Crating helps with house training too. Puppies are unlikely to soil in their crate, and if they wake in the night the crate stops them finding somewhere in the house to toilet.
A crate protects household objects from sharp puppy teeth. And crate training is useful in case of emergency and in case your dog is ever hospitalized at the vet.
But the first few nights can undoubtedly be rough. Where to Put the Crate. The best place to put the crate overnight is in your bedroom. This makes it easier for you to hear if your puppy needs a potty break.
Plus, your presence is comforting. Newly separated from their mom and littermates, puppies are not used to being alone. She suggests putting the crate next to the bed. During the daytime either move the crate or have another one set up in your living area and continue with crate training sessions in which good things happen in the crate think treats and dinner.
When your puppy cries, take him straight outside in case he needs to potty. Carry him to prevent accidents en route, and plan ahead by leaving shoes, your coat, and some treats to reward toileting in an easy-to-find spot. Then put your puppy back in the crate. It may help to use a puppy pen for part of the night while you work on crate training. Note that if you want your dog to potty exclusively outside this may set back your housetraining efforts.
A week-old puppy should be able to wait for about three hours but may need to eliminate well before this. For house-training purposes, take your puppy out to potty every one to two hours and reward him for toileting outside. In fact, you want him to know that you will help him if he's crying. He may need you to take him outside for a potty break, or perhaps he just needs some reassurance. But guess what? This is not a bad thing! Suzanne agrees. I think it is really important to say here that with puppies we do best to err on the side of comfort and kindness.
Comforting your puppy is never the wrong thing to do! At eight weeks of age, a puppy can only hold it for a couple hours before needing a bathroom break.
A general rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold their bladder one hour for every month of age. So if your puppy is two months old, they can hold it for about two hours. I usually place a crate right beside my bed; it helps teach puppies to sleep in the crate if you are right beside them and they don't feel so alone. I place another crate in a corner of my living room.
It works best for a dog to be introduced to a crate gradually, rather than just plopping him in for the night or long periods. When your new dog or puppy first comes home, acclimate him to the crate by tossing a treat in, leaving the door open so that the dog can enter and exit freely. When your dog is comfortable going in and out of the crate, toss a treat inside and close the door for a second or two before letting the dog out.
Place a bed or mat that your dog already likes into the crate. This will help reduce any startling noises when the dog enters the crate. The dog will also be familiar with the bed, which could make him more willing to go into the crate.
When you are not training, leave the crate open and place your dog's toy basket or favorite toys inside. Feed your dog meals in the crate, starting by leaving the door open and, as training progresses, closing it. If you give your dog any special treats, chewies, or bones, give them to him in the crate. A special bonus of having the mat in the crate is that the dog will begin to associate good things with the mat after being fed on it.
Take the mat with you to the vet. Place it on the floor in the waiting room, on the scale, and in the exam room to help your dog become more comfortable and relaxed during vet visits. When the dog is going into the crate willingly, add a cue for entering the crate. Try "crate" or "bed" or "go in. Soon your dog or puppy will be going into the crate on cue and eagerly. Next, give the crate cue and wait for the puppy to go in on its own.
Stop tossing the treat and wait for the puppy to enter. When the dog does go in, say "Yes! Start training a release cue at this time. The release cue tells your dog when he or she is free to leave the crate.
This training step has the added benefit of encouraging and increasing self control. Your dog learns to remain calm and not rush out, even with the crate door wide open. Cue the entrance, mark with yes or click, and treat. Almost immediately, say your release cue try "ok," "free," "break," or "get out" and toss a treat on the floor outside of the crate.
Keep tossing treats until the dog can leave the crate without seeing the treat; the dog exits just hearing the release cue. At that point, you can phase out the treat. Leaving the crate has become the reward. If your dog is comfortable with the door closed for a few seconds, gradually increase the time the dog is in the crate. Remember to keep using a release cue to tell the dog that he can leave. If your dog does not have a problem remaining in the crate calmly for several minutes, start closing the door and ducking out of sight for a second before returning.
Gradually build up the amount of time your dog is in the kennel. If the dog starts to whine, ignore him, letting the dog out once he is calm. If you want to leave your dog in the crate for longer periods, try putting a stuffed Kong, a bully stick, or a safe chewie into the crate as well.
All through this training process it is important to be patient and not to push your dog. Ask for what your dog is comfortable with rather than forcing your dog to do what you want. Crate training is best done in baby steps. If you can get your dog or puppy comfortable with the crate before the first night in it, your odds of getting a good sleep that night will be much higher. Once your dog is crate trained and house trained fully, you can leave the dog in a crate for up to 8 hours.
The dog should have good exercise before and after, and should be left in the crate with something safe to occupy his attention. Your dog will likely spend most of the time sleeping! Younger puppies cannot be left in a crate for as long as 8 hours. Physically, puppies cannot hold their bladders long enough, and it isn't fair to ask for that. A good general rule to follow is one hour in the crate for each month of age. A three-month-old puppy should be fine in the crate for three hours.
This is really important. When you are playing with the pup, encourage them to go into the crate by their own choice — possibly to chase a toy, or to get a treat. You are teaching them that the crate is a safe and rewarding place to be. While they are eating you can shut the door for a few minutes. Whenever the pup is sleepy, put them in the crate beside you, so they feel comfortable about sleeping in there.
Make a hard and fast rule that no-one ever disturbs the puppy when they are in the crate. Every pup is different thought and so you need to be sensitive to your own dog and not rush this.
Thankfully many breeders will have already crate trained their puppies as it is a lot easier for them not to have puppies running riot around their house and this will make things so much easier for you and allow you to start as you mean to go on — so it may well be something you want to ask the breeder right at the very start.
Your puppy should spend their life out and about with you, learning about this new world and bonding with you — not shut in a crate! NOTE: If your puppy wears a collar in the house, always take it off before you put them in the crate.
Your puppy is more likely to sleep if they are tired, so in the hour before bed, have a game, play session or do some training not too active but still engaging - you want them tired not hyper-excited!
Take them out to go to the toilet last thing before bedtime so you know that the need to pee or poo will not keep them awake. Be prepared to wait until you know your puppy has gone to the toilet and of course has been rewarded for doing so.
This can take some time, as puppies can get distracted by the great outdoors and forget what it is that they are out there for so be patient! You can soothe them with your voice — and even put your hand on the crate — but give them the space and the time to settle down it may be worth warning your neighbours in advance if they are close by — and buying them some wine, chocolate and earplugs!
This will distract from the barking but also relax and tire the puppy so they are more likely to fall asleep. Having something like a blanket or a towel in the crate that smells of their mother and littermates can often help them feel secure and so sleep better.
Give something to the breeder when you visit the puppies and ask them to keep it in the puppy pen until you bring your puppy home for the first night sleep. Some puppies feel more secure when they can tunnel into a bed or be surrounded by soft sides think about how they sleep bundled up with their littermates in a puppy pile so consider getting a small doughnut bed to put in the crate. If you do have to get up in the night to take them outside to the toilet as you may well in the first couple of weeks , make this as boring as possible with no interactions beyond rewarding successful toileting.
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