Puppy training includes crate training.
Why do you have to crate train your puppy? Well, I ask, why not train them to be in a crate?
Your puppy and your belongings will be safer if your puppy is in a crate when you are away from home.
If a puppy isn’t in a dog crate when you leave… just think of all of the things your puppy gets into when you are around them. Can you imagine how much your puppy would get into if you weren’t home?!
All of the messes puppies can make in just a short amount of time alone would make me want to crate train them. Otherwise they will be peeing and pooping around the house… crate training makes potty training SO much easier.
If you don't crate train your puppy you can say goodbye to those electronics that are plugged into the wall. Electronics are a favorite chew thing for puppies.
Make sure you never leave shoes out for your puppy to chew on, because those favorite sneakers of yours will most certainly be no more.
I have met more than a few dogs that eat doors and drywall. You see those memes floating around all of the time with the dog with their head through a wall.
All of those things puppies can get into can also put them at risk of having a blockage in their intestines. And that unfortunately mean a likely surgery.
If your puppy has to go to the vet for any longer type appointments (think surgery, x-rays, if they eat something they shouldn't, or even sudden severe illness), they will be crated while there. Your vet will not be able to allow your dog to be free of the crate.
It is better for your dog to feel safe in the crate than to be terrified of it. And, when your puppy gets spayed or neutered, that crate is necessary. If they ever have an issue and have to be on crate rest, it is best if they don’t hate the crate.
Puppies have to have a positive association with being crated. If you don’t build the crate to be amazing you run the very real risk that your puppy will dislike it. And if your puppy dislikes it… oof. The crate may hold the puppy for now, but that won’t always be the case. Your adult dog will be more than capable of breaking out of a dog crate.
I have met many dogs that absolutely freak out in a crate. It is truly sad to see a dog scared and freaking out from the thing that we have to keep them safe when we leave. The crate is an amazing tool for keeping dogs safe. We have a little work to do to make it a good place.
Crate training matters.
So, start small.
Make sure your puppy is getting plenty of sleep every day in their crate. This helps the crate be a good place, and it also ensures they are getting the sleep they need every day.
And please, make sure that you don't put the puppy in the crate only for you to go to bed or leave the house. This makes them think of the crate as a bad thing.
Make the crate enjoyable. Feed them some of their daily food in the crate. Give them things that can occupy them and make the crate less stressful and more enjoyable.
The crate training you put in with your puppy now will make life with them so much more enjoyable.
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