How To Crate Train Dog

If you just bought or adopted a puppy or a dog (let's call them "Dog" for purposes of this article), you're probably wondering how to crate train Dog so that, in the future, you can leave your house and not worry about your furniture and other valued items.  If you live in an apartment or a townhouse, you're probably struggling with how to get your crated dog to stop barking and annoying the neighbors. 

The first thing you should know is that you're not alone.  Millions of dog owners have struggled with how to crate train Dog so that (a) the barking or crying stops, and (b) they can have a worry-free life when leaving their dogs at home. 

Crate training your dog, however, is a lot easier than you think.  I have two yellow Labradors, and I went through this process twice when they were puppies.  My method of crate training merely requires you to withstand about 15 to 20 minutes of crying and barking that, generally, will dwindle down to a sigh.

How to crate train Dog comes down to the following three easy steps:    

1) Place Dog in his/her crate the first night.  Preferably, lead them in with a treat.  Do this at night so that you're there if he or she really goes nuts during the ensuing two steps (although, that's an extreme example and normally will not happen).

2) Ignore Dog's crying/barking.  This is the most important step.  DO NOT RESPOND to Dog's crying or barking.  Yes, initially, he or she will yelp, howl, and bring the house down.  And, yes, they will appear to be very, very cute in doing so.  The urge to take them out of their crate will be overwhelming.  But this is where your priority of training them properly takes precedence.  Resist that urge and remember that they will not cry forever.  In most cases, the crying/barking/yelping/howling will be over in 10 to 15 minutes.  The noise will dwindle down to a frustrated whimper, and then all will be silent.  You may not get to sleep right away as a result, but the 20+ minutes of sleep that you sacrifice will be well worth it in the long run.

3) If Dog needs to potty at night, repeat steps 1 and 2.  Obviously, if you have a puppy that's 8 or 9 weeks old, they will have to go to the bathroom at night.  If so, take them out, let them potty, and then repeat the above steps: lead them back into the crate, and ignore the crying/barking/howling episode.  Within 10 to 15 minutes, the crying will stop, and you will back on your way to dream land.

You will probably have to repeat these steps for a few nights.  With my younger Labrador, it took about a week and a half.  The effort required is minimal; rather, it simply requires some firm resistance to the urge to take them out of their crates.  But the payoff is well worth it.  This is a fool-proof method on how to crate train Dog.  Take it from a dog owner. 

If you do have that bad case of a dog that just hates crates and will not stop crying or barking, or if you have other dog-training problems, you can find some very helpful dog training videos here.