Sunday, November 24th 2019
There are many benefits to crate training; however, using a crate is not for everyone. When used correctly, crates stimulate the den mentality in dogs. Crates provide a safe place, a room of their own within the house. When dogs do not have crates, it is common to see them looking for one in different forms. Dogs sleeping in tight locations, curled under tables or in the corner of the couch serve as examples. Bee has found great comfort in his crate. Even during the day, I will find him sleeping in there. He will bring bones or treats inside to eat. He goes into his crate on his own when he’s ready to go to bed.
We firmly believe in the benefits of crate training, and below we will give a step-by-step guide on how we trained Bee. However, it is important to note that this article only scratches the surface of crate training. As always, for more information refer to our favorite puppy book, Puppy’s First Steps: A proven approach to raising a happy, healthy, well-behaved companion by the faculty of veterinary medicine at Tuft’s University. Here is our step-by-step approach:
First you have to prepare the crate for the puppy. You want the space where the puppy will be to be big enough for him/her to stand up and turn around but small enough that he/she can’t pee on one end while sleeping on the other. Although putting a fluffy dog bed on the bottom sounds nice, puppies have accidents. So, we used a couple bath towels to line the bottom of our crate. We also put in a stuffed animal that had an electronic heart beat and came with warmers. This stuffed animal was meant to mimic a littermate, and Bee still sleeps with it every night (The Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy). Our breeder also gave us a small piece of blanket that smelt like his first home and littermates. We put the blanket in his crate as well. Make sure there are no choking hazards in the crate. We opted to keep the crate in the bedroom; however, some people choose to keep it in a neighboring room.
The next step of crate training is acclimating your puppy to the crate. Luckily, our breeder did a lot of work in this department for us. Sunnyside gave the puppies exposure to crates, and they would play around the crate and had access to them all day. This meant that when we brought bee home, it was not his first time seeing a crate. It wasn’t even his first time sleeping in one. During the day, we played around the crate and gave him treats inside. This process took no longer than a half hour.
The first few nights can be tough. Bee did not cry in his crate in the same way some puppies do. He cried in two scenarios. The first was when he needed to go potty. The second was when he awoke and realized he was alone. When a puppy cries in their crate at night, it is similar to a baby: you should use deduction to figure out why. Step one is to take them potty because that is most likely the reason. If you take them potty, put them in their crate and they do not stop crying, you must not approach them while they cry. Wait for a break in the crying to make any movement to help. If you go to help as the puppy cries, the dog will associate crying with getting your attention. What happens if you take them potty and they still cry? I waited till a break in the crying. Then, I took my blanket and pillow, laid down next to him and put my fingers through the crate. He would crawl over, put his back on my hands and fall asleep. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he was asleep, I went back to my bed. For the first couple weeks, I was on and off the ground while he adjusted. I am not an expert in crate training, but this process worked for us.
Another benefit to crate training is how it can be utilized to prevent separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is not good. It leads to destructive behaviors and incessant barking when you’re gone. We did not use Bee’s crate to teach him to self-soothe when I left; however, our process can be applied to a crate. We used his playpen. I bought a Wyze camera from Amazon ($25). I would leave the house, turn on the camera and drive around the neighborhood. I watched for how long he cried before settling down. When he settled for a couple minutes, I drove home. The more I did it, the faster he self-soothed. This is something that can be taught using the crate; however, I wanted to keep all things crate-related happy. Once Bee learned how to be left alone, I left him in the crate. He now does not cry at all when I leave him in his crate. I give him a treat, close the door and leave. When I watch the camera, he is always sleeping.
To this day, Bee has never had an accident in his crate. He loves being inside his den. I covered the sides and top of his crate in sheepskin rugs to make it cozier. He now has a fluffy dog bed in his crate, and I cover the dog bed in a towel that is washed a couple times a week. Crate training can be tough at the beginning, but we have seen a world of payoff. When I leave Bee at home, I can be calm knowing that there is nothing for him to choke on or get into. I can check on him using our camera. He is chill and in his space while I am gone. However, the biggest loss for me with crate training is not having Bee sleep in my bed. To compensate for this, we are on a routine. He wakes up around 6-7am, and he tells me he’s ready to get out. I let him out, crawl back in bed and go back to sleep. He cuddles next to me for about an hour till we wake up. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
I do want to stress that this was our way of crate training. There are probably better and worse versions, but this is what worked for us. I am grateful to have Bee crate trained, and I see the benefits every day. I hope this article shed a light on the process of crate training and the benefits!