A crate is a terrific investment for a number of reasons. A crate can help you with:
House-training: Teaches your puppy to keep the home clean.
Chew training: Stops your puppy from chewing anything except legitimate chew toys.
Settling: Encourages your puppy to settle down when he’s alone.
Kenneling: Your puppy may need to stay in a crate during travel or a hospital visit.
Get a crate large enough for your puppy to stand up, lie down, and turn around in—but no larger. Otherwise, he might be tempted to use one end as a bathroom and the other as a bed.
Before you start using the crate, give your puppy a chance to get used to it. Don’t just throw him in there and hope he adjusts; that would be traumatic. The crate needs to be a comfy, safe place your puppy loves to spend time in. Here’s how to get him used to it:
A time guide to crating puppies:
8–10 weeks up to one hour
11–12 weeks up to two hours
13–16 weeks up to three hours
Over four months up to four hours
Here are a few things to consider when thinking about adopting a puppy vs. an adult dog:
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