3 Important Tips About Crating Your Dog
By Dr. Jan Bellows
Dog crating is an important tool of dog ownership. It is one of the few effective ways to house train your pet, in addition to the benefits it has for your dog’s psychological state and obedience. The crate’s effectiveness has an evolutionary basis, and it should come as no surprise that dog owners across the nation have depended on these housing units for decades as one of the most effective ways to train their pet.
However, for the crate is not simply a makeshift home that requires no care or understanding. Though crate training may be one of the most important tools for a dog owner, it is best if you understand how to use the crate effectively, to avoid any problems that may occur between you and your pet.
Tips for Using the Crate
- The Crate is Not a Substitute for Companionship or Movement
One of the reasons that crates are so effective is because they can help your dog feel safe even when you are not around. Out in the open, your dog feels as though it has more to watch, and that it might be in danger out in the open area. In the open, it needs you around, because only with you around can it feel protected, whereas in the crate it feels safer because its sides are protected by the crates walls.
However, the crate should not be used as a replacement for affection and companionship. Dog ownership requires commitment, and you should expect to be spending a great deal of time with your pet. The crate is a place for you to put your pet when you are sleeping or when you are away from home – but NOT both. If you keep your dog in the crate while you are sleeping, then your dog needs to be free when you are away from home and you need to be able to spend more time with your dog while you are awake. If you put your dog in the crate when you are gone, then your dog should be able to stay at the very least in the same room as you while you are sleeping.
- Crates Should be Used for a Maximum 6-8 Hours TOTAL in a Day
This relates to the tip above. Your dog needs to be able to move. It is a physical creature with a body made for roaming the environment. In addition, your dog needs a great deal of mental stimulation to stay obedient, and time in the crate is time with essentially zero mental stimulation.
A question arises about when you accidentally sleep in or when you will be unable to get home in time. If your dog has to stay in the crate for more than 8 hours, it is not just cruel on your dog’s bladder – it is cruel to your dog’s psyche as well. Still, sometimes this will be unavoidable, and in these situations assume that for every extra hour your dog is in the crate, it will need an additional half hour of walking to help expend the energy. If your dog is in the crate for 11 hours, for example, chances are you need to take your dog for at minimum a 2 ½ hour walk.
- Clean up Accidents
Crate training is how you teach your dog to hold in its bladder, because the crate becomes a home for your dog – dogs do not go to the bathroom where they sleep, because though it may not always seem like it, they are naturally clean animals.
However, on occasion your dog may have an accident in its crate, and when that occurs, you need to clean the crate out completely, using every dog-safe non-ammonia cleaner possible. If your dog smells its own waste in its crate, it will be more likely to have an accident in there in the future, and all of the time you spent crate training will be negated.
Crates Are a Useful Tool
Crate training is recommended by every dog trainer in the world. But it is only effective if you know how to use it effectively. Follow the advice above, and you, your dog, and your dog’s crate will all have a happy and harmonious relationship.