If you’ve poked around here a bit, you know my position on crates. They are wonderful tools.
Crate are not cruel. Most dogs learn not to just tolerate their crate, but to love it. For a puppy that doesn’t have any preconceived associations with the crate, simply introducing the crate and making it cozy is frequently all you need to do.
Used correctly, a crate can effectively house-train your puppy for you. A big part of house-training is control your dog’s access to the house, and a crate does a great job of doing that. Moreover, providing your puppy with a “safe” place like a crate keeps her out of all sorts of trouble.
Get a crate and use it. You’ll thank me later.
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Excellent post again! My pup grew to lover her crate within a couple days of bringing her home (around 8 weeks). I spent the first couple nights laying on the floor in front of the door, but after that, she slept through the night on her own and only fussed to be let out in the morning to go potty. And speaking of potty, the crate was a great help in getting her on a schedule for predictable potty trips outside. We had MAYBE a dozen incidents of peeing in the house, and only a couple poops. Ever. And most of those were because I didn't do a good enough job of sticking to the schedule and routine.
As far as loving it, she'll frequently just go in there and “disappear” to get away from the kids! It's her safe little cave.
And it has definitely helped to keep her out of trouble growing up. We used to leave her in her crate whenever we had to leave her alone and unsupervised for more than a short period of time. Any time she was left out unsupervised, she would tend to get into things she shouldn't. Especially when she was teething. But as she learned what the “house rules” are and got used to having more freedom around the house while we were there to supervise, she earned more freedom to be out of the crate when we're away. Now (11 mo.) she has free reign of the house while we're gone at work for most of the day and does great.
So yeah, big crate fan here!
We are crate fans! We used crates to potty train two different puppies and to keep them from chewing up the house when we ran brief errands. But actually I am surprised by the tone of your post – you mean there are people out there who are against crates and crate training? What the rationale?
I come across many clients who think they are cruel, and others who think that they are something to be weaned off of.
Thanks! I'm glad you had success with the crate, and its great to hear that she is earning “free reign.”
I agree that crate is not cruel at all. Our Black Russian Terrier likes it very much. Thanks for this great article!
So, so, so true, and helps when boarding dogs, too!
The best dogs at my daycare are the ones who are OK with being crated for twenty minutes or so for a break. Boarders who are there for days on end need time away from the pack or else they'll eventually get GRUMPY. If you can imagine being exhausted from exercising all day but then having to be around thirty of your loudest, most annoying friends… well, yeah. So the dogs who can let themselves take a break in a crate are the ones who benefit most from the play group. Otherwise, for a non-crate-trained dog, a “break” becomes a totally stressful, terrifying event.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be to manage day care dogs that don't like being crated! Great feedback!
Good points. I didn't know that a puppy could actually learn to like a crate. I remember when I would take one out, it was usually associated with a trip to the vet. Knowing ahead of time to start early and make the crate comfortable makes total sense. Thanks!
Dogs definitely can learn. Two of my rescues dogs came to me not liking their crates too much, and they both will go and rest in them on their own now. Just a question of not pushing too much, too fast.
Thanks for the information Eric. Patience is what I need more than the dogs! I know that when you train dogs, you are also training us owners!
I have just adopted a 7 month Cavalier yesterday. The dog is wonderful but seems to potty in her crate without whining ,etc. Please tell me the best way to retrain her, she obviously is used to soiling herself and her cage.
This can be a really tough issue to deal with. It’s possible someone kept her in the crate way too long before, and now she’s become accustomed to just going where she is. This means you cannot rely on the crate as a housetraining tool.
I would get her to a vet ASAP and eliminate any medical possibilities, just in case there are any.
If there are none, you are going to have to treat her like a puppy for a bit, but without a crate. Try to confine her to a small room with some pads or something in one area and get her accustomed to not being in her own mess, while at the same time getting her outside regularly so she can be rewarded for going outside.
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Our Opal looooves her crate (though it may have something to do with the memory foam we put in the bottom), and will often seem confused or concerned if the door is closed with her on the outside. Since she’s now calm and very well-mannered, we don’t shut her in the crate, though we could if we needed to.
The other dog, Onyx, however, didn’t form any positive (or negative) relations with the crate. Then again, he house-trained in about four hours (at eight weeks old…genius dog) and had only one accident ever. Though uninspired by most treats and toys, he is very intelligent…he was a counter surfer for years before we even found out, because he never dragged the turkey onto the floor or chewed through the pizza box.
As for the dogs I dogsit…well, I’m responsible for their break-time while their owners are at work. I find that they don’t put up a fuss going back into the crate if they’ve had a nice long walk or, if I am unable to walk them (dermatographia + Southern summers = me staying inside as much as possible), a romp outside with each other.