You’re cooking dinner when you hear the familiar sound of ripping cloth. You hurry to find the source of the noise and are met with the sight of your puppy destroying the blanket your Grandmother made you. This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just crate trained the dog.
Crate training gets a bad reputation because it can be seen as cruel and mean to the dog. In reality, if you do it correctly, it can be a great way to potty train your new puppy and give you a little peace of mind when you leave the house.
Keep reading to see all the benefits of crate training so you can decide for yourself it would be a good option for your furry child.
1. It Gives the Dog a Safe Space
If you notice that your dog likes to dig under covers or hide under your couch, this is nothing unusual. They do it because they are den animals so they naturally want a space that they can call home.
A crate can be this home for them and serve as a comfortable place for them to sleep or chew on their favorite toys.
2. They’ll Be Calm in Emergencies
Sometimes emergencies happen rather it be a house fire or a flood. If your dog isn’t crate trained it be a struggle to evacuate them with you. You have to act quickly in emergencies so the last thing you need is your dog fighting you to get in the crate.
Crate training also helps in the inevitable moment when you have to take your dog in for their shots or if they get sick or injured. You’ll be able to leave them with the vet knowing that they are comfortable and content.
3. It Will Be Easier to Board them
Say you have to go out of town on business. You’ll most likely be staying in a hotel room so you can’t take your dog with you. You can’t just leave the dog at home without food or water so you’ll have to board them.
A boarding facility, unless you take your dog there a lot, is going to be foreign territory for your pooch. They may freak out or become aggressive if they aren’t used to being in a crate.
However, if the dog is crate trained that’s something that is familiar so they’ll be calm because the crate is the one thing that isn’t new.
4. It Helps with Potty Training
When you get a new puppy, you immediately have to start the fun process of potty training them. Some dogs are easier to train than others but a crate can help with even the most stubborn puppy.
When looking at dog crate sizes, you’ll need to get one that is fairly large if you’re going to use it for this purpose. Place a puppy pad or newspaper in the corner of the crate to create the bathroom. After a while, the puppy will associate this area with that purpose so your floors will stay pee free.
5. It Gives You Some Peace of Mind
Sometimes you have to put your puppy away for one reason or the other. You may have to go to the store real quick, go to work, or cook dinner. No matter the reason if your puppy isn’t crate trained it will freak out.
If you don’t put the puppy away though, it may decide to chew things up in your absence either out of boredom or anxiousness. The thing is, you also don’t want to traumatize the little one.
You want to be able to place the puppy in the crate knowing that it will be comfortable until you get home.
6. It Keeps the Dog Away from Substances
Say you have an exterminator come over to treat your home for pests. Not all the sprays they use are pet-friendly and if you turn your back for even a moment, the dog may accidentally poison itself. If it’s crate trained you can just put it away until the harmful chemicals have dried or are no longer a threat.
This is also the case if you spill something you don’t want the dog to eat or you accidentally drop a plate onto the floor and it shatters. You don’t want the puppy to cut up its little paws.
7. Makes Traveling Easier
Sure, you can’t take your dog with you on every trip you make, but for the ones that you can you want to be able to take it on a car ride or put it on a plane without having to worry about upsetting it.
It’s also a little dangerous to have your dog roaming about the car while you’re driving. If you have to slam on the breaks you’ll send it to the floorboard and if it tries to get in your lap while you drive you may get into an accident.
Don’t Listen to the Rep: Benefits of Crate Training Your Fur Baby
Dog crates have a bad rep because they can be seen as cruel and mean to the dog but if you train it correctly, it can be a place of refuge for them in stressful situations like travel or vet visits. Make sure to not use the crate to punish bad behavior and instead, praise the dog and give them their treats in the crate. If you do this, you’ll be able to reap all the benefits of crate training your dog.
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