The Many Benefits of Crate Training

by Kathy Santo. Kathy Santo, author of Dog Sense, has trained dogs for both home and competition. She sees more than 100 dogs each week at her obedience school.

Text Copyright the American Kennel Club, Inc., 2007. No portion of this article may be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Reprinted with permission from AKC Family Dog, January/February, 2007.
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Many people come to me with housebreaking problems and trouble with their dog damaging their belongings when he's left alone in the house. All these difficulties can be eliminated with the use of a crate. Some people worry that confining their dog in a crate is cruel-it's not.

Vari-Kennels

Kerries fit in an intermediate or large crate.

The crate approximates a den, which dogs in their wild state slept in for thousands of years. Wild dogs continue to sleep in dens, and our modern domestic canine still retains the den instinct, which is why the crate is so effective in housebreaking. A dog normally will not soil where he sleeps, if he can possibly avoid doing so. (A dog with an upset tummy may, though.)

The trick is to make the sleeping quarters small enough so the dog can't use one end as a bedroom and the other end as a bathroom. A crate should be large enough that the puppy or dog can turn around in a tight circle and lie down in it. If you have a puppy who will grow into a large dog, and you don't want to buy a small crate now and a big one later, go ahead and buy the large crate, but block off the back section of it with a crate divider. You can move or remove the divider as the puppy grows larger.

Important-point alert: The crate must never be used as punishment! The dog must see the crate as his special place, where he is safe and happy. Many breeders crate-train their puppies from the time they leave the whelping box, so ask your breeder if the puppy has been introduced to the crate, and what size crate she recommends. If you have the chance, take a towel or small blanket and ask the breeder to put it in the whelping box with the puppies before you bring your new one home. The blanket or towel will be permeated with the mother-and-litter scent, and will make those first few nights in the new home much easier.

When your puppy arrives home, he should be in the crate during the following times:

Nap time. One minute you're playing with the puppy, the next minute he's crashed out on the floor, sound asleep. When this happens, pick him up and take him to his bedroom-the crate-and close the door. He must get used to sleeping in the crate so that eventually, when he gets older, he'll go lie in it by himself when he feels sleepy. (This is especially helpful if your puppy will grow into anything larger than 20 pounds!)
Nighttime. Because you want to sleep, and you don't want your house decorated in Cocker-Spaniel Contemporary overnight.
Mealtime. Trust me, this is the best place for the puppy when he's eating. It will almost guarantee that he stays
focused on his food rather than whatever is going on around him. When children are toddlers, are they sitting in a high chair during dinner or running around the house? Case closed.
When you're too busy to actively monitor the puppy. You could be busy, or tired, or have the flu-whatever. If you can't watch the puppy-and I mean in the same room, watching him and not the TV!-better to crate him than clean up after him. Remember: Every time your puppy has an opportunity to make a mistake in the house, it sets you back in his housebreaking!

Unfortunately, there are some dogs who will use their crate as a Porta Potti. Usually these puppies are in too big a crate, are being overfed, or were bought from an irresponsible breeder, where their only choice was to go to the bathroom in the crate they lived in. If the crate is too large, section it off as described above. In the case of overfeeding, reduce the amount of food or possibly switch to a higher-quality brand. As for those incorrectly crated puppies, extra attention is warranted. That may mean taking him out twice as often as you would a "normal" puppy. In any event, a thorough exam by your veterinarian is in order to ensure there's no physical cause for soiling the crate. In my next column I'll discuss housebreaking in detail.

Though I've primarily discussed crate training in connection with housebreaking a puppy, keep in mind that a crate can be a valuable tool when dealing with grown dogs. A crate is essential when traveling, working on certain behavior problems, or just letting your dog feel he has a safe, secure place of his own.