When crate training many people end up ultimately giving up and failing because they don’t know the basics to the process and go into it with an empty slate that only leads to headache and stress. If you’re a first time crater or even an experienced one, there are a few tips you should keep in mind when training your puppy or recently acquired dog.
The whole purpose of having a dog crate is to allow it to keep your dog secure by means of a simple cage that contains a dog crate door in a variety of materials from wire, to metal, to plastic. Making sure that your dog has a crate that caters to their needs without being too big is one of the major steps to success. Your dog needs to have room to walk through the dog crate door and be able to turn around and lie down. However, you don’t want him or her to be able to use it as a toilet and then lie down in a separate section. That would classify as being too large of a crate for their size.
In choosing a crate you will also have the option of having one door or multiple dog crate doors. The functionality of having more than one door is mainly for size and space concerns you may have. One door will allow your dog to enter and exit from one location while multiple gives them the luxury of another or even two other choices of entry and exit. It isn’t a big deal and sometimes choice of what type of dog crate door yours will have will narrow down to which is cheaper for you.
Consistency is the key to a successful crate training experience. If you associate a command such as “kennel” with your dog and point to the kennel they will get the message and begin to enter when you tell them. Sometimes tossing in a treat will give them the bit of encouragement that they need in the process as well.
You may also want to think of keeping the dog crate door open even if you’re not trying to get your dog to enter. Soon they will associate the crate with being a comfortable second home to them and may freely exit and enter on their own free will. With some effort and time you will soon have a dog or puppy that is crate trained and your home will be free of accidents.