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A Typical Day of Crate Training
Here is how a typical day of Crate Training went when I trained my puppy, Jack. Jack was only three months old, and following this method I had him housetrained in one week! We also have a dog door, which makes housetraining easier. With a dog door, the dog can learn to go outside on his own.
- As soon as I woke up, I took Jack out of his crate and straight outside. I praised him when he went to the bathroom; "Good Boy! Yay Jack!". I took Jack to the same spot every time. The smell reminded him what he was supposed to do.
- Then I took Jack into the kitchen, played with him a bit, and fed him. I put him outside or in his crate while I got ready for work.
- I took Jack outside to use the bathroom just before I left to work. I praised him when he went, then put him in crate.
- I came home at lunch and took Jack straight outside. Praised him when he went. I let him play outside, then put him back in crate for the afternoon.
- As soon as I got home from work, I took Jack straight outside and praised him when he went. Then I fed him, let him play outside, took him on a walk.
- I took up Jack’s food and water at 7pm. I took him outside just before I went to bed, them put him in his crate for the night.
- At first, I set my alarm for the middle of the night to take Jack outside. Very young puppies often don’t have the bladder control to make it through the night.
- I immediately started showing Jack how to go in and out of the dog door by holding the flap up and holding a treat on the other side of the door.
Some people think crate training is cruel, but it’s just like keeping a baby
in a playpen.
If you can’t come home for lunch while crate-training, you could try leaving the dog in the crate for up to 8 hours. Just be sure he goes to the bathroom before you put him in the crate. If you are gone longer than 8 hours, you could leave him outside while you are gone. Older dogs can go all day without using the bathroom, but younger dogs have to go more often.
It does take time and effort to crate train a puppy. But consider this: it's
easier to spend 1-2 weeks of solid effort to have a housetrained dog than to
live for the next 10 years with a dog whose not quite trained and is
constantly having accidents in the house. Spend the time on the front
end--it will be so worth it.
Return to House-Training Tips.