Every single dog owner out there wonders what they should do with their puppy or adult dog while they are at work or school. After all, dogs do easily get anxious or worried, which can result in them making a really big mess. This is one of the reasons why a lot of people choose to crate train their dogs in order to get them safe and comfortable while alone.
However, you should know, the time your dog spends in a cage or crate will entirely depend on its age, as well as what you want to achieve. To make things easier for you, there are some tips and tricks on keeping your furry companion in a cage while you’re absent from your home:
1. Puppies Will Have a More Difficult Time
One of the first things that you should know is that puppies have a more difficult time holding their bladders than older dogs, which is why you should ensure that they get minimum crate time – until they are fully trained. So, if your dog is younger than six months, you shouldn’t leave them alone in a cage for more than 3 to 4 hours.
The easiest way to determine the time they can spend in there? Well, take the numbers of the month he or she is, and then add one. Hence, if your pet is four months old, it could spend five hours in a cage. Keep in mind, you should monitor their behavior for the first week or so so that you understand how much they can spend in there. If they had an ‘accident’, they’ve most likely spent too much time in there.
2. Grown Up Dogs Can Stay in a Cage Longer
Most adult dogs won’t have any difficulties with spending half of a day inside a cage or crate, as long as they get enough exercise and playtime when you release your furry friends. What does this mean? Well, it means that you could place your pup in a cage for at least eight hours per day.
Now, you shouldn’t keep your dog in there for longer, mostly because it could cause some changes in their attitude. This is why you might want to consider hiring a dog walker, one that’ll release your dog from the crate at least once a day and take it for a walk or some playtime in the park.
3. Be Careful About Overusing it
If there is one thing that you should take away from this article, it’s the fact that you shouldn’t overuse the crate, especially since it could undermine your entire training efforts. So, if your pup has an accident in the cage, it’s highly possible that they’ll experience the same thing in the future, which means that you won’t be able to leave it alone in your home without rising some problems.
Additionally, dogs that are left in their cage for too long could develop a fear from it, which suggests that they won’t be comfortable with using it anymore. This is something that could lead to aggression and health problems – which is why you must ensure that you don’t overuse the cage.
4. Crate Training is Crucial
According to billige-hunderbur, if you want to increase the effectiveness of the crate, it is extremely important that you train your dog well. So, for starters, you place it in an environment that your dog loves being in. Next, you should place some treats inside of the crate and leave the door of the room open so that you can help your pup get used to the cage.
You should also ensure that the cage isn’t at a location that is too hot or cold, and more importantly, it must be big enough for your pet. It needs to be able to stand up while inside, as well as sit down, lay, or turn around in it. Never, I repeat, never use the cage as a form of punishment for your dog.
5. There Might Be Some Potential Problems
One of the potential problems that you might come across is that your dog might start whining and crying. Now, this could be due to them having difficulties with adapting to the cage or it might be that they simply want to get outside to potty. If this happens to you, you should first try ignoring it. If your pup is testing you, they stop crying and keep in mind, you should never punish them for doing this.
Anxiety, more specifically, separation anxiety is another problem that could occur. And if you try to solve the issue by placing them in a cage, you’ll make things even worse. Yes, a cage will prevent damage to your home, but since your pup might try to escape, it could end up hurting itself. By properly training your pup, you could avoid separation anxiety and if it doesn’t work, you might want to work with a trainer.
6. They Need to Look at it as a Safe Place
Last on our list of tips is the fact that you must ensure that your pup sees the cage as a safe place for them. This means that they have to look forward to spending some time in it. Again, one of the most important things that you could do is to train your puppy. Doing this will prevent problems, but more importantly, you won’t have to worry about leaving your dog alone.
Conclusion
Whether you need to leave your pup alone for a few hours each day or if you want to ensure that they’re crate trained when you need it, it’s extremely important that you opt for purchasing the right crate, and more importantly, you shouldn’t leave your pup in there for longer than 5 hours for puppies and more than 8 hours for adult dogs.
Whoever loves a dog he/she must be a good person and have a good personality. Playing with a dog makes your life happier and healthier. If anyone has a dog then he/she will be physically and mentally super to enjoy life, get more.
So, now that you’ve learned what you should and shouldn’t do, you shouldn’t lose any more of your time. Instead, if you wanted to try crate training your pup, you should start browsing E-commerce stores in order to find a cage that’ll suit your dog’s needs, as well as size.
