Dog training: Of Crate Importance

     I spend most of my time on the phone helping concerned dog owners.  One of the most commonly asked questions is "Well why do I need to crate my dog at all?  He doesn't like that cage."   If you have the preconceived notion that the crate is a horrid torture device, then your dog most likely will come to believe it also.  I am going to list some of the main benefits of crate conditioning.  If I miss anything, please feel free to chime in with a comment below.

To successfully crate train a dog, it needs daily exercise.

     First, I need to clarify that crate training or crate conditioning does NOT mean simply shutting your dog away in a box indefinitely.  A crate is a safe place, it is not a substitute for obedience training, exercise and affection.  When used as a training aid, it can help a dog learn to control and calm themselves, keep the dog safe, protect the house itself from damage, and bolster self confidence and mental development.  If anyone has ever owned, seen or heard about a dog that is so insecure it even follows a person to the bathroom, crate training would be an excellent option to help that poor animal realize that a human possibly going out of sight for a few moments does not equate to eternal abandonment.

     Have you ever noticed when dogs are stressed, if they do not have a crate or other designated safe area, they will make one?  Thunder phobic dogs hide in closets, under beds, behind furniture, beneath tables..... any small and den-like place they can find.  If you do a fast interweb search, you can find tons of nifty articles supporting the fact that dogs are denning animals.  Click here to read one I found.  So if the behavior of your dog and dogs around you is not enough empirical evidence for you hardcore non-believers, look it up for yourself.

     Beyond catering to canine's natural instinct to den, crates are a way to prevent potentially dangerous situations.  Dogs are wonderfully intelligent and creative beings who can sniff out the possessions we prize most (your favorite shoes, the tv remote, the toilet paper roll..... anything covered and smothered with your scent) and effectively hide and or destroy them before you can blink.  This is dangerous not only because your chunky heels are choking hazards and your sneakers are toxic, but the tangle of cords to your computer may appear tasty as well.  Instead of wondering how your dog managed to open the cabinets that had the child-proof lock and measuring how much peroxide it takes to induce vomiting, wouldn't it be nice if you had prevented it in the first place?

Shhhh! Peanut is sleeping!

     Having a safe place to rest and receive meals (I recommend feeding in the crate from time to time) morphs the crate from a prison to a comfortable "Bed and Breakfast" in the canine mind, and can reduce potty training time dramatically.  The vast majority of folks I know do not eliminate in their beds.  Dogs have a tendency to not want to go potty where they sleep either.  If the dog still has "accidents" a crate can save you from having to clean a lot of messes.

     The most powerful reason for crate conditioning is for the mental health of the dog.  As we age and become adults we also crave our own space.  Although I have seen dogs who are perfectly content to always be attached to a human companion, I do not see it as a desirable or healthy trait to encourage.  It all too often leads directly to a dog who is an overly anxious basket case when the human is not present (separation anxiety), and eventually to a dog who cannot even figure out how to relax in your presence.   Canines have fine minds if we allow them to use them.  The crate is like giving the dog it's own room.  Anyone who has a teenager or who has been a teenager (that should be all of us) probably recalls how nice it was to have your own room that you can spend time by yourself in- no siblings or parents allowed!

     As I mentioned earlier, a dog will seek out a safe haven when stressed.  By having a crate readily available, the dog has the option to avoid stressful situations.  It will also learn to be content by itself for short periods of time, even when you are home.  It does not mean the dog will not enjoy your company and attention.  Crate training opens up the mind for more learning opportunities by limiting the dependence on human guidance.  


*for more information, please check out the main website at www.pawsthenplay.com