Crate training

Suzy · 7th October 2006, 10:06 AM

I never believed this would work, I also thought it to be cruel, but then our vet told us to try it and see if we could get her use to it. Our dog is a saint because of crate training, no accidents, was trained quick and she has her own space still, she loves to be just rest in her kennel, if she is hot or tired she goes and lays down and takes her toys with her.

Quote:

Crate training is one of the most efficient and effective ways to train a dog. The single most important aspect of dog and puppy training is that you reward and praise your dog or puppy each and every time she does the right thing. For example: praise her when she chews her own toys instead of the couch or eliminates outside instead of in the house. The more time you spend with your puppy or dog, the quicker and easier it will be to train her.
The key to house training is to establish a routine that increases the chances that your dog will eliminate in the right place in your presence, so that she can be praised and rewarded; and decreases the chances that your dog will eliminate in the wrong place so that she will not develop bad habits.

It is important that you make provisions for your dog when you are not home. Until your dog is housetrained, she should not be allowed free run of your house. Otherwise, she will develop a habit of leaving piles and puddles anywhere and everywhere. Confine her to a small area such as a kitchen, bathroom or utility room that has water/stain resistant floors. Confinement is NOT crate training.

What is Crate Training?
Crate training can be an efficient and effective way to house train a dog. Dogs do not like to soil their resting/sleeping quarters if given adequate opportunity to eliminate elsewhere. Temporarily confining your dog to a small area strongly inhibits the tendency to urinate and defecate. However, there is still a far more important aspect of crate training.
If your dog does not eliminate while she is confined, then she will need to eliminate when she is released, i.e., she eliminates when you are present to reward and praise her.

Be sure to understand the difference between temporarily confining your dog to a crate and long term confinement when you are not home. The major purpose of confinement when your are not home is to restrict mistakes to a small protected area. The purpose of crate training is quite the opposite. Short term confinement to a crate is intended to inhibit your dog from eliminating when confined, so that she will want to eliminate when released from confinement and taken to an appropriate area. Crate training also helps teach your dog to have bladder and bowel control. Instead of going whenever she feels like it, she learns to hold it and go at convenient scheduled times.

Crate training should not be abused, otherwise the problem will get drastically worse. The crate is not intended as a place to lock up the dog and forget her for extended periods of time. If your dog soils her crate because you left her there too long, the house training process will be set back several weeks, if not months.

Your dog should only be confined to a crate when you are at home. Except at night, give your dog an opportunity to relieve herself every hour. Each time you let her out, put her on leash and immediately take her outside. Once outside, give her about three to five minutes to produce. If she does not eliminate within the allotted time period, simply return her to her crate. If she does perform, then immediately reward her with praise, food treats, affection, play, an extended walk and permission to run around and play in your house for a couple of hours. For young pups, after 45 minutes to an hour, take her to her toilet area again. Never give your dog free run of your home unless you know without a doubt that her bowels and bladder are empty.

During this crate training procedure, keep a diary of when your dog eliminates. If you have her on a regular feeding schedule, she should soon adopt a corresponding elimination schedule. Once you know what time of day she usually needs to eliminate, you can begin taking her out only at those times instead of every hour. After she has eliminated, she can have free, but supervised, run of your house. About one hour before she needs to eliminate (as calculated by your diary) put her in her crate. This will prevent her from going earlier than you had planned. With your consistency and abundance of rewards and praise for eliminating outside, she will become more reliable about holding it until you take her out. Then the amount of time you confine her before her scheduled outing can be reduced, then eliminated.

Mistakes and Accidents During Training
If you ever find an accident in the house, just clean it up. Do not punish your dog. All this means is that you have given her unsupervised access to your house too soon. Until she can be trusted, don't give her unsupervised free run of your house. If mistakes and accidents occur, it is best to go back to the crate training. You need to more accurately predict when your dog needs to eliminate and she needs more time to develop bladder and bowel control.

pmalone224 · 9th October 2006, 12:34 AM

Our dog was also crate-trained to a certain extent and she picked it up so fast it was amazing!

