Training your puppy
Want to make your own dogs food?
We recommend this program.
We recommend this program.
Crate Training, Why?
We swear by crate training. Crate training allows your dog to become a well adjusted and confident animal and these are just a few points as to why;
- The crate is like the dog having it’s very own bedroom. A special area just for him. A safe zone.
- When you have visitors over for dinner and he is a bit restless of the company, he has an area he can take himself to be out of the hustle and bustle. Or if he becomes too under foot, you can ask him to go to his crate until everyone is settled on the couch and ready to cuddle.
- If you have children visit or there are children in the family, a crate gives your dog a voice. We teach children that if the dog goes to his crate he must be left alone, no ifs or buts! The dog now has a way of saying “okay, I’ve had enough”, or “this is making me uncomfortable, let me remove myself to my safe zone”. Just like the pets at a petting zoo have a “no go zone”, your puppy now can get away from a situation without needing to resort to growling or biting to get the message across.
- Are you moving furniture, cooking dinner, baby just threw up? Any thing that means your puppy may be in the way, get hurt, or into something that could harm him? Crate.
- If you are ever unfortunate enough that pup gets injured and needs “crate rest” or to be “kept quiet” for 6-8 weeks. A broken leg maybe? Then your puppy is happy to stay in his crate (his bedroom really) until he is healed, with leashed toilet times to prevent further injury. If your dog was never crate trained this time becomes super stressful and you are left with a dog attached to you all day long just to limit his jumping/running. And then worse at night when he is howling as he is confined in the laundry that he is not accustomed too and further injured himself.
- Crate training has a huge benefit on your dogs life in many scenarios. A huge one is deatructive behaviours whilst unsupervised (when you are at work for example). Having a play pen (for young pups) and a crate means that your dog can’t destroy the furniture or electrocute himself chewing cords whilst you are not home. Puppies who were raised crate trained grew up to be less destructive adult dogs as they essentially missed the destructive puppy stage.