Using a Kennel for Training Your Dog

Confining a dog to a kennel or crate can be the answer to many training, housetraining and travel problems. A kennel is a safe place for your dog when no one is around to supervise his activities. It’s a dog’s space or den, a place for him to be by himself safely. Besides, most dogs will not eliminate in a small area or den.

Have you noticed that your dog naturally seeks out a place under a table, chair, bed or in a closet to sleep? This is the dog’s natural instinct to den. In the wild, dogs are den animals. Kenneling a dog plays on this natural instinct.

How to Get Started
Ideally, you should try to spend the first few days at home with your dog. This will enable you to introduce the kennel gradually. Train your dog to accept the kennel by always praising him when he enters it. Tell him he’s a good dog when he comes out too. Use the kennel for only a few minutes the first few times and be sure to leave the door open. To enforce positive feelings about the kennel, feed your dog while he’s in the kennel. Within a few days, you’ll be able to close the kennel door and stay in the room going about your business. Give your dog a safe toy such as a Nylabone or Kong to keep him busy.

The next step is to be able to do the following: Feed, water and walk your dog. Then kennel him with the door shut for an hour. Do this for several days. Then use the kennel when you need it. Follow this procedure for a puppy or an adult dog.

Night Time
You will want your dog to sleep in your bedroom at night if at all possible – not on your bed, but somewhere in the room on a blanket, mat or in a kennel. Shut the bedroom door to prevent access to the rest of the house. Dogs are pack animals like their wild counterparts and for a dog, it is a canine privilege to inhabit the alpha’s den.

Time at night in the bedroom with you is a time for extended contact without demands. While uneventful, this time together builds trust and confidence between you and your dog. Adult dogs (one year or older) should be able to make it through the night without a housetraining accident once he knows he should go to the bathroom outside. Puppies under the age of 16 weeks probably won’t be able to make it. Dogs between the ages of 16 weeks and a year old will have varying degrees of success. No matter how old your dog is, if he whines or stirs in the night, take him outside no matter what time it is. This will reinforce the notion of “asking” to be let out and speed up the housetraining process.

Puppies: A kennel can be used at night in the bedroom. For young puppies under 16 weeks of age, use a large kennel with newspapers at one end and a blanket at the other. This will give the puppy room to sleep and a place to go to the bathroom. Take him outside if he whines or stirs. If he doesn’t know how to hold it and wait to go outside, he can go on the papers. Once he begins to understand about going outside, use a board or sturdy piece of cardboard or plastic to make the kennel smaller eliminating the paper section. Be sure to take him outside if he whines or stirs.

Adult Dogs: Don’t use a kennel at night until the dog is used to it (see above for instructions). Instead, encourage your dog to sleep on your bedroom floor on a favourite mat or blanket. Again, shut the door to your bedroom so that your dog doesn’t have access to the whole house. If he has to go out in the night, you’ll be able to hear him whine or stir and you can take him out.

Type and Size of Kennel
Use a wire or fiberglass kennel with adequate ventilation. Some dogs, especially adult dogs, prefer the wire kennels because they can see what’s going on around them and air flow is optimal. However, some prefer the enclosed fiberglass ones because they give a more secure, den feeling. A rule of thumb would be to use a fiberglass kennel when starting out with a very young dog. Or, you can use a wire kennel if it can be placed under a table or in an out-of-the-way corner of a room. The kennel should be large enough for your dog to lie down, stand up and turn around in when he’s full grown.

For a puppy, use a kennel the size he’ll need as an adult but block part of it off as indicated above. A wolf den isn’t that large – just large enough. Check your local newspapers or animal supply locations for used kennels. A used kennel may be a good way to save some money.

Some Rules:

• Do not leave your dog in his kennel day and night.
• Put your dog in his kennel only after he’s relieved himself and been exercised. It’s your responsibility to ensure your dog has the opportunity to relieve himself when he needs to.
• Take your dog outside often at first. Puppies should go out at least every three hours. Adult dogs, if not housetrained, should go out every five to seven hours.
• When you first take your dog out of his kennel, carry or lead him on leash to his “toilet area” outside. Praise him for doing his business outside.
• Gradually give your dog more freedom outside the kennel but only when he’s ready for it. If he goofs, start over again. When he’s out of his kennel, always leave the door open so he can go there to rest.
• If he wets only at night, kennel him only at night. If being left alone unsupervised is a problem, then this is the time to use the kennel.
• The kennel must be very clean. Otherwise, you will teach your dog to be dirty. If he soils the kennel, clean it thoroughly and clean the dog if necessary.
• To prevent damage to your house by an anxious unattended dog, kennel him when you go out and when you cannot monitor him.
• Use the kennel for “time outs” if your dog gets too exuberant or you begin to lose patience. Make the kennel a positive experience every other time.
• Kennels are useful when traveling. It’s your dog’s home away from home in your car and at your destination.

Remember….
Using a kennel to train your dog can be worthwhile. Misuse is cruel. Please follow the instructions very carefully.

Do not keep your dog in his kennel more than is absolutely necessary. Once he is housetrained and can be trusted in your home without being destructive, either stop using the kennel or simply leave the kennel door open for your dog to come and go. It is advisable not to give your dog free run of the house.