If you have a puppy and want to buy a crate for him, then the question that usually arises is How to Crate Train a Puppy? Well, proper training is required to make the puppy stay in the crane otherwise he won’t stay in it for a long time.
Puppies like to explore the places and things present around them, and they can destroy without even knowing. Due to this reason, it is important to purchase a crate for your little friend so that he can stay in it for a while and you don’t have to keep an eye on him.
In the same way, if your puppy loved to chew, then you can go for chew proof dog bed, plus you can put this bed in the crate to keep the puppy comfy.
7 Steps to Crate Train Your Puppy
There are different things that you must keep in mind which can help in the training process. We have explained all the major steps which are involved in the crate training. So, review this article to get the answer to your question, How to Crate Train, a Puppy? properly.
1) Choose the Perfect Crate
The first and foremost important step of training is selecting an ideal crate, there are different types of crates present in the market, but you must go for the highly comfortable, durable, and flexible one.
Plus, the crate must provide a home-like atmosphere, so the puppy won’t feel unhappy while staying in it. Furthermore, you must consider your puppy’s size before selecting a crate because size is directly involved in providing comfort to the puppy.
One more thing is the material from which the crate is manufactured, so you must check the material from which the crate is manufactured, as some crates have sharp ends and can hurt your little puppy. So, you must check the whole crate properly.
2) Establish Mindset of Your Puppy
If a puppy feels comfortable while staying in the crate, he can stay there for a longer time, so you must make a crate comfortable by putting on crate pads to make the puppy feel easy and comfortable while staying in it.
Establishing a proper mindset is of great importance, so you have trained the puppy that the crate is like its home, and for this, you can put some toys in the care, or you can sit by him for some time while he is in the crate.
This will help him adjust to the crate, and he will love to stay in it for a long time.
3) Determine the Comfort Level
Sometimes puppy doesn’t feel comfortable while staying in the crate; due to this reason, most owners use dog blankets or a bed to put in the crate. Both these thing keeps the puppy comfy.
As the puppy can chew and destroy the beds and blankets, so it is recommended to purchase a chew-proof bed or blanket. These accessories are composed of high-quality chew-proof material, so the puppies can’t destroy them.
Furthermore, they are highly comfortable, and thus you can put them in a crate, and the puppy would love to stay in it, which will help you crate train your puppy easily.
4) Treat Giving
If you give your puppy a treat like something to eat or play with, he would love to be in a crate whenever he enters the create. The sense of reward makes the puppy happy, and he won’t get irritates while going into the crate.
Furthermore, he would enjoy his treat while staying in the crate, and when you perform this act a few times, it becomes a puppy’s habit, and he will go inside the crate without having a treat.
5) Time Management
One of the most important factors which are involved in crate training is proper time management. Such that you can lock the door for some time and then increase the time after few days.
So, first, when your puppy enters the crate, you must lock the door; you can make your puppy do that by asking him to go to bed and showing him the way to the crate. When your puppy is inside the crate, lock the door.
You can give them something to eat, so he would love to stay in the crate; this is the crucial step of the training. The next step is keeping the puppy in the crate for a short time, such that in the start, you must put the puppy in the crate for about 2 or 3 hours.
It will allow the puppy to stay in the crate for a long time, such that after some days, you can increase the time period. Plus, you can increase the lockdown time with the passage of days.
As the puppy remains in the crate, he will think of it as home, and after some time, you can leave your puppy in the care and go where ever you want. Such that when the puppy feels relaxed, he won’t get irritated.
6) Play Some Crate Games
One more thing you can do is play fun games while putting the puppy in the crate, as you can give a ball to the puppy and ask him to give him back to you. Or you can give some toys to the puppy, and they can play with them.
7) Have Patience
You must take things slow and have patience when it comes to crate training your puppy. It would take about 6 months to train the puppy properly. In the start, you would feel stressed when the puppy won’t train.
But you must have patience and give proper time to your little friend. If you rush things or becomes harsh with your puppy, then he won’t train properly. So, patience is the major thing that you can do while doing this task.
How Long You Can Leave The Puppy In Crate
Unlike dogs, puppies cannot stay in the crate for a long time. Thus, you must take things slow and give your puppy proper time to adjust himself in the crate. The time frame is different for different puppies, such that if a puppy is only 8-10 weeks old, you can put him in the crate for about 30-60 minutes.
If your puppy is about 11-14 weeks old, it is suggested to keep him for about 1-3 hours, and if the puppy is 15-16 weeks old, it is appropriate to keep him in the crate for about 3-4 hours.
And if you have a puppy whose age is more than 17 weeks, he can stay for about 4 – 6 hours in the crate. Thus, you must manage the time period according to the age of your puppy.
Don’t Use Crate For Punishment
If you want your puppy to stay in the care and consider it a home, you should not use the crate as punishment. Such that you should not use harsh words to the puppy to make him stay in the caret.
Instead, you must deal with him with love, in this way he would consider the as hm home and love to stay in it for a long time. Plus,m you can have a crate pad to provide him more comfort.
In this way, he starts to consider the crate as his home and stay in it without even asking. Thus, it would be best if you kept that in mind while crate training your little puppy.
Make the Crate Training Fun
When it comes to the crate, dogs can consider it as a punishment or as home. Both these situations depend upon how you train your puppy. If you become harsh during the training process, the dog starts to hate the crate, and sometimes they start crying while staying in it.
But if you remain calm and make crate training a fun task, the puppy would love to stay in it. Thus, it would help if you placed some toys or a bed to make your little friend comfy in the crate.
You can also play some games with the puppy while putting him in the care; this will help him have good feelings about the crate and find it fun to stay in it without getting irritated.
Final Verdict
If you will buy a crate for your puppy, then the question that comes to mind is How to Crate Train, a Puppy? We have explained all the basic factors and steps that you must consider while crate training your puppy.
Review this article to know about all the major steps involved in the training process, and by following these steps, you can easily create train your little friend.
Originally posted 2021-04-12 13:33:30.
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