If you have ever bought a guide to dog ownership, you have no doubt seen several chapters about the importance of crate training when it comes to housetraining your pet. Crate training is one of the only effective, time proven methods of dog training for reducing accidents and making sure that your dog learns to hold its waste until it goes outside.
Despite all of this knowledge, few people truly understand what it is about the crate that makes it such an effective tool. Understanding why the crate is so effective is one of the most important aspects of training your pet effectively.
Reasons That Crates Work
1. Dogs don’t make waste where they sleep, because they are naturally clean creatures. It is in their best evolutionary interests to not lay in their own filth, as their ancestors that did this would often find themselves sick and weak. Once your dog associates the crate with a bed/home, your dog will not have any desire to make waste in there and will do its best to hold it in.
2. The ancestors of dogs spend many years living in caves. These caves represented safe, protected locations where they would be out of harm’s way. The enclosed space of crates simulates that same safety, so when your dog is used to a crate, your dog will feel safe and protected while inside that space.
3. Crates give your dog structure. Dogs are used to (and thrive in) routines, and when your dog knows when it uses its crate, your dog will experience less uncertainty in the world, which reduces anxiety and other negative behaviors.
How to Make Sure Your Crate Works Effectively
Though crates may be extremely beneficial for dog ownership, they are only as effective as the dog owner makes it. Your dog has to understand the crate’s role in order to use the crate to its full advantage. Here are several things you need to do to make sure that your crate training is effective, and that the crate lives up to its full potential.
1. Follow all crate training techniques – Even though dogs may have an evolutionary preference for crates, the crate still represents time spent away from you, and this may be seen as punishment for your dog. Try to make sure you follow all of the crate training techniques to make sure your dog enjoys its time in the crate.
2. Never use the crate as a punishment – Crates are never, ever supposed to be used as a punishment, because your dog should never associate the crate with fear or anxiety. The crate should always be a place of love and safety. If you punish your dog, you cannot send it in the crate. If you need your dog out of the way, make sure you make going into the crate a very happy and pleasant experience.
3. Choose the right crate size – Your crate needs to be big enough that your dog can turn around in, but small enough that the crate has almost no extra room when your dog lays down. This is vitally important. A crate too small can be dangerous, and a crate that is too big can make it feel less safe and also gives your dog enough space to go to the bathroom without affecting its bedding. Selecting the right crate size is just as important for effective crate usage as the training.
Crate training has long been one of the most effective tools for training your dog. But it must be done effectively. Follow the above tips and your dog will easily learn to love its crate and use its crate the right way.