Crate training is an old standard for house training puppies and dogs. Crate confinement can be a great tool but dogs are often abused by being left inside it for long periods of time.

Animals should not be confined in the crate for hours on end.

If you work, neighbors or professional pet sitters or dog walkers are idea candidates to assist you in house training if you are using confinement as a strategy.

Confinement training works because most animal do not chose to eliminate in the area they live or sleep in.

You don’t always need a crate, but a crate is a great tool to use because it can be used during travel or if you have to evacuate.

Although young puppies often accept crating right away, in some cases you will want to take a little while to train the behavior. This effort may take a few hours to a few days.

Allow your pup to ago in and out of the crate before closing it for short periods of time.

I prefer to have the initial crate training occur in a rest area such as a bath room or laundry area where a baby gate can keep the pup inside while he or she gets acclimated to the crate.

Crate your pup for short periods of time while you are at home and in the same room. This strategy helps avoid separation anxiety issues later because you acclimatize the puppy to your absence from the room in which he is crated.

You can also encourage crate use by dropping small pieces of kibble inside the crate or by feeding your pup in the crate. This creates a positive association with it and replicated the same eating and sleeping environment of a den.

Use praise when the pup enters the crate. At night place your pup in his crate and shut the door upon retiring.

I like to have the crates nearby or in a central location during the day but sleeping arrangements should be made so the pup is next to your bed in your room. (Not the kids’ rooms.)

What do you need for crate training?

Plastic Molded Crates or Wire Mesh Crates
Plastic dog crates are good for airline travel. You can dismantle the crate by removing the screws. Temporarily remove the top and door and then replace them and secure the pup for short amounts of time.

Wire dog crates are better choices if you have to evacuate the area. They also allow more ventilation. When training, securely faster the crate door so it stays open. If there is a floor pan, keep it from rattling by using a towel between the crate bottom and the floor pan in order to keep it from rattling.

Toys & Chew Items
Place puppy’s favorite toys and chew treats at the far end of the crate away from the door. All items should be large enough and sturdy enough to prevent swallowing. Kong products are a good choice.

Water
A Lixit puppy water bottle dispenser should be attached to the crate if your puppy is to be confined for more than a couple of hours in the crate.

Bedding
Bedding is optional in a crate and I’d recommend using old towels to start. Some pups will like a soft place to sleep while others won’t use it as bedding and will push it aside or use it as a chew item. If the puppy urinates or chews on the bedding remove it until the pup no longer eliminates in the crate.

Puppies less than 4 months of age have little control over their bladder bowels and extremely young pups less than 9 weeks should not be crated because they eliminate very frequently.

How do I deal with crate training accidents?
If your puppy messes in his crate while you are out or had an accident, do not punish him. Place him elsewhere and wash out the crate with a pet odor neutralizer (such as Nature’s Miracle). Avoid vinegar or ammonia-based products since they may draw your dog back to use the same spot again.

How long can I crate a puppy?
Except for overnight, do not keep any dog crated for more than 6 hours. Use a pet sitting service or other pet professional to help you during house training.

Some standard crate training limits:
Under 9 weeks do not crate at all.
9-10 Weeks of age: 30 to 60 minutes
11-14 Weeks of age: 1 to3 hours
15-16 Weeks of age: 3 to 4 hours
17 Weeks of age & older: 5 to 6 hours

What size crate do you need to crate train?
In general, you want to get a crate that you can use for the lifespan of your dog. Buy for the weight of an adult dog. You can also buy a smaller crate, sell it, and then get a larger one as your dog grows.

Sky Kennel Small (Product #100) for average weight of 6-10 pounds.

Sky Kennel Small-Medium (Product #200) for average weight of 11-20 pounds

Sky Kennel Medium (Product #300) for average weight of 21-40 pounds.

Sky Kennel Large (Product #400) for average weight of 41-65 pounds.

Sky Kennel Very Large (Product #500) for average weight of 67-100 pounds.

Sky Kennel Extra Large (product #700) for average weight of 110 pounds and up.

Other tools to use instead of a crate include baby gates, play pens, and other similar strategies. The idea is to keep the dog in a small confined area since most dogs will not eliminate in their living or sleeping quarters.

However, confinement is just one way to house train a dog. I usually advocate using a variety of techniques for quick success and ease. The exact combination will be determined after you discover why the pet has the house training issues.

Since I already covered cat urinating and cat litter box avoidance issues I thought it might be a good idea to give equal time to puppy house training and dog potty training.

It used to be that people talked about house breaking an animal but behavior modification is a better way to train an animal to live within a human household and the correct term for this is house training.

House training methods do not include corporal punishment.

You know the expression, Sh** happens? Well it does, accidents happen and rubbing a puppy’s nose in the waste works about as well as shoving a dirty diaper into a baby’s face does.

Don’t do it.

Other activities to avoid include shaking or hitting a dog. These actions will only terrify and confuse an animal.

If you dish out punishment for accidents, the only thing that happens is the dog gets more covert about it and learns not to eliminate in front of you.

I’ll get into more specifics later but I want to point out some important behavior clues and information.

How do you know when a dog needs to pee?

Most people miss the signals animals give them that tell them they need to relieve themselves.

Signs that a canine needs to eliminate include sniffing, circling, and squatting.

Dogs need to eliminate after eating, upon waking, after exiting a confined area (such as a crate), first thing in the morning, and after play, excitement, or exercise.

I once had a dog sent to boot camp because he allegedly had house training issues. The first thing the dog did when he came to camp was to go to the door and ask me to let him out to pee!

This case was a communication issue between owner and dog not a house training issue.

Do you recognize your dog’s requests?

Sometimes dogs will just go to the door and look at you or perhaps walk up to your chair and gaze up at you.

I once had a dog breeder friend ask me if I ever got answers from my dog because I always was asking my canine questions.

Funny thing is, I did.

My pal was not in tune enough with my dog’s subtle communication to identify it. This is a common problem for many pet owners and a big one for new pet parents.

Learning to recognize your dog’s signals is important but you can also train your dog to ask you in a more overt manner—such as ringing a bell, barking, or scratching at the door.

The problem is that, in many cases, the dog begins to use these signals to demand response from the pet parent.

House training techniques also vary depending on the age of your canine and the history of the animal’s environment.

Adopted animals (or those who have just moved) may need to be house trained anew or undergo a refresher course.

House training adult dogs usually is easier than puppies because they can hold their urges longer.

Worse case scenarios usually can be solved within eight weeks. There are some exceptions to this rule.

But let me just say you need to be wary about those programs that say you can solve this problem within a week or two. If you are lucky you can but that is not the norm.

Many pet store animals have learned to eliminate in their living quarters—which is abnormal. Most animals travel away from their environments to relieve themselves.

However, any animal that is expected to wait for an unreasonable amount of time may have an accident.

Puppies under the age of about six months are not physically capable of holding their bladders or bowels for long periods of time.

The general rule of thumb about how long a puppy can hold its bladder or bowels is the age in months plus one hour (maybe two).

Other important house training points are:

• You should train what you want. For instance, don’t train a puppy to eliminate on papers in the home if you want it to go potty outside.
• The longer the problem has existed, the longer it will take to extinguish and retrain.

Tomorrow we will look at crate training.