Crate training can be a controversial topic, so we thought we would leave it to the experts to best explain the benefits.
This is an excerpt from “How To Train Your Dog” By Jen and Ryan Tate; expert Australian animal behaviourists. These books are available to purchase from any good bookstore:
Chapter 7: The Crate Debate
Here are 10 reasons why we advocate crate training your dog:
1. It provides a safe, secure and comfortable place for your puppy to sleep and prevents her from waking up and wandering around the house in the middle of the night... generally getting up to no good.
2. Puppies need to sleep 16-20 hours a day and can struggle to settle without a designated area with low stimulation.
3. It allows puppies to practise ‘mindfulness’. Just like humans, puppies can find the world an over stimulating place. If we teach them that the crate is a place of relaxation and there is no ‘job’ to do in there they begin to switch off as soon as they enter. Once a dog learns how to relax in one environment (such as a crate) it is possible to transfer their crate into other locations - which can be a game-changer for anxious dogs.
4. If puppies have to go to the vets or groomers they will be crated while they are there. If they are crate trained from a young age, this can help to reduce stress during these times.
5. If you need to travel on a plane, your dog must be crated, and again she will find this less stressful if she is familiar with being in a crate.
6. A crate is the safest form of travel in a car.
7. If you move house, there will be next to no night-time settling-in period for the dog, because her ‘bed’ (the crate) remains the same.
8. If you go camping, your dog can be safely secured in her crate in the Ute/tent.
9. Friends and family will find dog sitting much more enjoyable if the dog is crate trained. A lot of great dog sitters will only take your dog if she’s crate trained.
10. Using a crate helps with toilet training a puppy.
