Puppy Crate Training - Tools Of the Trade
18 Mar 2010
Now that you have your crate, the other things that I would recommend to get before you start your puppy crate training are some toys, a mat for the bottom of the crate, an odor neutralizer (available at most pet stores) and some puppy treats. You want to buy some reliable toys to place in the kennel with your puppies so they feel more secure in the kennel. You should never put your puppy in the crate as a punishment because you want it to enjoy being in there.
Puppies can choke or digest small objects, so it is wise to be very thoughfull up front in what toys you include in the crate. A lot of the dog toys sold in the stores are fine such as the rubbery ones or bones that are hard pressed and won’t splinter. DO NOT use rubber squeaky toys or stuffed toys! These fracture apart extremely easy and can be problematic if your pup were to choke on them. You could get 1 of the hard toys made of rubber, in which they have a hole in the middle so that you could place some pup treats or kibble inside. This will help your puppy adjust to the new crate and help to keep them quiet in the beginning stages of puppy crate training.
Obtaining a mat for the floor of the crate is so that you can give your puppy a comfortable place to lye down on, instead of the uncomfortable bottom. You want something that is easy to clean, but not something that your puppy can chew apart.
The oder neutralizer can be used to wash up the part of the rug, tile, or wood that your puppies have soiled. The part of your rug or flooring that was used as a bathroom, can be easily cleaned by this. This will remove the odor from the urine or feces so the puppy will not be attracted back to use that area again. Most common cleaners do have ammonia in them, and this isn’t great for cleaning up pee which could very well draw your puppies over to the same place.
You can utilize an array of different stuff as rewards for your pups. Most commercially available treat will work just fine, with organic and all natural being more readily available today I would recommend to go that route. Especially in your puppy’s extensive growth stage, it is just more healthy. You want to start your puppy crate training by tossing a few treats in the cage and giving your puppy a command such as “Crate” or “Kennel” as it goes in after the treats. This will tempt the dog in the crate so that it will be anticipating it’s treat. When your puppy starts getting excited about being in the crate, it means that it is starting to put the crate and treats together as one.
If you use a phrase or word that means go inside the crate to your puppies, then before long they will know what you want them to do. When you use a training command to help your pup with entering the kennel, your pup will soon distinguish what you want him to do when you say the word. When it’s time for your puppies to go in their crates, you can say the magic word that you have selected and they will enter on their own and wait for some puppy treats.
