The Dog Chicks

Crate training your puppy or dog is one of the best and safest things you could do for him or her. Crates offer your dog their own space or as I like to call it their own bedroom in your home. Crates replicate the den like environment that the dog?s ancestors and current relatives the wolves use. It can offer protection from other animals in the home or young children but in most cases it?s just a good place to sleep. Crate training your dog makes it easier to housebreak your dog or puppy and will also make it less stressful if your dog is ever hospitalized. There are 2 main types of crates, plastic and wire, each has it?s own pluses and minuses. If you?re dealing with an adult dog you may find a wire crate easier to acclimate your dog too, the open feel of them makes the dog more likely to enter them. Wire crates are easy to store most of them fold down for easy storage or transporting and have a tray that pulls out for easy cleaning. The down side to wire crates is if your dog has an accident it could seep out side of the crate and wire crates are not allowed on airlines.

Plastic crates are more enclosed and if an accident occurs it will contain it, they can be harder to clean and to store as they are only in 2 pieces and can be cumbersome to move. There are some plastic crates that fold down but they are limited by size. If you have small children you may want to opt for a plastic crate as hands, fingers and toys are less likely to get put in the crate. There is a 3^rd style of crate which is a soft sided but I only recommend these crates for dogs that are already crate trained and don?t try to escape the crate.

Which ever style of crate you choose make sure it?s big enough for your dog to stand up in and turn around. If your buying for a puppy make sure the crate will fit you pup once grown. When you are housebreaking a puppy you want to limit the space they have in a crate if they have too much room they are more likely to have an accident. Many wire crates have panels that allow you to limit the space in the crate and you can move it as your puppy grows. It?s harder with plastic crates as a panel won?t work, I?ve used cardboard boxes as a substitute and just replace them as needed.

To get your dog use to the crate start off by putting some treats in the crate, don?t close or lock the door just allow your dog to retrieve the treats. If your dog won?t go in just give him a little time, you may have to up the anti with the treats by using something he can?t resists. Do this for a couple of days, once your dog feels comfortable going in and getting the treats put some treats in let your dog go in and get them and close the door. Leave the door closed for 10-30 seconds, you want the dog to know it?s ok in side the crate but that you will also let him out. Continue to do this over several days while you increase the time in the crate. You may find using a Kong filled with a treat helpful to lengthen the time in the crate. Don?t give in to your dog?s wining this will just teach him that you will let him out any time he cries, but if your dogs should panic or appear to hurt himself let him out immediately. It may take several days to a couple of weeks to truly acclimate your dog to the crate, puppies do adjust faster. Put the crate in an area of the home that still gets traffic, dogs are social animals and even if they are in a crate they don?t want to be away from their family.

For quick cleaning use baby wipes to clean the inside of plastic crates or the tray for wire crates and if for some reason you plastic crate needs major cleaning try the foam bathroom cleaner to remove any dirt or soil.