Balancing play time and crate time
We recently picked up a black Lab puppy to add to our household. His name is Ink. It has been quite a few years since I have needed to raise a puppy, and I had forgotten just how much work puppies can be. Especially those first few months.
Young puppies require an immense amount of time and energy. You must crate-train them, housebreak them, and keep them from destroying your home and everything else you hold dear. If you don’t have a system for how to get through the first few months, you may easily find yourself losing your mind. Learn how to balance crate time and play time for your puppy.
You’re not alone
As professional retriever trainers, we often get calls from our clients. Since we cannot take the dogs for training until all adult teeth are in at around 6-7 months of age, the clients often find themselves with an out-of-control puppy that is ruling the house and making life miserable for everyone.
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Balance play time with crate time
One of the very first things we do with our 7-week-old puppies is teach them about crate time. Crate training is vital, not just because of how it helps with housebreaking, but also because crates teach puppies many other skills and gives you much needed breaks from the rigors of raising a puppy.
When you first pick up your puppy from the breeder, the puppy is used to being with other dogs and being entertained all day long. Most people do not have the time or energy to entertain their puppy all day long. So, you need to teach your puppy to entertain him/herself.
Putting your puppy in a crate isolates them from you and any other dogs you have in the home. It teaches them to relax and get comfortable with themselves. And it teaches them how to entertain themselves without outside stimulation. These are important skills for your puppy to learn. These skills will help your puppy live a well-balanced life.
Crate training and house breaking go hand-in-hand
Crate time is essential for housebreaking your dog. Young puppies do not have a very large bladder, and most are used to going potty whenever they feel like it. While with the litter, very few learn to hold their bladder for any period of time.
Crate training is your friend. It teaches your puppy to hold his pee-pee and therefore builds a larger and tougher bladder. If the crate is just a little bigger than your puppy, and he/she cannot move around easily within the crate, it is less likely that your puppy will go potty in the crate. By extending the time your puppy is in the crate in 15-minute increments, you can enlarge and toughen your puppy’s bladder so that he/she will be able to go longer between being let outside to go potty.
Crates equal den-like comfort
Lastly, crate training teaches your puppy that his/her crate is a comfort place. A properly crate-trained puppy will learn to love their crate and seek out the crate when they need a nap or just time away from other dogs or people in the home. The crate becomes a den for the dog and a safe place to spend time.
How long do I leave my puppy in the crate?
Crate training requires you to schedule time in the crate and schedule time out of the crate. With our 7-week-old puppies, we generally start with 1 hour in the crate, and 1 hour outside the crate for playtime. We add 15 minutes to the time if the puppy can keep the crate dry and clean.
Over the next couple weeks, we inch our way up to 2 hours in the crate and 1 hour out for supervised play time. By the time the puppy is 12 weeks old, we aim for 3 hours in the crate and 1 hour out for playtime.
Claiming some of your time or life back
Crate time gives us time to get other things done during the day while teaching our puppy to operate on a schedule. It allows for some peace and gives you the ability to have a life outside caring for your puppy.
Many people do not want, or do not have the time, to give their pups constant attention. And this is often where owners get frustrated and feel like they are losing their minds. By placing the puppy in a crate for several hours at a time, you can get work done and then devote time to the puppy.
Playtime must be supervised
It is very important that puppies be supervised while outside the crate. Puppies, like toddlers, can get themselves into all kinds of trouble if not supervised. They will eat things you do not want eaten, destroy things you loved, and have potty accidents that you will need to clean up.
Your puppy will eventually grow and not require this level of supervision, but when they are very young you must devote yourself to supervising any time outside the crate.
Make a schedule that works for you.
If you cannot afford to spend an hour watching the puppy, then make it a half-hour. If you work outside the home, slowly work your puppy up to longer periods in the crate and maybe longer periods out when you are home.
Very young puppies cannot stay crated for 8-10 hours a day. But dogs that are conditioned to the crate over time, can learn to hold their bladder that long. But if that is the schedule you have, be sure that your dog gets lots of playtime once you get home.
Final thoughts on Raising a well-balanced puppy without losing your mind!
Many people think crate training their puppy is cruel. After all, most puppies do not automatically love being crated. You will have to suffer through some crying and carrying on. But if you are firm and consistent, your puppy will learn to love his/her time in the crate, and you will have a better relationship with your puppy.
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