Why Use a Crate or Pen at All?
Crates and puppy pens help with house-training, teaching alone time, avoiding bad chewing habits and keeping your puppy safe and secure when you can’t supervise him. Crate and pen training will allow for lessons in self-control and patience that non-crate trained dogs are never exposed to. The crate/pen physically isolates your dog, without socially isolating them, so it is a clear way to teach your dog that just because there are things going on, doesn’t mean they can join in. This is a common challenge for puppy owners who want to get on with things without ‘help’ from their furry friend.
A combined crate/pen approach to puppy rearing uses management to prevent bad habits and encourage good habits. If your puppy never has the chance to develop bad habits, only good habits will become routine. Bingo! Happy puppy and happy owner.
Research has shown that puppies need up to 18 hours sleep a day. All puppy owners will tell you that without a crate/pen, puppy may appear to be asleep but as soon as something happens around the house, puppy will often wake up to join in. The same research links lack of quality sleep with increased behaviour problems such as nipping, biting, chewing and stealing objects, common challenges for puppy parents. Provided ample physical and mental stimulation is offered regularly during the day, it’s recommended that your puppy is crated or put into his pen every few hours. This means that he can get quality sleep and recharge his batteries. It means you can train good chewing habits with safe, suitable chews, rather puppy than finding things around the house to chew. It also means family members of all ages won’t be subjected to puppy nipping and biting, with razor sharp teeth that really hurt.
In short, a crate/pen system means your puppy is learning good habits in a safe space which takes the pressure from owners and means the whole family is happier. The key is how to crate train in a manner that everyone, including your puppy is happy with also. More on this below……
As a general rule, the crate is for settling down/sleeping while the pen is for more energetic activities where puppy can entertain himself. Here are some examples of situations I recommend using a crate to build good habits.
– Puppy is crated or put in his pen in the sitting room with a stuffed Kong each evening while the family watches tv. This ensures he only ever learns to settle and be calm in the sitting room, avoiding any bad habits such as jumping on the sofa, chewing inappropriate objects or biting/mouthing for attention when he’s over tired and the family is trying to relax.
– Puppy is crated or put in his pen during mealtimes. This avoids building a habit of begging at the table or hanging around an area where food is likely to fall. Dropped food is huge reward, making it more likely they will hang around the table in the future.
– Puppy is crated or put in his pen if stress levels are high or the family is busy. Examples would be getting-ready-for-school time or when kids are play fighting or during times of family tension. All these events can cause puppy to become over-excited, nipping, jumping up, joining in the increased energy with aroused behaviour.
– Puppy is crated or put in his pen while you get on with things around the house, working, hoovering, mopping, pottering in and out of view. The crate/pen is a clear ‘settle down’ zone, not just somewhere they are put when alone or overnight. So it often means company just not my attention.
– Puppy is crated or put in his pen when people (even family members) visit the home and until everyone calms down. Novelty and arousal are closely linked. When puppy is aroused (excited or over anxious about guests), he can’t learn good habits and so is likely to practice jumping up, submissive urination or, in more extreme cases, fear based ‘back off’ behaviours and even aggression.
Set Up to Succeed
Your dog’s crate should resemble a den, small, dark and cosy. Cover the crate (except the front) with a blanket so it’s dark, lowering the blanket to cover the whole thing overnight. Inside, puppy’s crate should have soft, easy to clean bedding. Because its main purpose is to encourage sleep, the crate should only be big enough for your pup to comfortably stand up, turn around and lie down. A larger space discourages them from settling down and encourages them to use one end of the crate as a toilet area, which you want to avoid.
It’s fine to move the crate from room to room, so long as the crate set up is consistent. For example you might have the crate in the sitting room at night while watching TV, by your bedside overnight and by your desk in the office while working. In all cases puppy would be asleep or busy with a food project while you get on with things. In all cases if you’re using a stand alone crate, you must close the door over. After all you wouldn’t leave the sides of your toddlers cot down would you?
If you’re using a pen also, You can place your crate in the pen area. If your puppy has a tendency to toilet in the crate, close the door over for sleep time. This avoids him waking up and toileting in his crate while you’re not paying attention. If puppy doesn’t soil his pen, you can leave the crate door open when he’s inside the pen area.
If the crate is for sleeping, the pen is handy for awake time, when you can’t supervise. The location of your pen should be in a communal living space where puppy can feel included in what’s going on. The pen should be filled with exciting objects and toys, rotated every few days to keep things novel. In the video above, you’ll see Jellybean as a puppy exploring new tug toys I’d added to the pen area.
Food dispensing chew toys such as Kongs encourage your dog to settle down. These can be offered in the crate when puppy is due to sleep. More active food dispensing toys can be given when puppy isn’t tired but you need him to be safe in his pen. These toys can help keep him occupied and busy while you get on with other things around the house or when leaving him him alone. Using your dog’s daily allowance of food to help keep them busy when you can’t occupy them is hugely valuable. You’ll find more about using food to raise a happy, confident and well trained puppy here.
