Crate training is one of the more important part of your puppy's training.  So much of our training is keeping our puppy from developing bad habits.  Our puppies have to poop and pee a lot and want to chew.  We try as much as we can to keep our puppies from ever learning to poop in the wrong place or to chew on the wrong things.  It is much harder to get rid of these behaviors after they have become habits than it is to prevent them from getting started in the first place.  We start crate training our pups around 5-6 weeks old, but you will still have some training to do after your pup comes home.

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We start crate training by throwing food in your puppy's crate and allow them to run in and eat.

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Fairly quickly after our pups are going into the crate, you can start to close the door while your puppy is inside.  Drop treats in the crate through the crate door or the crate holes randomly.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't reward or allow your puppy out if they are whining or barking.  You can tap on the crate or use a verbal correction to interrupt any noisy behavior.  We use chew items or interactive toys for our pups to keep them occupied in their crate.  You can soak your puppy's kibble in water, then stuff the soaked kibble into KONG toys.  Adding a little peanut butter or cream cheese can be a great motivator to keep your puppy interested.  Once your puppy gets really into their KONGS, you can start freezing them to help them last a bit longer. Our puppies also love Benebones as they get older, especially once they start teething.

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At night, keep your puppy's crate close to your bed.  The first few nights are the more stressful for your new pup. This is the first time ever being away from their littermates, their mom, and everything they have known.  We don't want our pups to feel alone.  We keep our puppy's crate right next to the bed.  If they start to get too noisy, we will tap on the crate to interrupt them.  Then we can stick our fingers through the crate to give them a little support.  This often helps our pups to settle and get to sleep quickly. We have found this to be a much better transition than just sticking our pups in a distant room and letting them scream it out.  

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We also like our pups close by at night so that we can hear if they get restless or whine and need to be let out to pee or poop in the middle of the night.  Our puppy's bladder is not fully developed until about 6 months old, but generally our pups are sleeping through the night around 3-4 months old.  Don't feed your pups too late in the day, and remove access to water a few hours before you plan to go to bed. 

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