Crate Training Puppies The Easy Way
While convenient for us to have our dogs trained to the crate, it can also be beneficial for them. This can provide your pet with a special place that they can call their own when they need privacy and it can also be used as their place to sleep. Crate training puppies can be easy as long as you are willing to be dedicated and consistent.
Assisting younger dogs to learn to control their own bowels and bladder is much easier when using a kennel. Plan on having several accidents, but quite possible to begin with dogs as young as seven weeks. Remember that using the crate is to benefit the dog and provide them with a safe and secure place; they cannot spend the majority of their day in it. It needs to become a place that they want to go instead of one that they come to dread.
Many people like to encourage them to the kennel with the use of treats, but if it is to be a sort of sanctuary the introduction of food may not be the best idea. The best results in the past have been to allow only their favorite toy and a pillow for them to sleep with. These items tend to make it feel more special to them and less likely to want to use the bathroom here.
After a round of play they usually need a nap and this is the time to take them out for a bathroom break before placing them inside the kennel to go to sleep. Cover the kennel floor with soft sleeping materials. For very young dogs it is probably best to use towels that can be bleached and washed often.
Generally, they do not like to eat or sleep where they go to the bathroom so chances are they will try to avoid doing so. Puppies do not have great control and have to be watched closely. Some indications will be given like squatting or whimpering. Try to respond quickly because there is little time with the control that they have.
In the first couple weeks this may be a very hard process to deal with during the night especially, but when they get just a bit older the idea will catch on. They will not only provide these indications while in the kennel, but they can also be observed outside the kennel as well and it is important to continue with training by taking them out quickly.
At night, taking them out on a two-hour schedule is probably appropriate. If they demand more attention than that, they may be lonely and it is important not to give in to the problem. Learning to sleep alone is important to their development and will make them a much happier and confident pet and the time will come when they will learn to love their kennel.
If you have to leave dogs in their crate for meals, then it is best to take out the food after giving them a certain amount of time to eat. Take them out about half an hour after they finish for puppies from ten weeks old to six months old. It may not be the best idea to provide puppies constant access to food, especially when training them.
As the young dogs grow older and with your help, they will have much more control over their bodily functions. From crate training puppies, they gradually learn to hold it at night until you take them outside so that they do not soil their bed. It will also become important to them not to soil the home they live in and this will certainly make you happy.
Looking to read more about the steps to crate training, then visit TW Bell’s site on how to pick the best dog crate for your pets needs.