Getting it Right…
Crate and pen training starts as soon as you bring puppy home. You will have a very distressed, unhappy puppy and a very tired and stressed owner if you lavish puppy with hours of attention, then shove him in a crate, switch off the lights and go to bed.
This very first video was taken within 30 seconds of my puppy being in his new home for the very first time. While we unpacked the car (back and forward, in sight, out of sight) he explored his pen. While we pottered, he found yummy chews, things to tug, objects to investigate. Pen exposure was repeated multiple times in the first day he was with us and every day after that, each time with tasty things to chew and novel items to explore.
For every couple of hours he’s awake, your puppy needs a couple of hours rest. He won’t have the maturity yet to take himself off for naps, so every few hours it’s up to you balance a routine of ‘constructive up time’ (play, training, trips out to see the world, food projects etc.) with ‘settle down time’.
For all naps, I recommend you use your crate and a stuffed Kong filled with part of puppy’s daily meal allowance. Feel free occasionally to settle puppy on your lap first, then transfer him into the crate. For some puppies who are overtired, stroking or touch will be too much stimulation for them. These pups need to go directly into their crate to settle, closing the door over and if needed, staying with puppy to reassure them until they’re asleep.
Overnight, my puppies sleep in their crate by the side of the bed for the first few weeks until we’ve mastered crate/pen training during the day. This helps puppy adapt to the new routine with less stress or anxiety.
If you only ever use your crate when you leave him alone, your puppy may learn to hate the crate as it will signal to him that you’re going to leave him for prolonged periods. When you put your pup in his crate or pen, it should be often and for varying periods of time, with company and without. This way, he won’t know whether he’s going to be in there for minutes or hours, or whether he’s going to be alone or still have company. The crate simply signals to my puppy that I need to get on with other stuff that doesn’t involve him. In addition, never use your crate or pen for time-out or punishment. If puppy needs a break, a sleep or is getting hyper, in a happy and pleasant voice go get him a stuffed Kong and put him away for some ‘down-time’.
Step by Step…
– Start as soon as puppy arrives home. Use your pen regularly for awake time to explore, chew, eat, play etc. if it’s big enough, sometimes get in there with them. Use your crate for all nap times, roughly every couple of hours. For getting him used to the settle down routine, maximise your chance of success by choosing times puppy is tired.
– Give puppy a food project EVERY time you put him into his pen or crate. Make this the best place to be in terms of food rewards, treats, chews etc. Remember, chewing helps puppy to settle down, but some food dispensing toys help puppy burn mental energy. Choose wisely.
– Give your dog no other option on a comfy bed in the room the crate/pen is in. This increases the chance that your puppy will choose their comfy crate for sleep time.
– Stay close by (sit on the floor next to puppy if needed) until your puppy seems happy and relaxed in his pen/crate. Read, watch tv. work on your laptop, prepare meals, mop, sweep, hoover etc. Stay close by to start with.
-When you’re at the stage where puppy is happy, busy and/or settled in his crate while you’re around, start to gradually leave the room for short, then longer periods before returning.
– While every dog is different, the faster you progress through these steps, the better for everyone involved.
– Take time regularly to play games such as the one below to ensure that your dog is happy and relaxed going into their crate, and to teach them the experience isn’t always long, boring or lonely.
Dealing with vocalisation in the crate
By choosing to crate at times when puppy is naturally tired, you’ll be maximising their chances of settling down. If you follow the suggestions above, you should have very little vocalisation from your puppy when in his crate/pen. However, some vocalisation is ok and normal as puppy tries to settle down. You’ll be sitting next to the crate/pen to start, so listen for changes in the vocalisation. If it’s not escalating or constant, that’s ok. Offer some verbal reassurance and calming noises, or occasional strokes through the bars of the crate/pen. The video below shows a nice example of when I wouldn’t interact (though I am sitting right beside the crate for company and reassurance) as puppy is vocalising but not constantly and is attempting to settle.
If the vocalisation is escalating or constant, and if puppy appears distressed, he may need the toilet. Bring your puppy outside and try for 3 mins before returning to the crate and offering the tasty stuffed Kong once more. Now sit again outside the crate with puppy and help them to settle down. It’s fine occasionally to settle puppy on your knee before transferring them into their crate, closing the door over and sitting with them until they settle again.
When do I let puppy rejoin the family outside the crate/pen?
The simple answer is ‘when you’re ready to’. If puppy has been asleep for a short while, and something disturbs him, then clearly he would otherwise have continued sleeping. I wouldn’t stop the ‘settle down’ session at this point, though I may in the first few weeks need to resettle him again.
If puppy has finished his nap (remember 2 hours sleep for every 2 hours awake is a good rule of thumb) and you’re ready to interact with him again, bring him for a toilet break and start his ‘constructive up time’ routine again. Puppy may wake up before you’re ready to interact with him again. If this is the case, bring puppy out for a toilet break then pop him into his pen with an active energy burning food project to keep him busy, until you’re ready to interact with him again.