How To Crate Train A Dog
You may be asking yourself the question ‘how to crate train a dog?’. Well, there are a couple of rules you need to obey in order to crate train your canine and I listed two of them in this article. They both relate to the process of buying a crate, so if you already have one, skip this article and read the next one, where I explain how to persuade your four legged friend to move into his new ‘house’.
How To Crate Train A Dog Part 1 – Purchasing The Right Crate
After entering the store and browsing through available products you’ll quickly realize that crates can be divided into two main categories based on the material they were made from: plastic and metal. Your individual circumstances will influence your choice. For example, if you plan to raise a dog that will be huge and heavy when he grows up investing in a plastic crate would be a waste of money because he will probably damage it. On the other hand, buying a metal crate for a small breed dog such as a Miniature Schnauzer is not adequate either. In any case, you need to make sure that the crate you choose is strong enough to resist your pet’s biting and chewing.
Another important issue is the size of the crate. Your dog needs to be able to sit and stand comfortably inside it and the floor should have the same dimensions as the sleeping pad. You may feel tempted to invest in a crate that’s half the size of your bedroom but that’s a bad idea because your pet may use the additional space as a temporary toilet. If you plan to buy a puppy that will get much bigger with age, you may want to look for a crate with additional wire dividers mounted inside. You will be able to remove these in the future and increase the amount of usable space inside it.
How To Crate Train A Dog Part 2 – Making The Crate Feel Nice And Cosy
Obviously you can’t just buy a crate, put it in the corner and expect your pet to fall in love with it. This simply won’t happen unless you make it a friendly and comfortable place. So, in order to crate train a dog you have to make a few adjustments to your new purchase.
First of all, you have to modify the crate’s floor that’s probably made of a hard and uncomfortable material. Putting a thick blanket or a sleeping pad on top of it should be enough in most cases. Next, put one of your old t-shirts as the top layer. Your smell will make the crate seem more friendly and inviting. Install a heavy dish with water on one of the walls and put your dog’s favorite bowl with food inside as well. From now on, your pet will be fed inside his new ‘apartment’. Lastly, in order to reduce the amount of initial anxiety experienced by your pet while being locked in the crate, you may want to put it near the place where you spend most of the day (your workroom or bedroom, depending on the time of the day).
Looking For More Information On How To Crate Train A Dog?
We’ll finish here and discuss the actual crate training process in the next article. If you’re looking for proven tips on how to crate train a dog, you will want to read that post because it covers a number of extremely effective techniques that will help you get the best results with the least effort.
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