How Long Will it Take to Crate Train My Dog?

The answer to this question depends on your individual dog and his personality. Some dogs take to their crates right away and the process only takes a few days. Other dogs can take weeks to successfully crate train. Some common factors to consider that affect the time it takes to crate train your dog include your dog's age, temperament and past experiences with a crate or kennel.

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How to Crate Train Your Puppy

Please note: Puppies under six months of age should not be crated for more than 4 hours at a time. They have limited control of their bladders and cannot help but soil their den.

Puppies, especially those who have not had previous bad experiences in a crate, are naturally more curious and faster learners than adult dogs. It is easier to start crate training when your dog is a pup, rather than trying to crate later in life.

Step 1 & 2: Introduce the crate

Put a soft blanket, towel or crate pad in the crate. Make sure it is absorbent and easy to wash for a dog that's not perfected potty training.

To your puppy, the crate is just a piece of furniture in the room. They may naturally investigate the new "room" and begin sleeping in it on their own.

If not, sit by the crate and talk in a soothing tone and call them over to you.

Use small training treats to lure your puppy to come near the crate

Continue dropping small training treats to lure your puppy inside the crate

Do not force them into the crate

Once they have entered of their own free will, praise them gratuitously

Continue this process every few hours so the crate becomes a happy place!

Add a command

Now that your puppy is happy in the crate and eating his meals there, add a command word or phrase that you'll say each time you want them to go in the crate. The command should be simple and kept consistent by all members of your family, try using "crate" or "go to your crate".

Step 3: Closing the door

Once your puppy is happily entering and exiting the crate on his own, progress to closing the door for a few seconds.

Lure them into the crate with treats, close the door for just a few seconds, praise them for remaining calm and open the door to give them another treat

Repeat this step as long as your puppy is interested and not distressed by the door being closed. Very gradually increase the amount of time the door is closed.

Do not reward whining, if they are beginning to whine while the door is closed, you may have moved too fast for their comfort level.

Repeat every few hours until your puppy is happily sitting in the crate for a few minutes at a time.

Step 4: Feed meals in the crate

Since your puppy is happy to enter and exit the crate, begin feeding all meals inside the crate.

Put the bowl in the crate, let your puppy enter and begin eating, then quietly close the door behind them.

When your puppy is finished eating, let them out of the crate.

Increase the amount of time between them finishing their meal and opening the door at each meal.

Until you have perfected Step 5, you should remain near the crate during this stage.

Step 5: Leaving the room

This stage of the training works best when your puppy is tired out from a play session.

Repeat this, but this time close the door and say "I'll be right back" in a happy tone or say nothing, and leave the room for just a few seconds.

When you return, calmly open the door and then give lots of praise and a few treats. Do not open the door if they are whining. Wait until they have finished whining, and then open the door. If you open it while they are whining, they are learning that this is how they can get out of the crate.

The same as the last step gradually increase how far away you go and how long you are out of the room. Don't move too fast for their comfort level!

Continue to increase this time until they are happy to remain inside the crate for 1 hour while you are still somewhere in the house.

If your puppy is too anxious or excited to stay in the crate, try providing fun chew toys to help them pass the time.

If when you come back they are asleep in the crate, let them sleep until they wake up, then open the door and go outside to potty.

Step 6: Leaving the House

Once you've perfected step 5, you can begin to leave the house for short periods of time.

Start by putting your puppy in the crate 15 minutes before you leave. Go through your regular stages of getting ready to head out the door: get your keys, bags and anything else you need.

Don't be emotional when you leave. Just pretend you're still doing step 5 and leave the house without any fanfare.

Start out by leaving for 30 minutes and gradually increase the time you're away.

When you return, don't reward the puppy for excited behavior. Stay low key and calmly take the puppy outside to potty. Not acknowledging your return will decrease anxiety.

Increase the time you're away, making sure that your puppy isn't crated for more than a few hours at a time.

Bedtime Routine Notes

When your puppy has now learned to entertain himself when you leave the room for about a half an hour and is familiar with your command, you can have him sleep in his crate all night.

Place the crate within earshot so you can hear him.

Tip: Keep the crate in your bedroom at night so that he feels safe with you nearby. If he is placed where he can see you that is even better.

When he wakes up in the middle of the night, take him outside to relieve himself, then return him to his crate.

Tip: Try to ignore whining when you return to bed. You should never let your puppy out because he is whining; it will teach him that you'll let him out as soon as he whines. This can be a stressful point in crate training your puppy.

Tip: If you give in at this point and let him sleep in bed with you, be prepared that you've started a bad habit and will probably be sleeping with your dog every night, even when he is grown.

Tip: A teething toy or stuffed Kong can help keep him occupied until he falls back asleep in his crate.

