Crate Training Your Puppy

Crate training has many benefits for your new puppy’s life. It can provide a safe means to help prevent inappropriate house soiling while working on the process of house training.  A place to escape small children who might be causing an increase in stress with overhandling of the new puppy. It can be a great way to prevent destructive and/or potentially dangerous behaviors while you are away or unable to supervise your puppies activities. Lastly, you can use the crate to help teach independence by preparing the puppy to self regulate (practice calm) when left on their own.  Teaching independence is an important step in helping to prevent separation anxiety. This Fear Free Crate Training video is a great resource.

• • Pick a Crate: Select a crate that is large enough for your puppy to sit, stand, turn around and lay down comfortably on their side. Your pup should not have enough room to go potty in one corner and rest in another. If you have a small puppy but they will grow to be a much larger dog in the future, you can still use a larger crate, just be sure to block access to most of the crate so that your puppy is not able to use the entire space.
  • Happy/Safe Space: The crate should be placed in a section of the home where you and/or your family spend most of their time. If you would like a dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) diffuser can be plugged in somewhere nearby for extra support and comfort (ie, Thunderease). If you have children (or overly gregarious adults), help them to understand that your puppy’s crate is off limits.
    • As you introduce the crate, toss treats inside and let your puppy explore the crate on their own. Make sure to let your puppy explore the crate without any pressure beyond tossing treats inside several times before attempting to close the door.
    • When you first close the door, do so for only a few seconds, then open and toss in some more treats.  Repeat this step, gradually increasing the amount of time that you close the door with your puppy inside.
    • You can then start feeding your puppy’s meals and food-stuffed toys inside their crate and eventually close the door when they are eating comfortably.
  • Night time/Bedtime: The crate is a good place for your puppy to sleep.
    • If you can afford a second crate or can move the crate to your bedroom, it will help your puppy to settle more quickly if they can sleep near you (or their selected family member).
    • This will also allow you to hear if your puppy becomes restless, or whimpers during the night. This might be their signal to you that they need to be let out to go potty.
    • Acclimating to the crate is actually easier at night while your puppy is mostly sleeping.  Make sure to include a special treat in your puppy’s crate at bedtime.

• Incrementally increase time spent inside their crate: As your puppy gets more comfortable, have them start spending more time in their crate with a food-stuffed toy or a long term chew toy that takes longer to eat.

• • • Be sure that they are relaxed and calm and begin to leave the room for short periods of time while your puppy is occupied with food or a treat.
    • As long as your puppy remains calm, you can keep increasing the amount of time spent in the crate until your puppy can comfortably remain in their crate while you leave for longer periods of time.

• Ignore Cries or Whines: Try not to respond to cries or whines while they are in the crate.

• • • If you experience this problem, the crate training may be moving too fast for your puppy’s comfort. The most successful way to accomplish crate training is stress-free. If you can, set up practice sessions that end before any stress begins. The easiest way to make that happen is to end the session before your pup finishes the treat you’ve placed inside the crate.
    • It’s very important to monitor for signs of stress/anxiety during your crate training sessions (ie, panting, yawning and salivation). If you see signs of fear, anxiety or stress you may need to start over from the beginning or consult with a behavior specialist. These could be the early signs of separation anxiety.
    • If you accidentally push your training session too far beyond your puppy’s comfort level and they vocalize while in the crate, you should try to wait for a few seconds of quiet before you let them out. NEVER punish for this behavior. The vocalizing may get worse before it gets better and it may take some time to get better but try to wait it out.  Make sure to pay close attention, there is a difference between a “protesting” and a “panicking” pup. If your puppy is becoming frantic while in the crate then please end the session immediately. Most likely you will need to slow down and start the training at a more comfortable level for your puppy.

• Never Confine for too Long: Remember, they don’t have adult bladder capacity yet so please don’t keep them in their crate for too long.

• • Potty breaks need to be based on age and/or individual capacity once your pup has shown you what they can do without causing distress.
  • In general, puppies can “hold it” for 1 hour per 1 month of age plus 1 (actually, you should consider the plus 1 as a plus/minus 1).
  • If you must confine your puppy for a more extended period of time you will need to change the set up to give them a little more space and an alternative potty spot. This might look like using an x-pen or a baby gate that blocks off an area that would fit their crate (left open)/bed, a potty area and some toys and a water bowl. This will allow your puppy to maintain that instinctual need for cleanliness around their sleeping area. Ideally, you can get a friend or hire a dog walker to provide breaks at appropriate time intervals.

As for almost all training, successful crate training relies upon consistency and creating a positive experience. Most importantly, NEVER use a crate as punishment or allow scary things or people to disturb your pup while in their crate (this includes well meaning children).