Raising Puppies

Crate training is the act of teaching your puppy to enter her enclosure and enjoy spending time in it. If you properly introduce the crate and train your puppy to enjoy confinement, she'll consider it her safe den. If you simply put her in the crate without making it a positive experience, she could grow fearful of it or begin to dislike it. Crate train your puppy so that both of you can make the most of this useful tool.

Begin crate training the very first night you bring your puppy home. If you let her sleep on your bed the first few nights, and then realize that it's not a good idea because she's peeing on the bedspread, she will have a harder time understanding why you're suddenly asking her to sleep in her crate.

Where to Put the Crate

First, decide where you want to keep her crate. It should be in a place where your family gathers regularly, rather than isolated by itself. Some puppy parents choose to get two cratesone for the family's common area and one for a bedroomso that they don't have to move the crate at bedtime. Whether to let your puppy sleep in your bedroom