[K-9Girl]

I believe that crate training is the way to go! All of my dogs are crate trained.

You need to start with the training as soon as possible. The younger they are when you start the better. Kodi, my male, began his crate training the first night I had him. At first your pup will not be too happy about the whole idea of being left alone in the crate....but she will learn to love it. All three of my dogs LOVE their crates!

Here are some suggestions from a person who has crate trained 5 dogs:

Have your pup sleep in her crate at night. Now, this won't be easy....and expect a few nights of being up every couple hours. Every night, about 1 hour to 30 minutes before bed, play with Red and get her tired so that once it is bed time she will want to go to sleep. Even if she tries to sleep before bed time, don't let her! Wake her up and make her play.....if she sleeps just before bed, she will want to play while you are trying to sleep! She may cry when you first put her in the crate. What I did with Kodi was I put his crate in my bedroom next to my bed. After I put him in the crate I would have to sit in front of the door and talk him to sleep. This usually took about 5 minutes for him to fall asleep (remember, he was real tired from all the playing we just did!) The good thing about having them next to your bed is that you can hear when they need to go outside during the night or if they start to cry, you can talk to them and they then know that you are close by.

Whenever Red goes into her crate always reward her with a little treat. She will soon learn that going into her crate means that she gets a treat. If you are going to leave any toys with her in the crate make sure that they are toys that can't be chewed up! Make sure that they are safe toys like a Nyla Bone. Leaving a rawhide bone in the crate with your pup unsupervised could result in the pup choking....not a good thing!! And NEVER use your crate for a time out or punishment. The crate is ALWAYS to be a good and happy experience for the pup.

While you are away from you house, Red should stay in her crate. The crate is an exellent tool for house training your pup. Most dogs do not like to go to the bathroom where they sleep, so Red will learn to hold her messes until you take her outside. Not to say that she won't have an accident or two, but useing the crate will speed up the house breaking.

Another thing that I love about the crate is that while you are away you KNOW that your pup is safe from any harm. A puppy just left in a room while the owner is away always seems to make a mess or get in trouble.

Red will soon learn that her crate is her "safe" place and you will be a much happier owner knowing that your dog is safe and out of harms way.

If you need any more help just let me know! Good luck! :)

Sara