Night Time Puppy Crate Training
The first night or first few nights to weeks with your new puppy can be stressful, especially if you need help with how to crate train.
Crate training is a great way to help your puppy feel safe and comfortable in their new home while ensuring they don’t have any accidents at night.
If you need some advice on how to get started with crate training at night, read on!
Mid-Night Potty Breaks
If your puppy is under the age of six months, you may need to wake them at night to go outside. Remember that puppies can’t hold it all night and may require a potty break several times during the evening and early morning hours.
There’s a Time Limit
Your puppy should not be left in his crate for more than five or six hours. He needs to get up and move around, so if you don’t let him out of his crate every couple of hours, he will become restless and anxious. This is especially important for puppies under 18 weeks old as they are still growing and need to stretch their muscles regularly to avoid developing problems such as hip dysplasia.
Crate Training a Puppy Schedule
Puppy Crate Placement
When you first introduce the crate, it should be placed adjacent to the owner’s bed. The puppy should be able to see and hear you while in the crate and smell you from a safe distance. Your new puppy will undoubtedly be having anxiety about being separated from their mother and siblings, so this close proximity to you will help. This will also help them learn that a crate is a safe and comfortable place for them to stay when they need to rest or sleep.
Supervision and Crate Training
Until your puppy has been crate trained for several months, you should make sure that he/she is crated whenever you cannot directly supervise them.
It’s also important that your puppy doesn’t spend too much time in the crate during her first few days of training. If your puppy becomes bored or frustrated because of being left alone for too long at first, it can slow down the process of teaching them how to behave properly around people and other animals in the house — which means that managing this behavior will take longer than necessary!
We hope these tips help you crate-train your new puppy easily. Crate training can be challenging, but it’s an integral part of raising a dog and ensuring their health and safety.
If you’ve never crate trained before or are having trouble with it now, feel free to reach out to a trained professional for advice or check out one of our other crate training guides found here.
Above all, remember to have fun with your new puppy and enjoy the training process as much as possible!
