Crate training your dog is a way to keep your dog safe and your home undamaged. Many dogs spend a great deal of time home while their families are away.  Confining your dog to a play area or teaching your dog to relax and sleep in its crate can keep your dog safe and your home undamaged while you are away.

First, make sure that the crate is large enough for your dog to comfortably stand up, turn around, lie down, and play with its toys.  A puppy should be introduced to a crate as soon you bring it home and as early in the day as possible.  Placing a variety of treats in the crate throughout the day will encourage the puppy to enter voluntarily. Bedding, toys, and water can also be offered to the puppy in the open crate.

Repeat the crate and release procedure several times during the day, including at each naptime and whenever you give your puppy a toy or treat.  Each time, increase the time that the pup stays in the crate before letting it out.  Always give the puppy a chance to exercise and eliminate before securing it in the crate.

Proper timing and scheduling can help your dog to adapt.  Always make sure that your dog has had sufficient play, exercise, attention, and an opportunity to eliminate before confining it, and schedule your return before the dog next needs to eliminate.  Ideally, the dog should be placed in its crate when it is time for a nap or when it normally amuses itself by playing with its toys.

Escape behavior and vocalization are common when a puppy is first placed into a crate.  If the “complaints” are short or mild, ignore the puppy until the crying stops.  Do not release the puppy unless it is quiet.  This teaches that quiet behavior, and not crying, will be rewarded.  Release the puppy after it has been quiet for a few minutes or has taken a nap.

Crate training is one of the quickest, easiest, and most effective ways to housetrain a dog.  Because most dogs instinctively avoid eliminating in their sleeping and eating areas, dogs that use their crate as a bed or “den” seldom eliminate in the crate unless they have been left for too long or are excessively anxious when confined.  Crate training can also help teach the dog to develop bladder and bowel control.

Throughout its life, your dog will likely need to be in a crate at different times for varying periods.  Dogs that are comfortable with crating feel secure and generally are far less stressed during boarding, veterinary visits, traveling, etc.

Written and reviewed by John A. Bukowski, DVM, MPH, PhD and Susan E. Aiello, DVM, ELS