Factoid: In Europe they regulate, minimum size of crates, construction of dog houses and how long a dog can spend in a crate. (Sweden maximum of 3-4 hours)
 
 
 
 
 
Why use a crate? Well potty training is aided a ton with the use of a crate… It helps teach a dog to hold their bladder and bowels until they reach the correct potty spot! Think of being in a car on a road trip… if you gotta go you are going to hold until you get to next rest stop with a bathroom! Keep in mind this only works to the point of physically being able to hold it.
 
When pups are young or new to the house they can be used as a management tool, similarly to a play pen with a little child. As many parents have learned… When you don’t know where JR (or Fido) is the chances are nothing good is happening 🙂
 
I personally crate train my pooches for approximately 2years then start testing the dog for reliability inside my house… Freedom my friends is something earned not just given…
 
Sizing your crate… Dog should be able to go in, turn around, sit with out bumping their head and lay down comfortably… If any bigger than that and potty training benefits will not happen. They will poop and pee in one corner and sleep in the other. When dealing with a puppy you can buy a bigger crate with a divider in it so that the pup can grow into a full size crate!
 
As with anything in life to much of a good thing is bad and there are all sorts of folks who abuse crates but from this dog trainers point of view they are wonderful tools that if used correctly can help a ton with your pooch…
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