You’ve probably heard that dogs are “den animals”. That is,
they can be placed in crates. But this does not mean that they
will comfortable staying inside such a cramped space for one
whole day. In fact, if you keep your dog inside the crate all
day long, then allow him to get outside only for a few hours,
and then place him inside the crate again, expect your dog to
be extremely noisy about. If you don’t listen to his protests,
you will find him unhappy, destructive, and neurotic.
If you
are out all day long, it will be best if you have someone who
will be able to take your dog out for long walks during the
afternoon. If you cannot find a trusted person to do this, then
don’t place your dog in a crate while you are out working. The
best thing you can do, for your dog’s peace of mind, is to place
your dog in a room where there is no rug.
This room
must be strategically arranged so that one side of the room
will be for the bed, food, and water for your dog while the
other side will be his pee pads. In between, you must spread
several toys. Dogs are fairly intelligent animals. Their minds
need stimulation and this is the purpose of the toys.
You have
already chosen a dog as your pet. This means that you are committed
to invest time, energy, and finances for the well-being of your
dog. This also means that you must be actively involved in the
house training, especially in crate training. Crate training
is important because it will teach dogs to control their urge
to relieve themselves. They would not want to soil their beds
and so they wouldn’t want to urinate inside the crate.
Crate training
ideally begins when the dog is still a puppy. The crate you
buy must be big enough to accommodate the puppy’s bed but not
much bigger to contain two puppy beds. If there are two puppy
beds, your puppy may use one bed as his place to urinate and
defecate. This defeats the very purpose of crate training. Once
you have the crate, you must place your puppy inside it every
time you are away. This period will last about three weeks.
This is
also the time when you have to watch your puppy closely. When
it starts turn in circles or sniff, then it is about to pee.
Get the puppy out and bring him to the area you have designated
as the place where your pet should relieve himself. Do not expect
a very young puppy to stay alone inside the crate without needing
to pee.
Be consistent
in your commands for the puppy. Every time he does something
remarkable, let your pet know that you’re pleased. If the puppy
knows what you want, he will be more willing to go inside the
crate for the night. |
