The Advantages Of Crate Training
Crate training any dog is not a punishment, it’s a place of comfort, security, rest & reward.
First of all the crate must be strong & have enough room for the dog to lay stretched out for comfort. A dog of any age can be taught to end up enjoying the crate. Patience on your behalf & how you manage the training of getting the dog to like it is totally dependent on YOU not the dog. Think along the lines as it is an extension of obedience.
The reasons for crate training has many positives for you & the dog. If starting with a puppy it can help with toilet training & if you already have an older & bigger dog it can allow time out from the other dog, giving both rest & helping to reduce injury to the pup. If any dog hurts it’s self it can be crated straight away to stop further damage to it. Say your older dog has Arthritis or general soreness the dog can be rested in the crate & any disturbance or sudden noise can keep the dog from running to it or jumping eliminating any further aggravation to the condition.
If a dog suffers from storms & thunder or separation anxiety this can become their safe haven. Also if you have a new puppy & young children this allows you supervision time of them playing with the pup & gives the pup a rest. This protects both the pup & child as the pup has sharp teeth & is only playing & children have to be taught how to treat a puppy. They don’t mean to hurt it but it does happen & this causes many issues for both as neither will forget that experience.
A dog that has aggression issues with other dogs or people what a better place to put the dog for all concerned. There are many other times it can be used for & the main ONE l like is when a dog comes to me & l tell people the dog needs to be rested or confined for an extended amount of time to avoid an operation or after an operation while it’s being rehabilitated you now have total control of this.
My three GSD’s are all fed in their crates of a night & any time their in the crate water is available & two sleep in there all night the other one sleeps beside my bed. Our two Cavaliers are not fed in the crate but when it’s bones they are crated separately.
Once the crate is set up to where you want it the training can begin. Leave the door open & show the dog & let it explore the crate & even put a treat in it & let the dog come & go a few times by doing this. Your next step could be closing the door & giving a reward. Leave the dog in the crate & walk away, if it barks etc ignore the dog. When the dog settles praise it verbally. If it settles for a few minutes let it out & show the dog your happy with it. Don’t give in to bad behavior be patient. See what works for you, it’s all about training the dog & eventually this will become a place of rest & security when needed.
The photos below are showing what our dogs are doing naturally during the day coming & going into the crate as they please & when the doors are locked there is not a problem.