CatLady · 9th October 2006, 06:03 AM

Now, I never had a strictly indoor dog, but I never quite understood about crate training. People always mention that the dog enjoys having their own place to get out of the way for a while. But I wonder, why can't they just go into the next room or into the corner or something rather than in a cage?

pmalone224 · 9th October 2006, 08:28 AM

I think that it's the fact that the spot is always just for them and they will be the only one ever in that spot, Its a territory thing

wehereerrere84 · 12th October 2006, 09:29 AM

my dog dori was crate trained and well she caught up on it pretty fast i beleive crate training to be effective but takes up alot of time. i think the squirting with watergun thing was more effective for me lol but then she was all wet by the end of the day and i had to clean her off

andrewlee · 13th October 2006, 09:55 AM

hmmm i've never crate trained it sounds cruel i agree but i know that alot of people do it so it must not be too cruel. i havent had a need to crate train my dog yet becuase he has always been really good

lajuboxers · 29th October 2006, 08:38 AM

Crate training is essential for every dog, you will not be able to take your animal everywhere with you. My boxer who spends no time in her crate is crate trained just in case she has to stay somewhere else.

Chemikal · 22nd November 2006, 02:11 AM

Crate training is more then pooping and peeing in a cage. It can be basically anywhere they are told to poop and pee. My friends biesion or however you spell it goes on a wee pad. Easy to clean up and not in a crate. Some how ever think making a pet go in a crate is unhumane as do I. I take my dog out side. I am not cleaning no pee nor poop up.

Sapphira · 5th December 2006, 11:48 AM

Thank you for this article, Suzy. I'm going to share this with my friend, as he just got a new puppy and I have a feeling that the sooner he starts on this kind of training, the faster she will learn and the less headaches there will be later on.

I'm glad to hear that it has had a positive affect on your dog and made your life much easier. Well behaved and trained animals are really worth the time and effort it takes to get them there!

22nd November 2006, 02:11 AM	#8 (permalink)
Chemikal Ant Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 64	Re: Crate training Crate training is more then pooping and peeing in a cage. It can be basically anywhere they are told to poop and pee. My friends biesion or however you spell it goes on a wee pad. Easy to clean up and not in a crate. Some how ever think making a pet go in a crate is unhumane as do I. I take my dog out side. I am not cleaning no pee nor poop up.

5th December 2006, 11:48 AM	#9 (permalink)
Sapphira Ant Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 66	Re: Crate training Thank you for this article, Suzy. I'm going to share this with my friend, as he just got a new puppy and I have a feeling that the sooner he starts on this kind of training, the faster she will learn and the less headaches there will be later on. I'm glad to hear that it has had a positive affect on your dog and made your life much easier. Well behaved and trained animals are really worth the time and effort it takes to get them there!

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9th October 2006, 12:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
pmalone224 Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 49	Our dog was also crate-trained to a certain extent and she picked it up so fast it was amazing!

9th October 2006, 06:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
CatLady Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 45	Now, I never had a strictly indoor dog, but I never quite understood about crate training. People always mention that the dog enjoys having their own place to get out of the way for a while. But I wonder, why can't they just go into the next room or into the corner or something rather than in a cage?

9th October 2006, 08:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
pmalone224 Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 49	I think that it's the fact that the spot is always just for them and they will be the only one ever in that spot, Its a territory thing

12th October 2006, 09:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
wehereerrere84 Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 76	my dog dori was crate trained and well she caught up on it pretty fast i beleive crate training to be effective but takes up alot of time. i think the squirting with watergun thing was more effective for me lol but then she was all wet by the end of the day and i had to clean her off

13th October 2006, 09:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
andrewlee Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 11	hmmm i've never crate trained it sounds cruel i agree but i know that alot of people do it so it must not be too cruel. i havent had a need to crate train my dog yet becuase he has always been really good

29th October 2006, 08:38 AM	#7 (permalink)
lajuboxers Ant Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 30	Crate training is essential for every dog, you will not be able to take your animal everywhere with you. My boxer who spends no time in her crate is crate trained just in case she has to stay somewhere else.