With puppies, having a few kinds of non-gear-related puppy training equipment is important. The two I use the most with puppies are crates and gates. Both allow for controlling when and where your puppy is and what it can access. This control is essential for young puppies who are still learning what they can chew on and where to go to the bathroom. If you have not yet invested in a crate and some gates, I recommend looking into them. However, just like with the other training equipment items I have discussed in the last two weeks, you will need to ensure that you meet the criteria for crates and gates that I discussed for the other pieces of equipment.
Criterion #1: It Needs to Fit Correctly
This first criterion is extremely important for crates. Because puppies are small, many people get the crate they will need when they are fully grown and put them in that. The problem with this is that if puppies have too much space in their crate, they may go to the bathroom in their crate instead of waiting until they are allowed to go outside. So, what you want to do is make sure you get a crate that has a divider you can add. These most often come with wire crates. If you do not want a wire crate, you will want to start with a smaller crate and buy a bigger one once your puppy is bigger.
For the gates, this is less about fitting your puppy and more about ensuring they fit your doorways. However, you want to ensure that the gates you choose will be tall enough to keep your puppy from jumping or climbing over the top on the first day. A standard baby gate should work depending on your puppy’s size and eventual adult size. However, you may consider finding a taller gate if you have a large breed dog. If you are wondering if you can’t just use rooms with doors on them, you can, but you want to make sure that you can monitor your puppy or that you can clear anything dangerous from the room you will close your puppy in. When I say remove anything dangerous, I should really say everything dangerous. But if you need to close your puppy up, you should probably go for a crate or hire someone to watch your puppy and/or check in on it occasionally.
Criterion #2: Know How to Use It
Both crates and gates have some things people need to know about them when it comes to using them correctly. For crates, it is important that your puppy does not spend more than one to two hours (depending on the age of your puppy) in the crate, except at night. It is also important that you ensure that your puppy is not placed in the crate as a form of punishment. Time outs are not something dogs understand. You can put them in the crate when you need a break, but make sure to give them something they can do that is fun and entertaining, so they do not become bored while they are in the crate.
For both the crate and the gates, you want to make sure that you train your puppy how to use them. Puppies need to know that they are safe in the crate, and they need to know that the gates are a boundary that they need to interact with in a certain way. For crates, it is important to start training from the get-go and ensure you do not leave your puppy in the crate until you have done some training to help your puppy relax in the crate. For the gates, you can start by testing them out to see if your puppy will remain behind the gate. Still, I would recommend introducing your puppy to the gates by reinforcing your puppy for staying behind the gate and waiting for you to open it.
Criterion #3: It Needs to Have a Clearly Useful Purpose
You only want to use what you really need for both crates and gates. This rule is especially the case with crates. If you need to put your puppy in a crate for most of the day, something is wrong. You should never leave any dog of any age in a crate for longer than two hours except at night or in the case of an emergency or health issue where your vet prescribes crate rest. Puppies who spend too much time in a crate are being set up for behavior problems due to boredom and lack of stimulation.
For the gates, you don’t have to worry as much about this one, but I do recommend not overusing gates. This includes not restricting your puppy too often. What rooms you choose to allow your puppy in is up to you. But remember that if your puppy is kept in one location for too long, it may become bored and display corresponding behaviors such as barking and chewing. If it is restricted from certain areas entirely, some puppies develop a strong desire to access the “novel” location and may climb gates to get to the new place. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a room you never let your puppy into, but if there is no need to keep your puppy out, then it is best to introduce it to as many rooms in your house as possible. Then you can teach it to stay out of that room when the gate is closed.
Crates and gates can be a huge help in working with your puppy. You can teach your puppy a lot when you are able to control where it goes and when without having to pick it up or move it against its will. When you use these pieces of equipment, make sure that your puppy is sufficiently conditioned to them and sees them as enjoyable parts of its life.
If you need help teaching your puppy how to use crates and gates, contact me here and we can set up a session!
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