Crate Training a Puppy

[CDN008]

I am definitely leaning towards the crate being near the door to go out or living room and not the bedroom. With my last dog as I stated he was already 5 months old, now the new one will be 2 months old and I wasn't sure if I should start him in the bedroom.

[Sharon]

The dogs crate is like a den to them. It should be a safe space for them.

With a young dog you should start out with a smaller crate. If they are in a large crate they will just mess in the corner of it, in a smaller crate they won't unless they really need to.

When we are crate training/house breaking a dog, the pup is left in the crate at all times unless under direct supervision. Whenever you take the pup out of the crate take it outside and wait for him to do his business before bringing him back in. This will create the type of habit that you want. Before long, when you open the kennel he should automatically start heading for the door. After you bring him in they can run around as long as they are supervised, unattended puppies get into trouble.

When you first start crate training do not rescue the pup when he is whining, it will only make things worse. You have to let them work this out on their own.

It also helps to have the crate in a room where people are and there is some activity, so they aren't just staring at an empty room all day. Studies have shown that large kennel operations set up in a horseshoe are best for dogs so they can see the other dogs and what is around them. Those kennels with 4ft concrete walls separating them are very bad for a dogs mental health.

Also every time you put the pup back in the crate say "crate" or "kennel" as they are entering the crate.

Exactly!
Hardest part is hearing pup whine/cry out and ignoring him/her. The fact is though that every time you rescue pup, you will be making the process that much harder.
If you start pup off in the bedroom , you won't be getting much sleep.

[trky chsr]

With Labs something to keep in mind is they learn through their stomachs. Whenever we crate trained a pup we always gave them a little training biscuit and if we left to go to town or whatever we put some peanut butter in a Kong to keep them busy for a while. Just keep in mind it will whine and cry at first. I've been known to sleep beside the crate on the floor for a few nights. TC

[rick_iles]

With Labs something to keep in mind is they learn through their stomachs. Whenever we crate trained a pup we always gave them a little training biscuit and if we left to go to town or whatever we put some peanut butter in a Kong to keep them busy for a while. Just keep in mind it will whine and cry at first. I've been known to sleep beside the crate on the floor for a few nights. TC

You are right on there. My lab got a piece of dog biscuit when she went into her kennel. She is three, and all I say is “bed”, and she takes off up stairs to a spare room where her kennel is. The first couple nights, I left a radio on with the volume low. We had no problems with her whining...

[trky chsr]

You are right on there. My lab got a piece of dog biscuit when she went into her kennel. She is three, and all I say is “bed”, and she takes off up stairs to a spare room where her kennel is. The first couple nights, I left a radio on with the volume low. We had no problems with her whining...

It's funny, ours is 10 and as soon as I kiss my wife before I go to work she races to her kennel to get her treat. TC

[Sharon]

As soon as I put on lipstick mine heads for the crate.

[BurlyGirl]

Another thing to remember about puppies is that they are essentially a blank slate.

One of my mentors always hammers home "What they are doing is what they are learning, good or bad"

Puppies aren't born barking idiots. When you see a dog that just barks for the sake of barking, more than likely someone allowed him to become like that.

Work on shaping their behavior before they learn bad habits.

Annnnd this ^

[m1k3_88]

I'll vouch for the treat when going into crate. My bulldog can be stubborn as hell, but he's 6 months and when I'm ready to go to work doesn't matter on the shift he goes in the crate when I tell him to calmly

[trky chsr]

One other thing I would like to mention is to cover the crate with a blanket or something to create a "den". I think it makes the pup feel more secure. Just leave the front open so they can still see what's going on. TC