Crate Training - Day 1

[Khristine]

So i bought Oreo & Ginger their first Crate! and so far so good! they have been napping in there for quite a while now!

i'm leaving for work at 230pm this afternoon and my boyfriend will be the one watching them. but what i'm quite unsure about is:

1. Do I leave the gate open when I leave for a short while or when my boyfriend leaves for example bathroom, kitchen, etc?

2. Do I put their food in there when I do close it? Or do i put food in there when it's open?

Mind you this is my first time ever putting a dog in a crate like this, so any advice on this kind of training would be great.

I did praise them each for going in there on their own. I let them go in and out on their own. When they went in on their own, I praised them, closed the door slowly, praised again and then said be right back, and left for 5 minutes. and came back and praised them. i again said be right back and this time left for ten minutes, came back praised them for not crying or whining or barking! ..

was this the right thing to do?

 

[BaileysMom]

WOW! No crying or anything?? Lucky you! If someone is there to watch them, I would leave the crate opened for the majority of the time. You are supposed to close the gate occasionally for longer and longer periods of time and reward them for being quiet with the door closed.

I would only put food in there when someone is there to watch them so they don't spill it too much.

I would close it even when you are gone for short periods of time, unless you can see them from where you are at. Puppies need CONSTANT supervision in a non puppy proof room, it only takes a minute for them to get into something they shouldn't!

It took Bailey about a 1 1/2 weeks to be crate trained with NO crying or wimpering. Different puppies handle crate training in a variety of ways, though. You just have to keep working at it, but it sounds like you are doing it right so far!

 

[CreatureTeacher]

It sounds like you're doing great, Khristine! Keep it up! I agree that if the room isn't puppy-proof, don't leave them alone there. But you could always puppy-proof it so they have a place to play and exercise when you're not there!

Good work making the crate a positive place for them. And praising them for being quiet and calm is an excellent thing to do! You're a natural!

 

[DogD]

Wow lucky for sure! The first night our pup was in her crate no one got any sleep!