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How to Crate Train Your Adult Dog

Who said an old dog can't learn new tricks? They were wrong! Crate training an adult dog can be a bit longer of a process, but it can be done if you follow the steps in this guide and only move on to the next step once your dog is 100% comfortable with the previous step. Training an adult dog is similar to the steps above for puppies, but you may need to progress much more slowly. Here area few key differences when you are training your adult dog:

Introducing the Crate to an Adult Dog:

Put a soft towel, blanket or crate pad in the crate

Open the door of the crate or remove the crate door temporarily

Let the crate become a natural part of the room and let them explore the crate on their own terms

Allow this for a few days without further progression

Naturally curious dogs may investigate the crate on their own. If your dog does not, or is afraid of the new piece of furniture:

Keep the crate door open securely as to not scare your dog

Sit by the crate and talk to your dog in a soft, happy voice

Call them over to you, continue to talk in happy tones

Encourage them to sniff the crate and eventually go inside, using small training treats to facilitate the process

Drop treats at first next to the crate, then near the door, followed by just inside the crate. Continue progressing until they have entered the crate by their own free will.

If your dog is not food motivated, you can try the same process with a favorite toy. Use whatever best motivates your dog.

Do not force them into the crate. If they are refusing to progress further go back to the last place they were comfortable and drop a few more treats and stop training for the day.

This process can take days until they are comfortable entering and exiting the crate.

Continue to progress through step 7 in the previous section. A few notes for adult dogs:

At night, your adult dog should be able to hold his bladder through the night.

Although they can sleep through the night, keep the crate in your bedroom within sight of you so that they are comforted and do not feel socially isolated.

You will not need to take your dog out after each training period like you would a puppy.

Just remember to move slowly so that your dog does not regress and come to dread the crate. Everything about the crate should be a positive experience and they should begin to look forward to being in the crate!

Eventually, your dog will enjoy the crate so much they will use it on his or her own, without you giving the command.

Once your dog is trusted in the house alone leave the crate door open when you leave the house.

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Important Tips for Successful Crate Training

Never, never, never use the crate as a punishment. Everything surrounding the crate should be positive and fun; otherwise the training won't work and Fido will refuse to enter or become anxious when asked to go in the crate. This is a very important detail that many people fail to follow and their dogs learn to hate their crate.

This process can be a long one, and is as individual as each dog. Remember to move at your dog's speed and assess their comfort level at each step in the process. Use small steps and repeat training several times a day. If you move on to the next step, but your dog is not responding well, go back to the last step they were happy with and progress at a slower speed.

Make the crate an enjoyable experience that they look forward to! Provide plenty of treats, praise, fun toys (Kong toys are great for crate training while you are around to supervise them), and love during the training process. Dogs respond much better to positive reinforcement from their innate desire to please their pack masters.

*Please take your individual dog's habits in to mind before providing toys or treats while you are unable to supervise them. Some heavy chewers can break apart even the toughest of toys and they can become a choking hazard. Make sure your dog is using the toys properly before providing while you are away from the crate.

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My Dog is Whining in His Crate, What Should I Do?

First ask yourself if he needs to go outside or if he is whining to try to get you to let him out of the crate. If the latter is true, you'll need to ignore him until he quiets down. Never reward whining by letting him out and never yell or shake the crate, even if you're at your wits' end. If you followed through with the steps outline above, the whining should subside once he realizes that whining will not get him what he desires: to be left out of the crate.

If you think your puppy may need to go outside, calmly take them straight outside to eliminate. Make no pit stops on your way there or back to the crate so that your dog knows that it is time to go in the crate and you're not backing down.

If the whining continues after a few minutes of ignoring the behavior, you may have moved too fast through the training process for your dog's comfort level. Return to the step before the whining started and try again with slower progress.

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A Quick Note on Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety cannot be treated or abated by crate training; it may only serve to help save your home from some damage. However, in the process, your pet may become injured trying to escape the enclosure due to their overwhelming level of anxiety experienced when they have this disorder.

Separation anxiety is a disorder that affects many dogs. Often, these dogs will go, almost literally, out of their minds when they are left alone. It is severe, debilitating anxiety; it is often accompanied by attempts to escape the house, resulting in damage and destruction of items in your home in the process. Dogs with separation anxiety often try to escape from kennels and boarding facilities as well, so special care must be taken.

You can treat separation anxiety, but it can only be treated by very slow desensitization and counter-conditioning training. It takes a very long time to desensitize a dog with separation anxiety. There is no quick cure. You may want to see your vet; some anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed in extreme cases.

If you think your dog has separation anxiety we recommend that you see your vet and seek out a qualified dog trainer or behaviorist who uses positive reinforcement techniques before beginning a crate-training regimen.

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