How to Train a Puppy Using the Crate Method
One of the major challenges of dog ownership (particularly for first-time owners) is the issue of house training. If you equip yourself with some rudimentary knowledge and a positive attitude, though, it’s a lot easier than most people make it out to be.
I’ve had several dogs over the years, and have tried different methods of house training them. The one method, however, that stands out above all the rest is known as the crate method. Crate training refers to housing your puppy in a small crate, or indoor kennel, and keeping her in there when she is not out for walks with you, or when she’s not being actively supervised while in your home.
Dogs, like all animals, have certain built-in instincts. One of those is that in most cases they refuse to soil the area where they normally sleep. Since your puppy will be spending a large portion of her early life inside the crate, she’ll by nature “hold it in”, and not go to the bathroom until she’s been let out of the crate (and placed outside).
As you start looking at the various crates available, keep in mind that you don’t want to keep replacing the crate as your puppy grows, so make sure you get one that will be big enough for her as a full-grown dog. It’ll look huge for her while she’s a puppy, but puppies grow quickly, and you’ll want her to have the proper space to grow in.
Unless you’ve got a puppy that will remain small even after being fully grown, you’ll have to place some kind of divider inside the large crate that will temporarily block off some of the inside of the crate from being used until she’s big enough to need the extra space. Otherwise, the extra space might be used as a bathroom space, and that defeats the whole purpose of crate training.
The process of crate training is actually more difficult for the new owner than it is for the new puppy. You will be required to keep the puppy in her crate at all times, literally, except for the times when she will be placed outside to go to the bathroom (and taken for walks), eating, and having supervised playtime with you inside the house. This may seem like cruel and unusual punishment, but it isn’t. It is actually crucial to the well-being of puppy as she continues to grow to become an integral part of your family. Be consistent this, and don’t give in.
This doesn’t mean that you should keep your puppy in her crate all day long. She should be taken out every two to three hours to stretch her legs, and given the opportunity to go to the bathroom. At night time, however, you’ll find that your puppy will usually sleep through the night no problem. Just keep an ear open for her. If you hear her whining, put her outside quickly.
Training a puppy using the crate training method is not an overnight solution. It can take up to two months maximum, usually less, for this process to work. But that a short time considering the number of years she’ll be part of your family. As you progress with your crate training, you can begin to reduce the amount of time the puppy is in the crate, but make sure you continue to monitor her while she’s not in the crate. After all that hard work, you’d hate to start back one square one again because she starts going to the bathroom in the house.