feel more relaxed in a safe space of their own, and they’ll be much easier and more secure to transport using a pet crate.
Before discussing crate training, it’s important to mention one psychological aspect. As humans, we might view dog crates in a negative light, associating them with inhumane practices of animal caging. However, the matter is quite different from the dog’s perspective.
Dogs have a natural propensity toward creating dens and settling in smaller enclosures. In other words, once crate-trained, your pet won’t feel trapped inside their crate. They’ll more likely feel secure and calm, and the crate could help alleviate any anxiety your dog might feel in certain circumstances. This is how calming dog beds work.
Let’s look at the most significant advantages of crate training and the step-by-step process of getting your pup accustomed to the crate.
How Crate Training Benefits Your Pup
One of the essential advantages of dog crates or pens is that they provide a sense of safety. Your pet will be able to retreat to a safe space whenever they feel tired or upset. Additionally, you won’t need to worry about leaving the dog unsupervised as they’ll be secure in their pen. Plus, your furniture and dog bed will stay safe from chewing or other forms of misbehaviour.
Crate training will also introduce other quality-of-life improvements. For instance, your pup will likely avoid going to the toilet near where they sleep, which will make house training easier and faster. And if there are kids around, your dog will signal that the playtime is over by retreating to the pen.
Finally, visits to the vet could require crating your pet. In those cases, proper training will prepare the pup for transport.
With the benefits explained, let’s go over the vital steps of crate-training your dog.
Step 1: Get a Suitable Crate
You’ll need to pick a good crate for your pup before you start training them. Durability will be important here, especially if you’re getting a crate for an adult dog. But even if you have a puppy, you’ll want to get a crate that can endure frequent use.
The crate will need to be comfortable enough for your pet to want to spend time inside. After all, the pen could become their primary sleeping place, so it should feature a cosy bed.
Size will also be a vital consideration. In particular, it would be best to choose a relatively small crate – big enough for your pup to fit, but small enough to give the dog the feeling of a den. If you have a puppy, get a crate suitable for an adult dog and use dividers to limit the space initially. Then, as your pup grows, remove the dividers to provide more space.
When it comes to style, you’ll have plenty of variants available. For instance, you could choose a standard box-shaped pen like the Snooza Convertible Graphite Crate. Or you might opt for more luxurious designs such as the hexagonal Paw Mate Soft Playpen or the i.Pet Playpen Enclosure. Whichever you decide on, make sure the crate fits your pup’s needs – this will be crucial moving forward.
Step 2: Associate the Crate with Safety and Relaxation
With most dogs, crate training won’t be a success from the first day. While some pups will feel perfectly comfortable getting into the pen immediately, many will need at least a couple of weeks to a month before they settle.
To speed up the process, create an association between the crate and the feeling of calmness. This can be done by taking the process slowly and spending the early days of the training only taking the pup to the crate when they’re ready to rest.
If your dog is feeling playful, keep them away from the crate until they tire out and are ready for a nap. They’ll gradually understand that the pen is their resting spot, unsuitable for play or any kind of mischief.
Step 3: Use Positive Reinforcement
As with many other types of dog training, positive reinforcement in the shape of treats or favourite toys will go a long way. Hiding a treat inside the crate will motivate your pup to enter the pen on their own, and you’ll reinforce this behaviour by giving them additional treats once they’re inside.
While you should avoid overly active play inside the crate, you can introduce specific fun activities to make the pen more inviting. Chew toys will be an excellent choice in that regard.
Step 4: Leverage Mealtime for Crate Training
Using meals to get your dog accustomed to the crate is a great strategy. Introduce this method gradually, preferably with the help of a slow feeder.
First, give your pup its meal, placing it inside the crate, near the door. While doing that, say the preferred command that you’ll be using to direct the pup to the crate. Whichever command you use, make sure it’s consistent to allow the dog to learn its meaning.
Next, start moving the meals further inside the crate. You should keep the pen completely open during these early steps so that the pup doesn’t feel suddenly trapped while eating. The slow feeder will be crucial here, as it will prolong the mealtime and, by extension, how long your dog spends in the crate.
When your pet gets accustomed to eating in the crate, start closing the crate door. Ideally, you should do this while the dog is eating and avoid sudden movements or loud noises. Increase the time that the door stays closed with each meal.
If your dog becomes distressed and starts whining, resist the temptation to let them out immediately. Instead, wait for them to quiet down before opening the door. If you let the pup out right away, they’ll quickly understand that whining is effective in getting them released and will have a harder time adopting the desired behaviour.
In case the dog shows discomfort with the prolonged stay in the crate, reduce the time by a few seconds. For instance, if you’ve gotten to 30 seconds before the pup started to complain, go back to 20 or 25 seconds for the next meal. Then, work your way up again.
Your goal with increasing the pen time should be leaving the door closed for at least 10 minutes.
Step 5: Getting Used to the Crate Outside of Mealtime
In the later stages of the previous step, you’ll likely notice your dog getting more willing to enter the pen when you say the command. At that point, meals will start becoming more of a reinforcement than the main motivation for the behaviour.
Once you get to 10 minutes of closed doors, start practising getting your pup to enter the crate without meals. Say your chosen command and wait for the dog to get inside the pen. Then, reward them with treats and praise and close the door. Sit by the crate for several minutes.
If your dog stays calm, try going out of the room. Return after a short time and let them out. Similar to the previous step, you should increase the time gradually until your dog feels comfortable staying alone for 15-30 minutes.
Step 6: Don’t Rush With Extensive Crate Time
After some time, your pup should be more comfortable going in and out of the pen voluntarily. At that point, you’ll need to test their ability to stay in the enclosed space while you’re away.
You shouldn’t expect your dog to be okay with being left alone in the crate for hours, at least not immediately. Instead, ease them into accepting the idea by leaving the pup in the pen for increasing amounts of time. First, go out for a short walk. Then, progress to having a cup of coffee outside. Finally, try being absent for longer – get dinner or meet with a friend.
Crucially, you’ll need to keep track of how your pet reacts to every instance of being alone in their crate. It would be best to record them while you’re away to get a better sense of whether they’re getting overly anxious. Progress to longer absence periods only when you determine that the pup is relaxed when you’re not there.
In line with the positive reinforcement philosophy, reward your dog for good behaviour with treats and some playtime. This will create a positive association between behaving well in the pen and the reward.
Step 7: Expect Setbacks and Stay Patient
Dogs don’t learn linearly. They might seem like they’ve accepted certain behavioural patterns only to revert to misbehaving. Naturally, this may happen with crate training as well. The pup could accept the pen one day only to refuse to get into it tomorrow.
If such setbacks happen, don’t lose your patience. Instead, expect the training process to last for months and stay consistent. Keep repeating the established routines and supply your dog with ample rewards. The results will show eventually.
Final Thoughts and Precautions
When you start crate-training your dog, make sure to use the pen as a preventative measure and never as a form of punishment. For instance, if your dog tends to misbehave around guests, send the pup to the pen before your guests arrive instead of waiting for the dog to do some mischief before closing them in the crate.
Also, refrain from crating the dog for too long. They should never spend an entire day in the crate since that will negatively affect their physical and psychological well-being.
Finally, don’t view crating as the ultimate solution to all dog problems. Ideally, your pup should be able to move around your home without issues, even when left alone. It would be best to approach crating as a step toward that goal.