[suequantock]

What is crate training a dog?
I have approx 12 cats and 7 kittens. No dog, at the moment. I have never heard of crate training... sounds rough on the critter, and the owner.

[labman]

The phrase ''crate training'' suggests to me somebody is trying to make things more complicated than they are. I am sure you have at least seen pictures of them. I have no idea how people cope with some dogs without one. I do suspect some puppies that are gotten rid of or banished to the garage or outside, would be living inside the house where they should be. All I do is put the puppy in the crate when I can't watch it.

I have started 17 puppies in a crate since 1991, and had at least that many more as a guests for up to 2 weeks. They have all accepted the crate well and housebroken OK. I know many others doing the same. You bring home a properly cared for 7 week old puppy, and start it in a crate, and its instincts allow it to feel at home in it. I have even solved the first night by itself problem. At bed time, with a new puppy, I have found lying down in front of the crate like you were going to sleep and speaking softly to it, or singing, until it settles down and goes to sleep works very well. Follow the pattern, a period of active play, outside to eliminate, and then into the crate.

It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy
Wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in. I started many of my lab puppies in a 36'' Pet Porter with no trouble. Many people report better luck starting a puppy in a smaller crate. You can also block off part of a crate. I use a grid to keep young puppies up out of accidents at first.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

[carrie18]

What is crate training a dog?
I have approx 12 cats and 7 kittens. No dog, at the moment. I have never heard of crate training......sounds rough on the critter, and the owner.

Crate training is when you place your puppy/dog in a crate, you make it nice and cosy for them so it bacomes there nice little space, the plan is that dogs are quite fussy about peeing where they sleep so will hold on longer if there locked in where their bed is, however the younger the pup the more often in the night you'll need to let it out into the garden to pee. Goodluck