Puppy and Dog
Crate Training
Crate training a puppy or dog can be beneficial in providing your dog with a safe and comfortable place to sleep. It can also aid in transporting your dog to another location.
Some dogs will learn crate training quickly while others may take up to several weeks before they are properly crate trained.
If your dog wasn't crate trained as a puppy, you may still be able to crate train it as an older dog.
The crate is a dog's "den." Make sure the crate is the proper size - large and comfortable enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down.
If you confine your dog to its crate too much, for long periods of time (such as when you're away all day), or use it as punishment, your dog behavior training will be wasted since your dog will learn to dislike being in the crate. This is the type of dog behavior problem that you don't want.
As well, if a dog has had a bad experience with a crate previously - such as being punished or overly confined to a crate - then retraining will be necessary.
Crate Training A Puppy and Dog: Make Crate Training Fun
Crate training requires positive training and reinforcement to make the experience a happy and rewarding one for your dog.
Provide your dog with tasty treats and toys inside the crate to entice it to enter and stay in the crate.
Some dog trainers use the "clicker" method in which the dog associates a reward with a "click" when entering the crate.
Be particularly alert for signs of separation anxiety.
Dogs which suffer separation anxiety will panic when being crated. Consult a dog behavorist or dog trainer in these situations.
Separation anxiety is a dog behavior problem that needs to be addressed and which can usually benefit from dog behavior problems training.
Click here for more information on puppy and dog crate training techniques and puppy and dog behavior training including how to select a suitable crate and how to crate train a puppy or dog.
