Bringing home a new puppy can be very exciting, but long nights and difficult days from crying and accidents soon bring fatigue.
Crate training actually helps to calm and confine your pet to an area that you can clean easily and where accidents are less likely to happen.
Dogs are mostly likely to eliminate where they sleep, and a crate is a great system to help encourage the natural instinct.
Thorough training of a crate system from the beginning will reduce the amount of time and the number of instances your pet will need to cry to relieve and clean its bladder.
The most important aspects to follow with a crate system are liquid diet and the size of the chosen system.
The crate should not be large enough that your pet can relieve themselves in one side and sleep in the other.
The system should be just large enough that your pet can stand, turn around, and lie flat.
Wire systems usually come with an adjustable divider.
The crate should be placed in a central area of your home, such as the living room, for the first couple of weeks of training during the day, so that your puppy doesn't feel isolated.
It should be moved to your bedroom at night for the first couple of weeks so that you are available to respond to the pup's signs that they need to relieve themselves.
Creating a Positive Association
Avoid using the crate as a chewing punishment to deter messy household activities.
Sending your dog to the crate in an angry state will cause them to view the crate as a prison cell.
To reduce the likelihood of them viewing the crate as a prison cell, toss treats and favorite chew toys inside the crate while the door is open.
Salivating puppies will flood in and out of the crate.
Close the door, but don’t panic. Slowly start shutting the door as they eat.
It will also help associate the closed bars as being safe.
When they are close to being done, open the door.
These steps will help your dog view the crate in a positive manner.
Teaching Your Puppy To Accept Daytime Confinement And Deal With Whining
Once your pup has stopped fussing when his meals are separated by short periods of door closure, begin your daytime confinement training.
Place a chew toy in the room and close the door to leave the puppy on his own for about one minute.
Return to the room before your pup has started vocalizing, and open the door.
If your puppy is screaming the second you walk away, do not reward him and run back to open the door and let him out.
Waiting for a brief moment before returning to open the door teaches your pup that when he is quiet the door will open, and making a noise means he has to wait longer.
Screaming for his toy means he will get to keep it longer.
Take small steps and increase your dog’s time in confinement.
Expect your dog to get tired holding this behavior for a long time.
Try to tire your dog out with games before asking them to enter their crate and settle for some mental stimulation.
The Nighttime Routine and Bathroom Breaks
For a young puppy, night time separation can be the first real lesson that the littermates they have always been huddled next to aren’t always going to be there.
Placing their crate by your bed, so they can still hear and smell you will help with their first real lesson of separation anxiety.
Create a steady routine around bedtime that encompasses one final outdoor bathroom break, a cuddle and then lights out.
Try not to yell, 'Last chance for bathroom break!' and 'Party time!' when you take your dog on a break at night.
Night trips should be kept short and to the point.
Carry them to their spot and bring them right back to bed.
Engage in no play and no talking.
Crate your puppy with side of the crate fabric heavily pulled up to create a comfy, enclosed sleep den.
How to Avoid Set Backs and Common Mistakes When Crate Training
The first two weeks of crate training is especially difficult due to the noise you can expect to accommodate.
Most training requires a lot of patience, so consider this a good time to prepare for a few sleepless nights.
If your dog soils the crate, clean it thoroughly with a product that gets rid of the scent.
Do not yell at or punish your dog after the fact.
Additional obedience and manners training can be found in our article, Best Diet Plan for French Bulldogs: Balancing Protein, Fat, and Carbs.
Unfortunately, crate training is the highly frustrating puzzle of having the right crate, positive food associations, and successful gradual exposure to the night routine.
A balanced nighttime routine is especially important to protect your dog's "den."
Crate rest is the easiest to accomplish when you have structure.