Closing The Crate Door
When the puppy is going in after the treat comfortably and when the puppy has just finished playing and piddling and is tired, lure the puppy into the crate with the treat as you have before only this time close the door. You may also put a new toy in the crate at this time. Something the puppy hasn't seen before and something that is interesting and will keep his attention for a few minutes. After you close the door, sit on the floor in front of the crate and talk to the puppy if necessary. If the puppy cries or whines, put my fingers through the grate in the door to reassure the puppy that you’re still there. Usually, they will only whine for a short while and may even fall asleep if they are tired. Stay there until the whining subsides and the puppy calms down and then open the crate door. 5-10 minutes usually. If the puppy happens to fall asleep, great! Let him sleep in the crate until he wakes up and then it's right outside to go potty. Don't use praise and fanfare when you open the crate door and ignore the puppy for a few minutes after he is out so that he doesn't get the impression that getting out is much more fun than being in the crate. Don’t let the puppy out of the crate until he is quiet for at least 30 seconds and has calmed down if he has been whining. You might try and distract him with another toy to give him a chance to be quiet so you can let him out while he is quiet but DO NOT let him out, especially the first time, until he IS quiet. Don't yell or correct in any negative way. Just make up your mind that you will calmly wait the puppy out no matter what.
The First Night At Home
Before bedtime, play with the puppy till he's tired, make sure he has pottied outside and place the pup in the crate. Remove any collar that might be unsafe. Go to bed and turn out the lights as usual. If he’s under 8 weeks, you need to keep the crate somewhere you can hear the pup when he wakes through the night and needs to go potty. At this age he can only expect to hold it for 4 hours. If he cries a little when you first put him in the crate, DO NOT give in. You may lose a little sleep that night and possibly the next but DO NOT open the door for the puppy for at least four hours. (I repeat: the puppy has successfully pottied just before this!). Don’t get angry with the puppy or yell at him but don’t give in and let him out either. If the crate is comfortable and warm enough, the lights are out and you are right there to talk softly to him and let him lick your fingers, then usually he will fall asleep within an hour, less if he is tired. After the 4 hours, if he wakes up crying, he probably needs to potty. So, as soon as the puppy whines after waking up, have your sweats, shoes and shirt ready to take the puppy outside. Dress yourself quickly before you open the crate, carry the puppy to the potty area immediately, praise softly and gently for a job well done, bring him back in and without getting into a play session with him, return the puppy to his crate, turn the lights out and go back to sleep. If the puppy fusses for awhile, talk softly and put your fingers in the grate of the crate. Two or three nights of this at the most and your puppy will be used to the routine. If you happen to sleep through the puppy whining and he is forced to potty in his crate because he can't hold it, don't blame or scold the puppy. It is your responsibility to get the puppy out BEFORE he has had a chance soil his den. Clean it up using a urine neutralizer (you can use a light vinegar and water mix) put clean towels or pads in the crate and return to your routine. Set an alarm clock if you have to. The crate should not be too big for the pup, otherwise there will be enough room for the puppy to soil in it's crate and not think about it as soiling his sleeping area. If the crate is large, use a divider to make it smaller. Later on, after the puppy is used to it's routine and after he no longer needs to go out every four hours, you can put the crate somewhere else in the house.
Crating When You Leave The House
At some point you have to go to work or go out somewhere and can't take the puppy. He's made it through his first day and night at his new home. He is familiar with his crate and it does not have any unpleasant associations linked to it. Make sure the pup has been exercised and has pottied. It is helpful if he has played a bit and is tired. Take off his collar and remove any unsafe toys that may be in the crate, lure him into the crate with a treat and your association word or physically place the puppy into the crate gently. Close the door and leave the house without further ado. No talking to him etc. He may whine a little. You might have to explain to your neighbors that you are crate training your new puppy to keep him safe from chewing things like electrical cords and your new shoes while you are away and so he will develop good potty habits. Explain that he may whine for a little while after you leave. Hopefully they will understand. Don't stay away too long. An hour or two, is optimal. If you have to go to work and have no other choice, then arrange to come home at lunch to feed, exercise and potty the puppy during your break or have someone else come in and do this for you. A puppy cannot be expected to go longer than four hours without a potty break and it is very hard to retrain a puppy that is used to soiling his crate.
