How to Crate Train a Puppy

Learning how to crate train a puppy is easy.  All it takes is some thinking on your part.

The first step is buying the right crate.  A dog/puppy only need enough room to sit, stand, turn around, and lay down.  Resist the temptation to buy the biggest and best crate for your puppy!

Dogs are pretty clean animals.  Usually, not all the time, they won't pee and poo where they sleep and eat.  If you give them too much room in the crate they will use a section to pee and poo in and use the other section to sleep.  You could come home to a poo covered dog and no one wants that!

The second step in learning how to crate train a puppy is positive reinforcement. 

Positive reinforcement is something good (positive) you do when your puppy does what you want it to do.  Praise and treats are the most common forms of positive reinforcement. 

When you first bring the crate home, let your dog sniff it.  He will wonder what in the world it is, this is good!  After he gets used to it being there, which shouldn't be too long, offer him a treat near the crate.  If he takes the treat, great, add some praise. 

Next, get him closer to the crate with another treat and more praise. Keep doing this until you have him inside the crate.  Once he is inside the crate give him a chew toy, to keep him entertained.  Then, slowly and calmly, close the door.

Don't leave him alone the first time you close the door.  Stay with him, give him more treats and praise for being a good puppy! 

Remember POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT!!!

Once you have lured him into his crate with a treat, given him a chew toy, and stayed with him for a little bit, the next step is leaving him alone in the room with the crate while he is in the crate.

Don't jump up and rush out!  Give him one last treat and slowly and calmly leave the room.

He might notice you leaving and try barking to get your attention. Let him bark, don't react to his demands!  When he has spent sometime alone in his crate, let him out.  Don't forget the treats and praise.

Crate training isn't hard. I have crate trained puppies, to the point where they are ok with being alone, in 3 hours before. The longest it has ever taken me is 2 days, but that was a dog from a shelter, who knows how he was treated before.

The point of the treats and praise is to make him think "oh, yay! I like being in here, I get treats and praise when I'm a good dog". This is how you want your dog to think! This is good!

Don't give up!