Puppy/Dog Kennel Crate Training

I love my dog Willow. When my dog Willow joined my household, I was going to learn a lot about having a dog; and would make some mistakes, some big mistakes.

I was going to learn a lot, not just about nutrition, exercise, overall health, but personality, training, the wolf mentality and how it all blended together to create a healthy dog and happy human.

Yes, I said happy human. Because when we humans mess up the dog’s natural abilities, instincts, temperaments, nutrition, and exercise, it affects us; and can have debilitating effect on our dogs.

There was a lot of learning to do when my dog Willow joined my household, and a lot of teaching on my dog Willow’s part. I had no idea how she would change my life.

Change my life, my dog Willow did. For the better, I might add. There are many steps to training a puppy. One of my first lessons was to kennel crate train her.

Like 90% of dog owners, I worked outside my home. Willow needed a safe, secure place. Hence, kennel crating was necessary. I was to find out that crate training my dog Willow was going to tear at my heartstrings and would test my fortitude. Her howls. Yes, her ancestor, raise her head to the moon, wolf-howls, would wrench at my heart.

There is a lot of advice for crate training your puppy. One of the ways I used to get her familiar and comfortable with the crate was by placing treats at the far end or tossing her toys in the crate for her to fetch.

During the time I was home, I placed her crate in an area where I was visible to her, and she to me. To train her to be alone, I would leave the room for short periods of time, with a no inflection, casual goodbye. She would start howling and shake the kennel until it rattled. When she would quiet down, I would return with lots of praise and puppy hugs. It worked out wonderfully. To this day, at age four, Willow’s kennel is her safe place.

There are metal, plastic, and the soft-side, durable fabric indoor kennel crates. The plastic crates are lightweight and allowed on most airlines. The metal crates have better ventilation, but tend to be heavy and cumbersome. I chose the metal wire crate that had an adjustable wall, which could be moved as she grew.

Whichever crate you chose, it should be large enough for your dog to stand up, turn around and lay down in. When Willow became accustomed to kenneling, I purchased a soft side kennel that was very lightweight, folded easily, and was great for traveling and hotel stays. The soft side or durable fabric crate should not be used until your dog has outgrown its chewing stage or you’ll find that Fido found another way to escape the den.

There are several good reasons to kennel crate train your puppy or dog: (1) at some point your puppy will be home alone; (2) it keeps them in an area during the first months of housebreaking and training; and (3) it serves as a safe, den-like place for your dog.

A good book read, and DVD, for training tips for any dog owner and puppy-to-be owner is Dr. Ian Dunbar’s “After You Get Your Puppy.”

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:
Remember any fault with our dogs is ours and ours alone. Good training; makes a good dog.