How to Crate Train a Puppy: Know The Right Way For Crate Training

Crate training becomes an essential part of housetraining your puppy due to its benefits. It helps in keeping your puppy away from chewing on your favorite items and making a mess of your house. You may wonder how to crate train a puppy without facing a lot of hassle.

Well, the good news is if you follow this easy guide, you’ll be saving up on a lot of time along with getting successful results.

So, read on!

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Crate Train a Puppy

Before we talk about crate training your puppy, here’s something you would want to know. 

The first thing is to never use the crate as a punishment tool for your puppy. The reason is that your puppy will start fearing the crate more than loving it!

Also, keep in mind that you don’t leave your puppy in for more than three to four hours, owing to their potty business. 

Now, let’s begin.

Step 1: Choose an Appropriate Dog Crate and Space 

The first step is to choose an appropriate dog crate and space so your puppy will feel comfortable. 

There are mainly three types of crates available such as plastic, fabric, and collapsible, metal crate. 

The big trick here is to choose and buy the best size of the crate. This crate should allow your puppy to move around without feeling confined. This is especially important when traveling with your dog. We can help you out with these dog travel crates we think you’ll love.

Wait, there’s another option!

You can also consider renting out a crate as your puppy will keep growing and you may have to change the crate often for their comfort. 

Step 2: Introducing the Crate to Your Puppy

Once you have the crate, you need to make your puppy get friendly with the crate. 

The steps given below can help you get successful in following this step!

1. Consider putting a snug towel or blanket inside the crate. 
2. Put this crate in the favorite family spot where your puppy likes to hang out.

Usually, puppies are quite curious so most of them will get inside of it immediately. However, if yours doesn’t, there are a few tricks you can try out. 

These tricks include: 

• Take your puppy to the crate and talk to them encouragingly and happily. This way your puppy may want to go inside. 
• You can also encourage your puppy by giving them some puppy treats. Drop some treats on the way to the crate and then inside the crate. This will help lure them in. 
• If puppy treats don’t work, you can try out keeping your puppy’s favorite toy in the crate. 

If nothing works out, try changing the crate. 

Step 3: Make Them Eat In Their Crate 

After your puppy is comfortable with their crate, you need to try to feed them in the crate. 

Now, here’s something you may want to note down if you want to know how to crate train a puppy. 

• Make sure that you do this step slowly and steadily. If your puppy is comfortable, you can put the dog plate all the way inside the crate. 
• However, if your puppy gets anxious, try to take it slow by placing the plate only a little bit inside the crate. Then, keep moving the plate a little further inside every time it’s your puppy’s feeding time. 
• Once your puppy gets comfortable, they won’t get anxious or stressed. 
• After some time, try closing the crate door for shorter periods of time. Then, slowly keep increasing the time limit. 

If the time limit gets too long, they may begin whining. In this case, let them out immediately, and next time, keep them inside for a lesser amount of time. 

Step 4: Keep Them Inside the Crate For a Longer Amount of Time 

The next step after your puppy gets comfortable sitting in the crate for around ten to twenty minutes is to increase the time limit. 

You can try this by telling your puppy to get inside the crate in two ways:

• Offer them treats
• Command them to get inside the crate

Once they get inside, sit in the same room for ten to twenty minutes. Then, get out of the room and return after some time. If your puppy has successfully stayed in the crate, encourage them by giving puppy treats. 

Now, what to do next?

Well, keep repeating the above process till your puppy gets used to staying inside the crate for around thirty minutes. 

Step 5: Keep Them In Crate at Night Or While Leaving 

The last step is to keep your puppy inside the dog crate once they are able to stay in for thirty minutes. 

When You’re Leaving

When you’re leaving for a short amount of time, simply get them inside the crate using puppy treats or their favorite toys. 

Try putting them in just five to ten minutes before you’re leaving. 

Note: When you leave, keep the goodbyes short so your puppy won’t get anxious. Even when you return, don’t get too over-enthusiastic. Simply greet them and give a treat.

When It’s Night 

Here’s what you can do. 

During night time, get your puppy inside the crate through puppy treats or command. 

We highly recommend keeping the crate in the same room where you sleep initially. Once your puppy gets comfortable, shift them to another room. 

So, these steps are the best answer to how to crate train a puppy. You can also check out a video here. 

If you’re worried about your puppy making a mess in the crate, consider getting puppy pads or odor and stain cleaners for keeping your house clean. 

Final Thoughts

Crate training your puppy isn’t about confinement. It is more about making your puppy more disciplined and independent. Additionally, it can also make it easy for you to go out without worrying about a puppy. 

So, we hope this guide about how to crate train a puppy helped you immensely. If it did, don’t forget to comment and share this post!