CRATE TRAINING A DOG IS THE EASIEST AND MOST NATURAL WAY to house train a dog. Once a dog becomes accustomed to the crate, undesirable behavior can be avoided. Habits can be regulated. Separation anxiety can be eased. But to be successful, some basic principles of crate training a dog should apply.

Crate training a dog should take advantage of the natural canine instinct to find and make a den.

Dogs are by nature den animals, and in the wild they look for a small cave or hollow in the ground it can use as lair or shelter. Crates satisfy this instinct for den-like enclosure. Obtain a crate big enough for the dog to move around comfortably inside. Its dimension should cover a few inches longer than the entire length of the dog from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail. Taking advantage of this natural canine instinct, introduce and familiarize the dog to the crate.

Crate training a dog is simply a matter of introducing and familiarizing a dog to the crate.

Once the puppy is weaned from its mother at about 4 to 6 weeks, introduce it to the crate. The best way to do this is to entice it to enter the crate. Toss food or a favorite toy inside, and let the dog enter on its own volition.

In the beginning, do not close the door so as not to give it a feeling it has been tricked and locked up. Then, when it gets used to the crate, gently close the door, but open it immediately when the dog wants to get out. Later on, get it used to a closed door without opening it when it wants to leave it. Just take care that the dog’s experience with the crate is always a positive one.

Crate training a dog, to be successful, must result in positive canine experience.

Man and animals tend to repeat an act that gives them positive experience. Crate training should contribute to the positive experience of your dog. In particular, your dog should consider the crate as a protective residence, where it is never to be disturbed by any member of your family.

Your dog should find it supplied with all the things it needs – food, water, toys, and blanket for use as bed. It should be located where it is not in a draft or direct heat and where the family spends most of its waking hours.

Never use the crate as a form of punishment. It is not a jail to confine a dog in for its wrongdoing. Otherwise, what you have built up to make the crate an inviting place of refuge and comfort for your dog becomes a disgusting place to fear and avoid. Positive experience also means positive association with anything related to the crate.

Crate training a dog should succeed in establishing proper associations.

Dog training is based on the principle of association. When your dog does something favorable associate it with certain words or phrases. For example, when it enters the crate, say something like “enter your room”, or “come out” when it leaves it. Next time, you can use these words as commands to make the dogs perform these actions.

Associate rewards and praises with desirable behavior. Never associate undesirable behavior to getting what it wants. If it wants to get out of the crate by whining and crying, wait until it settles down before you open the door to let it out. Instead, teach the dog to replace crying and whining with a simple bark to communicate its need to eliminate outside the crate.

These principles makes crate training a dog simple and easy. Using the its den instinct, introduce and familiarize your dog to the crate. Make sure always it is a positive experience, and establish proper association between the newly acquired habits and verbal commands. You will see that successful crate training makes dog management a lot easier to perform.

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