Floofins & Co. Staff Trainer, Michele Hatley, Shares Tips for Chicagoland’s Crate Training Pet Parents

Crate training is good for many reasons:

it can aid in house breaking a new puppy,
it is a place to put them when they can’t be supervised,
it is an aid when traveling, and most of all (if trained correctly),
it is a place that your dog can go to for comfort and to feel safe.

When teaching your dog to use a crate or kennel, it is important to never close them in before they are ready. Doing this can cause them to be scared and getting them to go back in again could be difficult. As with training any behavior, it is best to start slow. Keeping the crate as something positive will make it a place the dog wants to be.

To get your dog used to the crate, you can reward them for going inside with toys or treats. Overtime, your dog will become increasingly comfortable going in the crate and from here you can begin to keep the door shut for short periods of time and build them up in duration.

Taking the time to crate train your dog correctly will serve as a valuable aid for many situations. My dogs love their crates and often times I’ll find them in there even when they don’t have to be! Take a look at the video linked to the image above – will your dogs do that?