Dogs are, by instinct, den dwelling animals, and like all canines, they don’t want to defecate or urinate in their den. With crate training, the crate becomes a substitute for the den. House training becomes easier with the use of crate training. Additionally, your puppy will be a more secure and happier puppy with his own den.
Like anything else that is worthwhile in life, it will take some time and effort to properly crate train your puppy. The rewards, however, are well worth the extra effort. When you start to crate train your puppy take it slow and be patient.
Very important is that you never use the crate as punishment for bad behavior or accidents since this will only cause your puppy to view the crate as a bad place and defeat the whole training process. An advantage of crate training is when guests visit or when small children are present unattended, or when entertaining for example, it is convenient to be able to put your puppy/dog into its crate where it can relax and sleep, unattended. Of course, you too can relax knowing that your puppy/dog will not be harmed or cause problems or escape from the house. If your puppy/dog should ever have to spend a night or two at the vet’s, he will be a little more secure if he has been crate trained since most veterinary clinics use crates for their animals. Also, a puppy/dog who understands and is comfortable in a crate is much easier to manage while you are performing other tasks or while your puppy/dog must be left in someone else’s care in a situation that is also likely to be stressful to the dog and make an unconfined dog more likely to try to escape. Another benefit of crate training is if you should travel with your puppy on an airplane is it keeps your puppy calm. While traveling in your automobile, your puppy/dog will be kept safe in his/her crate. An unrestrained puppy/dog can be a hazardous situation for both the animal and its human. Some instances of these hazards are: · An excitable dog who sees another animal outside the vehicle might leap into the driver’s lap while the car is moving, potentially causing an accident. · Dogs have been known to leap through the window of moving cars, injuring or killing themselves. · Drivers who are distracted by their dogs moving around behind them, barking, or getting into forbidden things while the car is moving can also cause accidents. · If the dog is only moderately injured or uninjured, and particularly if the owner is injured, a loose dog might consider people coming to the owner’s aid to be the causes of the accident or threats to its family or property and might attack or attempt to drive off the helpers. · In the event of an accident, even a well-behaved dog can become a dangerous projectile that can seriously injure the driver or passengers in seats in front of the dog. These are just a few of the reasons that crate training is very beneficial to your puppy or dog and you.
