By Rachel Moseley
1. Potty Training
When you are house training a dog, the most important thing you can do is control their access and therefore their ability to make mistakes (have accidents) on your nice floors. One of the ways to do this is by utilizing a crate when you can’t keep eyes on your pup. Dogs prefer not to soil where they sleep so they’ll be naturally inclined to try to hold it in when they’re crated in an appropriately sized crate. Take them out to go potty as soon as you let them out of their crate and reward them for doing their business outside. This will build reinforcement for going outside. Additionally, if they’re only loose when you can supervise them, it’s easier to intervene if you see them starting to sniff like they need to go out. When you notice them sniffing you’ll take them out and reward them for pottying outside. This will make house training faster and more efficient since they won’t have the opportunity to have as many accidents as they would if they had free roam all the time.
2. Safety / limit destruction
We’ve all seen the dog shaming videos and pictures by now! A great way to prevent the kind of destruction that you see in them is by confining your dog when you aren’t home or able to supervise – especially with young puppies or dogs that are new to your home! They get bored and they chew or play with inappropriate stuff – be it furniture, toilet paper, food on your counters, anything they find to get into – and nobody wants to come home to a house full of chaos that their dog caused in their absence. Add on to that, dogs may ingest things that are harmful to them in the midst of their destruction and that can quickly turn into one scary and expensive vet trip.
3. Vet and grooming
Both vets and groomers have to crate dogs as part of their routine. You drop them off for an appointment, they go into a crate, they do whatever needs done, then go back into a crate until you pick them up. Since both of these environments can already be overwhelming and stressful for dogs, the kindest thing we can do for them is to fully prepare them in every way possible. If we take the time to build a positive association to their crate then going into a crate at the groomer or vet will be far easier for them.
4. Health – Crate Rest
There also may be times your dog requires strict confinement due to injury or surgery. Crate rest is a common recommendation for dogs that need strictly limited activity while they heal. Of course, this is a lot easier for them if they already have positive associations with being crated whereas if they have no preparation it can add to the stress they’re already experiencing from their injury.
5. Natural Disaster
In the event of a natural disaster, it’s critical that your dog can be comfortably crated for several reasons. Living in Arkansas, we all know the risk of tornadoes well. Being able to crate your dog in a safe location in your house during a potential natural disaster helps ensure that they don’t panic and run away (a frequent occurrence with natural disasters, lots of pets get lost). Additionally, if something goes terribly wrong and you need to go to a shelter, they often require that dogs are kenneled for everyone’s safety. The best way to prepare them for this is to take the time now to build up their comfort in the crate so that if you ever wind up in that situation the crate doesn’t add to their stress levels.
Tips for Crate Training
To help them learn to love their crate, you can start with simple things like feeding them their meals in their crate or giving them pacifiers in there (like stuffed kongs, toppls, bones, bully sticks, etc). Start with leaving the door open and build up to closing it just long enough for them to eat as you see them starting to get comfortable with it. Then you can start gradually increasing the time they’re in there.
For crating overnight, it can help at first to keep them crated by your bed so that if they wake up you can remind them that you’re still with them and they’re okay. You can move it later once they are comfortable if you want.
I would highly recommend not leaving any gear on your dog (collars/harnesses) when you crate them. They can be dangerous because they can get caught on the crate.