Wolves and dogs in the wild are known to burrow holes to sleep in, providing them with a secure, warm den that they can live in and protect. While living in the wild, these dens are easy to build themselves, but a domestic dog that tries to build itself a den will destroy your home. By providing your puppy with an indoor crate can satisfy many your dog’s instinct for a secure den. Besides being a useful housebreaking tool, this safety zone for your dog can also help to reduce separation anxiety and prevent destructive behavior. Dogs like have somewhere they can be alone to feel safe and secure when sleeping. A dog crate (with a dog that has been crate trained) is more than able to provide this safe haven. As a source of pet-friendly apartments throughout the US, TGM Associates would like to share some helpful crate training tips for when you bring home your puppy.
A crate helps address many of the problems that cause stress and anxiety for pets and their owners. They provide a useful tool to prevent problems associated with destructive behavior and fear of strangers. A properly introduced crate can be used to help with house training, and help you manage you dog when you entertain guests who are afraid of dogs. By creating a small, mobile comfort zone, crates can even help you travel with your dog.
You will need both time and patience to introduce your dog to the crate and make certain your dog sees it as a part of its home and a special place of comfort. Here are a few tips to help you determine the best size and location for your crate:
- If you own an adult dog that is not likely to grow, you should search out a crate that is large enough for your dog to stand, sit, and stretch out. For a puppy, you should start with a smaller crate and move to larger sizes as your dog grows.
- Place the crate in an area so he is with you, and part of family activities. Dogs are pack animals, and isolating his den from the rest of the pack will create a sense of unease and loneliness.
- If possible, at night the crate should go in your bedroom. Not only does this provide comfort to your dog or puppy, but your own sleeping patterns will encourage your dog to instinctively sleep at night. If there is any fussing or if a puppy needs to go out at night, you will also be nearby to deal with it promptly.
Once you’ve established the crate and its location, you will need to introduce the concept of the crate to your dog. There are some tricks that you can use to help the dog understand that the crate is a place designed specifically for them.
- Start by leaving the crate door open continually, and place some of your dog’s toys inside. You will want to place the toys as far inside the crate as possible. Therefore, if they want a specific toy they will have to go into the crate to retrieve it. You can also use doggy treats as encouragement to enter the crate. It won’t be long before your dog feels comfortable enough to start going into the crate to lie down. To encourage napping behavior, you might also line the floor with a blanket or dog pillow.
- After a few days of napping while the crate door is left ajar, quietly close the door and leave it closed for a few minutes or until they wake up.
- Gradually increase the amount of time the crate door is kept closed. With time and patience, you will ultimately be able to stay in the room, with the door closed, and your dog will lie there quietly until they fall asleep. It is important that you learn to distinguish between any anxious whines and the sounds your dog makes when they need to go to the bathroom – if you hear a true need, you should let the dog out immediately to take care of business.
- Eventually, you can leave the house, and then return immediately. Then, extend the time to leaving your dog for longer periods until you do not hear any whining or such at any point.
- Continue to increase the time and work on attaining a fixed routine of leaving your house or apartment; i.e. put your jacket and shoes on, grab your keys, etc.
- Put your dog in its crate at regular intervals throughout the day up to a maximum of 2 hours. Be very careful not to leave your dog in its crate for extended periods. A dog that is confined to its crate too much will not receive the exercise or interaction it requires to stay healthy. If necessary, hire a dog sitter or find a doggie daycare center if you absolutely cannot visit the home/crate periodically.
- By crating when you are at home and while you are gone, your dog becomes at ease in the crate and won’t worry about your return, or that you are leaving him/her alone. This also helps to prevent separation anxiety later in life.
- Do not let the dog out of the crate while they are barking or they will think that barking is the key to opening the door to the crate. This will only encourage and reward the bad behavior. Wait until the barking or whining has stopped for at least 10 seconds before letting them out.
- Once your dog is comfortable with his crate and has been taught all the housebreaking and behavior rules, you should not continue to crate him or her. Once you can trust your dog not to destroy your apartment, you should let the crate become a voluntary den.
- Finally, but most importantly: You should NEVER use the crate as a form of punishment or reprimand for your puppy or dog. This simply causes the dog to fear and resent the crate. If properly introduced to his crate, your puppy should be content, even eager to go into his crate at any time. If you use the crate for punishment, the crate cannot become a comfortable zone for your dog, and you face the possibility of increased anxiety issues.
Remember that taking care of your dog is a full time responsibility, and deserves the care and consideration that you would give to taking care of a child. With the technique detailed above, you can easily teach your dog to feel safe and comfortable during periods when you are not at home.
TGM Associates is an investment advisory firm with a focus on multifamily properties. TGM acquires, sells and manages apartment properties throughout the U.S. TGM strives to provide the highest level of resident services and quality on-site management as part of a continual commitment to provide residents with a well-maintained apartment community and a comfortable place to live.
Tags: crate training, dog friendly apartment, dog training, pet friendly apartments
