I have had a lot of people ask me what my dogs do when Chris and I are gone and they are home all alone. My answer is always the same: they sleep. Dogs generally sleep 14-16 hours a day and easily adjust their sleeping habits to sleep when there isn’t someone around to hang out with.
Where do they sleep when nobody is home? In their crates. Yes, my dogs are both crate trained. I’m not writing to preach that everyone should crate train their dogs. Maybe it’s not something everyone agrees with or finds necessary but for us, it’s something we feel we’ve done right and works well for our dogs.
Because Ares and Chaos were both very young when they moved in, they also needed to be housebroken. Crate training helped immensely with moving that process along. Dogs do not like to potty where they sleep so crating them helps them to learn to hold their bladder and bowels.
Dogs are also den animals in the wild and domestic dogs still retain that natural instinct. If properly crate trained, a dog will like to go into his crate because it is his safe place, his own little spot to hang out, much like a child’s bedroom. Ares and Chaos both know that when we say “go to your bed” or “bedtime” it means they need to go to their crates, which are in the 2nd bedroom. They also will “hang out” in their crates if Chris is in that room playing video games or if maybe they just want some quiet time to relax or chew on a toy without sharing.
I know that some people view the crate as a punishment, like a time out. This is not what crate training is intended for. We crate our dogs while we are gone and at night for several reasons. Crating allows them to remain housetrained. If left to roam the house unsupervised there would be plenty of places to go potty and not have to hang out around it, like a corner or under a chair. Even though a dog might not potty inside when you’re home, that doesn’t mean he won’t take the liberty to do so when you’re gone. Another reason we crate the dogs is for safety reasons. There are so many ways they could hurt themselves by getting into something or possibly ingest something they shouldn’t if we aren’t there to watch them.
Since we have 2 cats who do have free roam of the house, crating the dogs at night gives them their time to go about their cat business alone. Crating also teaches the dogs that they can be alone. I’m not saying it was easy to listen to my little puppies make those pathetic crying sounds (or alien noises in Ares's case) and not do anything about it, but it helped them to learn that they could sleep by themselves. This helps also establish that they are not the pack leaders and need to abide by the house rules. Bedtime means bedtime and you have to go to sleep.
Crating may not always be the best answer for everyone. Chaos had a bout of separation anxiety in which he destroyed the very nice and expensive bed he had in his crate because he was so upset when left alone. Some dogs become so anxious in their crate they try to bust out and may hurt themselves. If you remember Thelma, the white German Shepherd from this post, she has a negative association with crating. Unfortunately she was used as a breeding dog and lived in a crate most of her life so I can’t say I blame her for not wanting to be in one again. Her mommy bought her a very nice crate but she was so upset when she was left in it that she found a way to get out. Obviously this is an extreme situation and has to do with her past but even a dog that is crate trained as a baby can develop separation anxiety. Luckily for us, Chaos’s separation anxiety was short lived.
It comes down to deciding whether you want to crate train or not from the beginning and getting to know your dog really well. Ares and Chaos were crate trained from day 1 and both love to drag toys and blankets into their little “dens”. They get plenty of physical and mental exercise each day so they sleep in their crates at night and during the day when no one is home. This training tool has worked incredibly well for us so I’ll share some way we did it.
Tip 1:
Buy a crate that will accommodate your dog fully grown with enough room to turn in a circle and lay down
- Make sure the crate comes with a divider to section off the crate if you have a puppy while the puppy is growing
Tip 2:
Feed and give your dog water in his crate
- Food is something positive to dogs so feeding a dog in the crate helps to develop a positive association with the crate
Tip 3:
Put a stuffed kong or other treat of your choice or a fun toy in the crate and close the door with your dog inside
- Try leaving the door shut for longer and longer time intervals so your dog can get used to being in the crate
Tip 4:
Don’t put blankets or a dog bed in the crate if your dog is not fully housebroken yet
- Dogs who are not housetrained or puppies can have accidents in the crate even if they try not to and then you have a bigger mess on your hands
Tip 5:
Sleep in an old tshirt for a few nights and then put it in or near your dog’s crate
- Your scent is comforting to them and can help them relax and go to sleep
Tip 6:
Buy a crate cover or just do what I did and cover the crate with a blanket or towel at night
- This makes the crate feel more “den-like” and secure and also adds warmth
Tip 7:
If your dog is crying do not let him out of his crate
- If the crying/whining continues for more than you can stand to listen, walk up to the crate and wait until the second the dog is quiet before letting him out
- He may have to go potty so take him outside immediately and then put him back in his crate
- Eventually he will learn that crying does not get him out of his crate for playtime
Is your dog crate trained?
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