To your dog, his crate will feel like it’s his own special home within your home. It will become a safe place for him to be, a kinda den, somewhere that he can go to feel secure.

Some people still think that it is cruel to put your dog into a crate, but it isn’t – it only becomes cruel if you do it in an abusive manner by, for instance, leaving him in it all day long.

To be honest a properly crate trained puppy can have many advantages for both you and your dog, and it should be something that you include in your dog training schedule.

Many dogs will totally accept a crate as soon as you introduce him to it, yet others will, understandably, be a little way of this strange thing you have suddenly brought into the house, and that you want them to actually go into. It is really important that you neve force your dog into the crate – you need to want your dog to enter the crate of his own free will.

If this is all done correctly in no time at all, you will find that your dog has come to love his crate and will go into all on his own just for a little nap or just for some ‘time out’

How To Introduce Your Dog To The Crate

Firstly you need to let him see the crate and get used to it being there. Try taking one of his favorite toys, or a treat and hand it to the dog when you are stood right by the crate. This way he will soon get used to the crates existence. Play with him near to the crate – repeat this for a few days.

Try to place the crate where it is going to be kept, and this should be away from the main traffic areas of your home, but should be in a room where your family spends time. You do not want your dog to feel isolated and get lonely in a crate that has been put into a room where noone goes.

Next time we will talk about how to get your dog to walk into the crate on his own.