Crate training can be beneficial for a variety of reasons, a crate is perfect for a dog to have a place of their own that they can go to where they feel safe, this is crucial when you first get a dog either as a puppy or maybe you have or are thinking of getting a rescue dog. If your dog is not used to a crate they are really easy to get your dog used to and doesn’t take long to train them to use a crate either. So why crate train a dog?
Here are 5 reasons why you should start crate training your dog:
- Using a crate makes house training easier – it’s a known fact that dogs do not like to sit in their own mess, so crate training them can help eliminate them going to the toilet inside, when you get a crate for your dog make sure it is big enough for them to move around and turn in but not too big that they can make themselves a separate area to toilet from where they lie, if you have a puppy and do not want to have to replace the crate as it grows you can partition off an area for them so as not to give them too bigger space than they need till they grow. This does not mean if you are going to put them in their crate and leave them for 8 hours or more that you won’t find they have had an accident, so you still need to let them out at regular intervals, otherwise you will be missing out on a great tool to help speed up the house training progress.
- Using a crate can help stop destructive behaviour – although it is part of a dogs natural behaviour to chew things, that doesn’t mean they should be chewing everything, apart from the fact you do not want your own belongings and furniture ruined from a safety point of view they should not be chewing everything. Crate training your dog and putting things in the crate that they are allowed to chew, will let them know that the crate is a good place to be and that anything in there is fine to chew, this will help make general house training easier too.
- Using a crate keeps your dog safe from household hazards – a crate is a great place to keep your dog out of trouble especially that new inquisitive puppy, there are lots of potential hazards around the home, from cables or cleaning products to some human foods that dogs should not eat, that an unsupervised free roaming dog could get in to, but if you have a crate you can put them in it and have peace of mind that they will be safe.
- Using a crate can help make any time at the vets less stressful – If your dog is already used to spending time in a crate, and they have to go in to the vets and stay for any period of time then they will already be used to being in a crate, so will be less stressful for a dog that is used to a crate than one that’s never been in one before, and if they see their crate as their safe place this will help in unfamiliar surroundings, also having a crate at home for a dog to rest up in after any vet treatments will be better for them than having free space to roam when they should be getting minimum exercise.
- Using a crate in your car is safer for your dog – there are many different ways you can travel with your dog in the car, but the safest by far is in a crate. Some people have a harness attached to the seat belt, or a grid behind the back seats, if your dog is crate trained and you get crates fitted into your car, they will be happy to go into one on any car journeys, and if your dog gets stressed when in the car, this will help with that as they will already feel safe inside a crate. This will make the journey safer and stress free for both of you.
There are many benefits to crate training your dog
Apart from the reasons mentioned above crate training has many benefits, if on holiday you can take the crate so your dog has its own area to sleep in, maybe even be able to go out for a meal or to a show or cinema etc knowing your dog is safe and OK for a few hours, if you leave them with family members at any time the crate will be their own area where they can go to if they are somewhere they are less familiar with. If you have visitors and maybe you have a dog that doesn’t like strangers at the house or maybe they have children and your dog isn’t used to being around children, they have their own safe place to be, not to mention when you go out they will have their own area you can leave them knowing they will be safe there.
Also, when you bring a new dog or puppy home, It is important to confine them to a small part of the house when you are not at home, or when they are going to be unsupervised this is when a crate is perfect. It should contain a soft bed, fresh water and some favorite toys to prevent the dog from becoming bored and frustrated. Just remember it is not somewhere they should be left all the time they do still need time to explore and interact with the family, just leave the crate door open so if it gets too much for them or they are tired they can take themselves off there.
Although some people do not like crates for their dogs, and if trained properly there is absolutely reason why you have to use them, for other people it might be the best thing to ever buy for your dog.
The most important tip is to never use their crate as a place of punishment, so if your dog has done something they shouldn’t, never discipline them by shutting them in the crate, the crate is their space that they can go whenever they want to, if you use it for punishment they will see it as a bad place and will not want to go in it, and all of your training to get them to like it would have been a waste.