Crate Training your New Puppy

The decision to add a new puppy into your life should not be taken lightly as they need a lot of love and attention as any new baby would. To help cut down on the number of accidents that will inevitably happen, you can use a crate to train your puppy and help with house breaking your little one.

Crate training your new puppy will help avoid accidents in the middle of the night and will help in making your puppy feel safe at night. Make sure that the crate that you purchase is large enough for your puppy to grow into. The crate should have a divider inside of it that can be moved as your puppy grows. You should find one with a plastic bottom to make cleaning accidents easier and keep the crate from rusting. It would be a good idea to buy a washable pet bed that you can put into the crate to keep your puppy comfortable. Make sure that it can fit into your washing machine as accidents will happen in the beginning.

You should crate train a puppy for about 9 months or if things are going well less time will be needed. You should place your crate where you want your puppy to eventually sleep at night. Once you remove the crate from the room, the puppy will go to that spot to sleep as it is used to its surrounding and smells of the room or area that you want your dog to sleep. You should try and use the same bed that was in the crate so the puppy knows that he is in the right spot to sleep. You can also get your puppy a heated toy to help him feel safe. These toys have a microwavable pouch that is placed into the stuffed part of the toy. The warmth is comforting for a puppy.

When you first start out make sure your puppy has just enough room to turn around in the crate and this is where the divider comes in. As your puppy grows, move the divider to accommodate your growing puppy just enough so that he has enough room to turn around in. Dogs will try not to defecate where they sleep. This will help them to make it through the night until they are taken out. You should take your puppy out for bathroom breaks every couple of hours during the daytime hours. You should also not give your puppy any water or food an hour before bed time and make sure that he goes out just before going into the crate for bedtime.

Do not raise your voice or give negative reactions to your puppy as accidents will happen during the training. Just show your puppy the site of the accident and say “outside” and then take your puppy outside You must reinforce this action daily to get your puppy to understand that he needs to go outside to do his business. This will take an amount of dedication on your part to successfully house break your puppy.

Once your puppy makes it through the night consistently for a week or so, try leaving him alone for an hour at a time outside the crate during the day. Slowly build up his confidence so that eventually you can leave your puppy inside the home for several hours at a time without accidents. Your puppy will need love and support and with the tips given above you will successfully house train your new puppy.

Tami Grant writes on dog related issues.