Crate training a dog by means of a schedule is a great way to teach your animal the ropes of the house. By allowing your dog a limited period of free time each day, and the rest of the time in the crate, you are setting up a schedule for the dog to follow. A schedule is a great way of teaching the animal what to do on a daily basis. It keeps the animal focused, uses repetition, and instills in them that they must wait to use the bathroom. It will take a bit of work but it can certainly be done.
The goal you are trying to reach here is to eventually let your dog walk about the house, without worry of good old pooch soiling up your new furniture. You are going to need time, patience, and a crate for this to work. Now what about the crate exactly, what type of crate should you have? Well first of all, a crate allows the animal to be a part of the family without ruining the surroundings. The openness of the cage allows the air to pass through with a great range of visibility. Try and place the crate in an area where there are people around. You do not want to isolate the dog in the basement.
There are some advantages to crate training as well. If you are going on a vacation or to a relative’s house with a dog that is well trained in a crate, you will have little problems to worry about. Compare this to the dog that is not crate trained and must be kept with someone, whenever you decide to go away. You also have a dog that is willing to wait to use the bathroom until you can take him outside (not too long of course). These can be invaluable assets for your pet to have.
The size of the crate may surprise you however it is extremely important to do this correctly. You want a crate size that is roughly the size of your dog. The reason being is that the animal, used to cleanliness, will not want to soil the floor because it will have to sit, stand, or lay down in that mess. This makes the dog focus and wait to soil, until it can do so outside. Simple and effective, this is a great trick to know.
It isn’t a good idea to put any kind of material in the crate. You may be well tempted to do so but in the long run this isn’t a good idea. That cozy towel grandma knitted for good old pooch could turn into a chewing toy, a place to hide its wastes, or something that just gets in the way and hinders the training process. For best results, it is advised that you keep the crate bare. By doing this, you will allow the dog to get used to the floor, it will not want to urinate all over the bare floor, and it won’t allow the dog to hide any kind of defecation.
