Wrong again! Crate training can be simple and fun, and your dog may actually consider it’s crate a safe place!
Have a nice roomy crate available in a place where you see it every day. Start your training by tossing a treat into the crate, and encourage your dog to go get it. Once he goes in and out on command, start closing the crate only a few seconds at a time. As your dog becomes more and more comfortable with being in a closed crate, gradually step up the time periods, and make sure to reward the dog or puppy every time.
Dogs are den animals, and they like and crave the security of a small space like a crate. If you offer your dog or puppy a comfortable, properly sized open crate, you may find them in there during stressful times like a thunderstorm, or in any other stressful situation.
Let’s say you need to leave the house for a few hours, and you don’t trust that your puppy won’t chew the couch apart, or just wander off and get lost. If your puppy is properly crate trained, and you give him a fun toy to play with or a bone to chew while you’re gone, he’s sure to be there when you return. Also, in the case that someone is at your house doing work etc., that person might appreciate the fact that your dog is safely in a crate and out of his or her way.
When your headed to the vet, or anywhere else where your dogs is sharing a ride, the safest place for him to be is in a crate. We don’t ride without a seatbelt, and the same safety rules can apply for your dog. Many accidents are created by loose pets, and much too often that pet gets killed upon impact. Also, dogs that are in a crate and can’t see out the window are less likely to get carsick, which we all agree is no fun.
For this issue of The Dog Journal’s Results section, we’re going to talk about something a little different! In issue two, we did a giveaway drawing, and on the entries, we asked two questions. Everyone that entered for the drawing needed to fill out the answers to the questions, and the answers that came back were so interesting we decided to share them with our readers.
The problem with the puppy mill conversation is that it is loaded with emotion. In fact, just writing these articles will cause some to think that I support puppy mills or puppy mill behavior. There is nothing further from the truth.
Ever heard of the SWOT Analysis? Well, it’s a super valuable tool that can help any business grow and thrive, and Chuck Holt, with New Now Services, is taking the time to contribute a continued series of “workshop” articles, designed to help you implement this tool into your dog breeding business.
