Crate Training © 2003 Cynthia Rust     www.cynadohavanese.com Crate training your puppy is relatively simple if you have paper-trained him as described in the previous section. Once your puppy has established a potty area, he has confirmed that he desires to potty somewhere other than his crate. Now you may place the door back on the crate and slowly begin acclimatizing him to its confines. You will probably already have noticed that he was going in it to sleep at night. This exemplifies the fact that dog's are den animals. Again, you are just going to utilize that instinct to your benefit. Begin by leaving your puppy confined in the crate for 15 minutes at a time. Then let him out and praise him. You will need to build his time in the crate up slowly. You do NOT want to frighten him. Remember the goal is to keep him happy and make him love his "house". You may give him a small treat when you put him in his crate. You may even add the words "Go in your house" then give the treat. You can also help get him use to the crate by feeding him in it. Begin with his dishes near the front, and slowly move them further in the crate. When he is 3 or 4 months old depending on the puppy, he may be able to keep from eliminating for 6 or 7 hours. Now you may be able to leave him in the crate at night. One thing you can do to help with nighttime training is to remove his food and water after about 7PM. If your puppy gets restless in his crate during the night, take him out to go potty. Praise him after he goes, and then put him back in the crate. He should NOT be punished because he can't make it through the night. He does however need to know that nighttime is for sleeping. Once your puppy is able to make it through the night, your life has turned a corner. You are closing in on the completely house broken dog and the use of his crate will become indispensable for numerous purposes. The crate can be used for transport to and from the vet's office. By leaving your dog in his crate until the vet is ready to see him, you can protect him from any germs that may have been tracked onto the clinic floors. When transporting dogs in a car, they are much safer in a secured crate than left loose to defend for themselves in an accident. A show dog's crate becomes a safe haven, allowing him a hiding place from all the stress and commotion happening around him. The dog groomer's is another place your dog will be crated. If he is comfortable at home in his crate, it will make his time at the groomer's much more pleasant for everyone. Keeping a dog in a crate at night keeps it from harms way. When you are sleeping they need to be too. If the dog is loose in the house while you are sleeping, you are unable to make certain he is not chewing on electrical cords, or getting into cleaning supplies, or chewing on houseplants, or any number of other things that could harm him. By putting your dog in his crate at bedtime, you are not only protecting him from potential hazards, but also giving him his own den where he can learn to feel comfortable and secure. Crate training a dog utilizes canine basic instincts of den behavior to provide them a safe, comfortable place to stay when you can't be watching them. Havanese do well in crates at night, or during short periods during the day. They do NOT do well left in crates on a continual basis day and night. They are bred to be companion dogs and need to have human interaction during their waking hours to remain healthy and happy. That said, one of the best things you can do to protect your puppy is crate train it. Permission to reproduce and/or circulate this article is granted with the condition that it be disseminated in its entirety and the copyright/credit to Cynthia Rust & Cynado Havanese remains attached. Authored By © Cynthia Rust 2003-2004 www.cynadohavanese.com Last modified May 5, 2004