A Typical Day of Crate Training

Here's how a typical day of crate training was with my puppy, Jack. Jack was only three months old, and following this method I had him housetrained in one week! We also have a dog door, which makes housetraining easier. With a dog door, your dog can learn to go outside on his own.

• As soon as I woke up, I took Jack out of his crate and straight outside. I praised him when he went to the bathroom; "Good Boy! Yay Jack!"
• I took Jack to the same spot every time. The smell reminded him what he was supposed to do.
• Then I took Jack in the kitchen, played with him, and fed him. I put him outside or in his crate while I got ready for work.
• I took Jack out before I went to work. I praised him when he went, then put him in his crate.
• I came home at lunch and took Jack out. Praised him when he went. I let him play outside, then put him in crate for the afternoon.
• As soon as I got home from work, I took Jack out and praised him when he went. Then I fed him, let him play outside, and took him on a walk.
• I took up Jack’s food and water at 7 p.m. I took him out before I went to bed, them put him in his crate for the night.
• At first, I set my alarm for the middle of the night to take Jack out. Very young puppies often don’t have the bladder control to make it through the night.
• I showed Jack how to go in and out of the dog door by holding the flap up and holding a treat on the other side of the door.

Some people think crate training is cruel, but it’s just like keeping a baby in a playpen.

If you can’t come home for lunch, you can leave your dog in the crate up to 8 hours. Be sure he goes to the bathroom before you put him in the crate. If you are gone longer than 8 hours, you can leave him outside while you are gone. Older dogs can go all day without using the bathroom, but younger dogs have to go more often.

It takes time and effort to crate train a puppy. It's easier to spend 1-2 weeks of consistent housetraining than to live the next 10 years with a dog who isn't quite trained and always has accidents in the house. Spend the time on the front end--it will be so worth it!

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