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Just a few things about crate training -
- It works on the FACT that dogs dislike soiling their sleeping areas; which is an instinct they recieved from their wolve ancestors.
- Using a crate will keep your puppy out of trouble. No worrying while your away if he's chewing a dangerous electric cord, trapped under a fallen item, running the neighborhood because he got out a window or door, or has broken into those chocolate candies you left on the table. Many dogs have died from all of these above causes because their owners trusted them alone too soon and horrible things have happened.
- Crates are a secure place that is a dog's domain. My dog loves her crate, its her sleeping area and where she can get away. Would you rather your puppy go into its soft, familiar crate or under the dark bed, when company [like noisy children] comes over?
- Crates are not a lifetime thing for all dogs. We used it on our dog for about 1 year, after she was finished teething and could control her bladder a while. Currently, she's almost 3 years old and at night, her crate door and she can choose to sleep in the crate or beside my bed [she usually chooses the crate]. Crates also help prepare your dog for free run of the house. Letting an 8 week old puppy run all over the house without supervision is like putting a child in a toy store. Their bound to find something and break it, get hurt, or get into some trouble. Free run of the house is a privilage we save for older dogs who know which parts of the house they can go in and we know they won't be nawing off a table leg while were gone.
A few tips on crate training not mentioned below are:
- Put the crate near a door (preferably a sliding glass door that is easy to open). We had our dogs crate there and every morning we'd open the sliding glass door, then her crate door, and direct her outside. It was just habit for her after a while to go to the sliding glass door when she was let out of her crate.
This is from an information phamplet I picked up at the Humane Society. Print it out and maybe your husband will have a new view on crate training.
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THE MYTH:
"He'll hate being cooped up in there!"
"I'd never put my puppy in a crate."
"It'll drive him crazy."
"Staying in there will make him hyper and destructive."
"So he'll just pee in tehre instead of on the floor."
THE TRUTH:
"He loves his crate...I don't believe it!"
"I'd never raise another dog without a crate."
"It saved my sanity."
"Thanks to the crate, our puppy is always a pleasure and never a problem."
"Its the best way to housebreak a puppy."
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WHAT IS "CRATE TRAINING"?
Crate training is one of the most eficient and effective ways to housetrain a dog. Dogs do not like to soil their resting/sleeping quarters if given adequate opportunity to eliminate elsewhere. Temporarily confining your dog to a small area strongly inhinits the tendency to urinate and defecate. However, there is still a far more important aspect of crate training.
If your dog does not eliminate while she is confined, then she will need to eliminate when she is released., i.e., sge eliminates when you are present to reward and praise her.
Be sure to understand the difference between temporarily confining your dog to a crate and long term confinement when you are not home. The major purpose of confinement when you are not home is to restrict mistakes o a small protected area. The purpose of crate training is quiet the opposite. Short term confinement to a crate is intended to inhibit your dog from eliminating when confined, so that she will want to eliminate when released from confinement and taken to an appropriate area. Crate training also teaches your dog to have bladder and bowel control. Instead of going whenever she feels like it, she learns to hold it and go at convenient scheduled times.
Crate training should not be abused, otherwise the problem will get drastically worse. The crate is not intended as a place to lock up the dog and forget her for extended periods of time. If your dog soils her crate because you left her there too long, the housetraining process will be set back several weeks, if not months.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS:
*** The virtual elimination of "housetraining" problems and attendant "accidents" in the house.
*** The savings in dollars in cost to repair or replace damaged household items.
*** An assurance that the puppy will develop good habits.
*** Eliminating the likelihood of having to give up a pet because of not being able to cope with its behavioral problems.
TIPS FOR CRATE TRAINING:
- Use a collapsible crate with an epoxy-coated floor pan large enough for an adult dog to stetch out comfortably. A smaller space for a puppy can be created by sliding cardboard between the wire of the crate.
- Keep the crate in a semi-private spot a "people" area. This spot should be away from drafts and direct heat.
- Well before bedtime, place the pup in the crate and offer a treat. Close and lock the gate.
- Immediately establish a routine, using the crate for nap times and whenever the puppy must be left along (3-4 hours). Take outside elimination spot, praise his performance, and go directly inside. The puppy will ten be able to make the association.
- Usually the pup settles quietly in the crate after 3-8 attempts at emotional responses. After the puppy is quiet, keep it inside for about 10 minutes. Do not praise the puppy immediately after releasing it - this can reinforce the desireability of leaving the crate.
- After an interval of 30-45 minutes, repeat the procedure. Extend the pup's quiet time to about 30 minutes. Then gradually extend your absent periods, and, in a short time you can be gone for several hours.
- Provide soft washable bedding and one safe chew toy in the crate. Other than treats, do not put food or water in the crate and do not feed the puppy in the crate.
- Remove your dog's collar and tags to prevent possible entanglement.
REMEMBER...
- Make your attitude toward using a dog crate a positive one!
- Remember that you are doing your puppy a real favor. Crate training will reduce fear, insecurity, and stress-related problems for your puppy.
- You are NOT being cruel.
- A secure dog is a happier dog with a happier owner!
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