Talk with your Animals

Crate training a puppy can be a very good way to develop your dog from being a puppy to a well behaved mature dog. Some people will worry that it may be cruel, however when used for the correct reasons, nothing could be further from the truth. Making use of crate training to teach your puppy can be an effective and humane approach to establish your puppy a place in your home and give your pet a strong feeling of security.

Crate training is a widely used home training technique which provides your dog with his own special den and establishes acceptable behaviours for life in your house, including housebreaking. But crate training your puppy is not only useful for house training. Here are five important guidelines for crate training your dog.

1. Don’t send your puppy to their crate for punishment. Don’t show any anger in your voice. If your puppy misbehaves, just lead him into the cage using encouraging words. Consider it as a happy place for your pet to go for a break when necessary. Try to sit down with the puppy a while and also pet him to reassure them that you aren’t angry.

2. Give your pet’s crate a homey atmosphere. Offer the puppy blankets, chew toys, along with a cushion to rest upon. However, do not put food or drink in the cage with him. Make it an area to rest.

3. Do not keep your dog inside the cage for long periods of time. For example, don’t leave your pet inside the crate all day when you are at work. Dogs are pack animals. They are social and they want to be with other animals – which usually includes us. To your dog, the family unit that lives in his home are other members of his pack. Sure, humans do not quite smell like other dogs, but that’s not the point. You will be hard pressed to find a dog that does not consider itself as one of us.’

Also, when crate training your puppy, at all times be consistent. If your dog is jumping up at people and you are using the cage to stop this behaviour, make sure to pop him in the crate every time he does it. Don’t forget to keep it a enjoyable experience for your pup by allowing your visitors to drop by the crate and say hi to the dog and also stroke him.

5. Crate training your puppy furthermore is very valuable by using ’scheduled crate time.’ Just like youngsters, even a puppy has to rest. These amazing creatures, known as ‘man’s best friend,’ are light sleepers, constantly on guard to keep us safe. Providing them with some ‘nap time’ will make them much better behaved and more relaxed as well.

We all like to see a well trained dog and crate training is definitely an excellent tool to use. Used correctly it is going to make your dog accept you as his boss or ‘leader of the pack’ and that is an important first step in any puppy training.

Having a crate to teach your pup provides it his own tiny ‘kingdom’ and you can also have some fun kitting it out. When done the right way, with lots of love, crate training your new puppy will provide both of you with an amazing friendship free of a lot of the ‘drama’ associated with dog ownership.

Hannah Clapham is an author and keen lover of dogs and all things canine. On her latest website she explains the benefits of using a Citronella Anti Bark Collar, to discover more, visit her site at http://www.citronellaantibarkcollar.net