Crate Training

The crate is an invaluable house training aid for you and your puppy. Your puppy will not destroy or soil anything or hurt himself while confined to his crate when you are out of the house or unable to watch him. He will not relieve himself in his crate unless he is left in too long. Your puppy can retreat to the crate to rest, to escape confusion, or to adjust to strange surroundings. And it can be very helpful if you should travel with him or leave him in someone else's care.

In training your puppy to use a crate, start as soon as you bring him home. Put him in the crate where he can see you. Leave him in the crate for only a few minutes the first time. Then take him out of the crate and play with him. Repeat this procedure, but leave him in the crate longer each time. After he has been in the crate for more than 15 minutes, take him outside and show him where to eliminate. If he eliminates, praise him.

When the puppy is young, set-up the crate near your bed at night. Don't put anything on the crate that the puppy can pull into the crate and eat. He will try to eat whatever is in or on the crate. You can put in a chew toy such as a nylabone, so that he has pleasant association with the crate. Don't use the crate for punishment. Say the word "Kennel" or "Crate" when you put him in the crate, so he learns the command.

The crate should be only large enough for him to sleep or lay down. If the crate is too large, it will not work. If you have a crate large enough for a mature Labrador, you will have to divide it to make it work for a puppy. I like a small travel crate for a young puppy. I can move the crate from room to room as I do my daily chores. My puppies are general content and happy if they can see me.

After he has been in the crate for a while, take him outside where you want him to relieve himself. When he does relieve himself, praise him. In this way he will soon learn where he is supposed to go to relieve himself. You may confine your puppy to his crate all night if you place it near your bed and take him outside during the night when he needs to relieve himself. He probably will not make it through the night the first week. Don't force him to relieve himself in the crate by leaving him in too long because that will defeat the purpose of the crate.

An important advantage of crate training is that it does more than just stop your puppy from messing in the house. It also teaches him that when the urge to urinate or defecate occurs, he can hold it. Just because the pup feels like he needs to relieve himself, he learns that he doesn't have to. This is the main reason why puppies that have gone through crate training have fewer mistakes later on.

Summary:

1. Use a crate carefully - don't ABUSE it. Your puppy needs to feel secure in his crate. Don't use it to punish him. If he is thrown in the crate and isolated, he sees it as confinement and not his den.

2. Buy a good quality crate. For a full-grown Labrador it needs to 39-42 inches long. When using the larger crate for a young puppy, partition the crate so he only has access to part of it until he is house trained.

3. Crate training is an effective way of house training your puppy, but remember to make sure that your puppy has frequent breaks from confinement and lots of human contact!