One of the new puppy owners asked me a a very good question about the use of a crate for their new puppy and I thought it may be beneficial to others to share my views on this here.
Just like nearly everything else to do with raising a puppy, there are no shortage of viewpoints as to the best way to do things. With regards to crate training though, it's a fairly agreed consensus that the use of a puppy crate is a very valuable training tool. Of course there are still people who have never used them and fail to see why you would want to. I'm sure that for some people who don't like the idea of a crate, it is because they view it as a cage and think it's mean to confine a puppy to it. Unfortunately they are thinking like a human and not as a dog (very common training mistake but very easy to do when they become such a large part of your family :)
We have always used a crate for Jess, right from her very first trip in the car from the breeder to present day (except until we needed to rearrange everything for the breeding !). I personally would highly recommend the use of a crate for a number of reasons :
- Dogs naturally live in dens. Dens protect them from danger, keep them warm and dry and help to protect their young. In the wild they will burrow holes to sleep in. A crate becomes your puppy's den - somewhere they feel warm and safe. Jess chooses to spend the majority of her sleeping time during the day in her crate. While she has the choice of the whole downstairs floor she prefers to sleep where she feels most comfortable and safe - it's her favourite place in the house :)
- Young puppies cannot be left unsupervised ! A crate provides a safe place for both your puppy and for your furnishings if you cannot watch the puppy for a short time (especially at first, young puppies should never be confined to their crates for more than a 1-2 hours - except at night time)
- Crate training greatly increases the speed and success of toilet training. Dogs by nature do not like to soil their bedding area which helps to teach the puppy when and where to go toilet (ie when you let the puppy out of the crate and take them to the back yard). Obviously to start with a young puppy cannot hold their bladder for more than a few hours so you need to get up in the night, let them out then put them back in.
- Crates are great for travelling - both in the car and when you go and stay at friends places, B&B's, hotels etc. Because your puppy will view their crate as a safe place they will be more comfortable in strange environments if they have the familiarity and comfort of their crate - and it saves you having to worrying about your friends place or hotel room being demolished !
- Crates can help with separation anxiety
This site has some excellent information and training tips associated with the use of a crate
Dog Obedience Training Review
We have 2 crates - a 30" for when Jess was a pup and then a 42" once she got bigger. You could just start with the 42" and section a part of it off. We bought our crates from The Pet Shop in Rugeley. These ones at the UK Dog Crate Company also look very good and reasonable priced.
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