Even if things do not go smoothly at first DON'T WEAKEN and DON'T WORRY; be consistent, be firm, and be very aware that you are doing your pet a real favor by preventing him from getting into trouble while left alone.
Increase the space inside the crate as the puppy grows so that he can remain comfortable. If you do not choose, or are not able, to use a crate permanently, plan to use it for at least 8 to 14 months or until the dog is well past the teething phase, then start leaving the crate door open at night, when someone is home during the day, or when he is briefly left alone. If all goes well for a week or two and the dog seems reliable when left alone, remove the crate itself and leave the bedding in the same spot; although he will probably miss the crate enclosure, that spot will have become "his own place" and his habit of good behavior should continue. Should any problem behavior occur at a future time, however, the decision whether to crate longer or permanently, will have been made for you.
Even after a long period without a crate, a dog which has been raised in one will readily accept it again should the need arise for travel, illness, behavior etc. and may really welcome its return.
A Place To Get Away From It All
After the puppy has grown a bit and is used to being put into his crate when you leave and at night when you sleep, you will see something interesting happen. When the puppy is tired and wants some time alone, possibly away from the children (who should not be allowed access to the puppy’s crate for play purposes) he will go to his crate and curl up and go to sleep. Leave the doors of the crates open and he may frequently go there to take a nap on his own volition.
Crating In The Car
Keeping the puppy/dog safe in the car is another reason to crate train. Nobody likes to think of what would happen if they were in a car accident. Car doors can fly open and the dog, if uncrated, stands a good chance of leaping out into traffic and getting hit by a car or running off because they are scared. If you have your dog crated in the car when in an accident the dog may get banged around but the crate will most likely protect the dog from being hit, may help contain the dog in the car itself, and will keep him from being lost if the car doors fly open even if the crate is expelled from the car. If you are hurt in the accident the emergency services people are more likely keep your dog safe and contained if the dog is in a crate and they can easily transport the dog to a safe area.
Crating Adult Dogs
Although it is probably easier to crate train when the puppy is young, you can still train the adult dog to accept the crate. Use a treat or favorite toy and lure him into the crate with the door open, same as explained for the puppy. Keep doing this until the dog will readily go into the crate for a treat on his own. After the dog will readily go into the crate for a treat or toy make the dog lie down in the crate with you sitting on the floor in front of the crate just for a few seconds and then let him come out. Keep this up for several days or a week, as long as it takes for the dog to become comfortable with lying down in the crate. When the dog seems comfortable lying down, close the door for a minute or two, and stay there to talk to the dog same as we did above with the puppy. When the dog has been quiet for a few seconds, open the door and let the dog come out and ignore him for a minute or two so that coming out isn't associated with a lot of praise. The idea is to praise gently and quietly WHILE THE DOG IS IN THE CRATE and ignore him for a few minutes when he comes out. Keep doing this without any negative associations until he's comfortable in the crate for longer periods of time. Most dogs can be crate trained using this method no matter how old they are. Keep it positive but don't give in either. Try and build up time gradually, if you can. If you need to crate train your dog to fly, try and give yourself as much time as possible. A month or more is optimal. If you don't have that much time, try to do as many repetitions as you can during the time you have. Wait an hour or so in between training sessions. The more repetitions you can do without stressing out the dog and maintaining positive associations the better. Quit if the dog or you are getting stressed.
The crate should never be used as punishment. The dog/pup should never be left in a crate for long periods of time. If he must stay in the crate while you are at work, be sure that he gets his exercise and plenty of love and attention when you are home with him.
*Never crate a dog with a choke collar on. Dogs can choke themselves to death. It's probably a good idea to remove any collar while the dog is in the crate.
*Never crate a dog with a leash attached! Same reason.
