As a puppy or dog owner you will always make his/her health and welfare a top priority.
After all a puppy or dog that is happy and contented goes a long way in contributing to his/ her overall good health and well being.
Making your puppy or dog feeling safe and secure in their environment is of paramount importance.
Let us be honest, everybody needs a bolt hole he/she can escape to for a bit of peace and quiet occasionally and believe it or not puppies and dogs are no different.
The crate as a piece of equipment may look a little intimidating.
After all, is it not a cage by any other name? Well yes it is but, that is a human perception of it.
Your puppy or dog does not know this.
He/she really does not think in the same way as you do and has no idea of what a crate is.
To crate train your puppy or dog successfully is a lot easier than you might imagine.
First and foremost the crate has to be the most amazing, cozy and friendly place for your puppy or dog to be.
So how do you go about achieving this environment and making him/her feel happy and secure in the crate? From day one when you first get your puppy or dog, the first step is an introduction to the crate.
We want it to be a friendly place, remember? What better to do this than by placing his/her food in the crate at feeding time? You will find that your puppy or dog will be concentrating on the food.
He/she will be hungry and will not really take into account the surroundings in which he/she is eating at this stage.
Repeat this procedure at every feed time and before long you will find your puppy or dog racing into the crate eagerly awaiting their dinner with his/her tail wagging.
Another good familiarization technique is to get a favorite toy and play with it and your puppy or dog.
After a short time place the toy along with him/her into the crate.
Close the door and let the play session continue, he/she will be engrossed in the toy and not the crate.
Try to keep these training sessions reasonably brief to start with.
Puppies have a short attention span and get bored very easily.
You want him/her to spend stress free time in the crate and as easy as it will be for your puppy or dog to adapt to the crate, it will take time and patience on your part too, so little and often is best.
Always try to finish your training sessions on a positive note, not always as easy to do but a little extra help in the form of treats is a useful training tool.
You are trying to make your puppy or dog feel happy being in the crate so use a little cupboard love to assist you.
Place him/her into the crate, close the door and give them a treat or chew whilst they spend time in the crate.
So, by association your puppy or dog will soon grasp that this is a great place to be.
All be it that they think they may get a treat, may get fed or just have time out with a toy.
Your training progresses by extending the periods of time in which your puppy or dog spends in the crate, culminating in your being able to leave him/her safe in the knowledge that he/she is more than happy and content to be in an environment that makes him/her feel secure.