CRATE training is an excellent way to train your puppy. He will feel he has his own little space in the house that is especially for him.
Place the crate in a busy part of the house such as the kitchen or living room where he can see his family and not feel he is being isolated or punished. The crate should be big enough for the puppy or adult dog to sit, stand, turn around and stretch out a little.
Place blankets and toys in the crate so the puppy feels the crate is a rewarding place. It should never be used as punishment. Nor should a puppy be in the crate for long periods of time as this could stress him/her and create behaviour problems. Crate training is also an easy way to toilet train your puppy. Dogs do not like to relieve themselves in a place where they sleep and play so will hold on as long as possible when in the crate.
Very young puppies cannot hold on for long periods of time and may relieve themselves in the crate, making the crate not such a rewarding place if the puppy has to sleep in his mess. So place some paper down in one part of the crate just in case the puppy has to relieve himself. Remove the paper as soon as possible, and replace it with clean paper.
Leave the crate door open most of the time so the puppy can go in and out of his crate whenever he wants to rest, or play with his toys. Puppies and adult dogs love to have a place of their own to rest and escape from children or other animals and he will learn to go into the crate when he needs to. Only close the crate door when the puppy has had enough play with children and needs to rest. It will prevent the children from getting easy access to him and will also prevent accidents around mealtimes and cooking, when a puppy could get under your feet when carrying hot food etc.
Feed your puppy his meals in his crate and place a small bowl of water near the crate so he fells that it is his special place filled with many rewards.
Never force the puppy to go into the crate. If he sees the crate as a rewarding place and a place where he is fed then he will want to go in the crate when you ask him to.
Every time he goes into the crate use the words you want to choose, such as 'in the crate' or 'in your bed'.
When you are eating your own meals give your puppy a bone or Kong type toy stuffed with food in his own crate so he also feels when you eat then he gets a special treat of his own and this keeps him from begging at the table. Do not throw your dog food when you eat at the table, it may only take one little treat from your table and he could beg for the rest of his life.
Once your puppy is happily going into his crate for his food and rest you can then shut him in overnight. Make sure you take him out to relieve himself just before you go to bed and then let him out again as soon as you get up in the morning. If he is unsettled at any part of the night it may be that he needs to go out to relieve himself.
There may be a mess in the crate to clean up every morning for a while as he learns control, but this is nothing a bit of disinfectant cannot fix. The overnight control may take days, weeks or months depending on the dog. All dogs are different and just because the neighbour's dog had overnight control in a few days does not mean your puppy will do the same. Be patient and never leave your puppy shut in the crate for long periods in the day.
If you wish to confine your puppy to only certain parts of the house then I would suggest you get a child baby gate and place it in the doorway or stairway or wherever you do not wish your puppy to go. - Nicole Mackie (trainer)
