Puppy Crate Training Schedule

Puppies often have the tendency to become hyperactive and go on a rampage in the house.

There is also the annoying pooping and urinating inside the house, which can leave marks and create an awful smell in the environment.

This is where puppy crate training becomes useful, but when not used correctly, you could be doing more harm to your dog than good.

Continue reading if you want to find out how I created the perfect way to ease in my puppy into crate training and how I created the perfect puppy crate training schedule…

Hello, I am Danial and the proud owner of Sadie, a beautiful Siberian Husky that we decided to adopt early in 2017.

Husky breeds are known for being especially active when they are puppies – so take a moment and consider the mess I came home to so many times.

And then there was the fact that Sadie decided to use the inside of our house as her bathroom – unpleasant!

Even though I did scold Sadie for tearing up shoes and pillows, getting into the washing.

And, of course, for making the house her personal toilet, I never actually went through any appropriate steps to help train her.

This was a major problem – I had myself to blame for what she was doing as well.

She was a puppy at the time, after all. I knew that I had to do something – Sadie had to be trained.

The problem is I couldn’t afford several expensive sessions with a local dog trainer – or get the Dog Whisperer to teach Sadie to do her business outside and to stop destroying the house.

At the same time, I thought that I did not have the adequate skills to train her myself.

I got home one day, only to find one of my favorite dresses shredded up on the floor.

I was mad – not only at Sadie but also myself. I remember thinking to myself that this is it – I had to step in.

Sadie had to be trained.

Finding A Way To House Train A Puppy

Okay, I know that being a Siberian Husky means you probably think why don’t I just let Sadie stay outside.

The truth is, she was a puppy at the time, and I really didn’t want to keep her outside during the cold months.

I decided to start investigating methods that I can use to train her myself – without having to pay an expensive trainer to do the job for me.

The early stages of my research didn’t yield the results I was looking for.

In fact, I found that some of the training methods people use for their dogs are simply too cruel – I mean, putting an electric collar around a dog’s neck… that just didn’t seem right to me.

I remember looking at a group on Facebook that was all about sharing memories and photos of your dog.

There was one guy that shared an image with his dog in a cage.

I thought that this was cruel, but I decided to read his post and saw that he was actually training his puppy – with a method known as “cage training.”

The cage training method did seem a little cruel to me at first, but I did find it better than some of the methods I had discovered while doing all of that research.

I did a little digging and found out that there are ways to use cage training as a positive reinforcement method – and that there are so many different cage options out there.

There would be no need to place Sadie into a cage that looks like she is in jail.

Question: Are you finding it hard to train your puppy? If you are, this resourceful online dog training tool I used to train mine in only 2 months is for you…

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Creating The Perfect Puppy Cage Training Schedule

A little research revealed that cage training really is a great method to house train a puppy.

I noticed that it is important that I do this while Sadie is a puppy too, as the chances of getting her to become better trained are better that way.

The first step on my list was to find the perfect cage to use for the training.

Since Sadie was still small but is a larger dog breed, I knew I couldn’t buy one of the smaller crates out there.

Additionally, I really didn’t like the idea of those barred cages – it looks exactly like a prison, and I do not want to imprison my dog, but just train her to have better manners while inside the house.

So, a wire dog crate was out of the question.

That left me with a few other options, including a fabric crate, plastic crate, or a decorative crate.

I ended up going with a fabric option as they are really much more stylish and better-looking than those wired options on the market.

The next step was to create a puppy cage training schedule for Sadie.

I learned that this is a vital part of the training procedure – I also learned that it is important to be positive throughout the process in order to help the dog learn faster.

The technique really utilizes the popular positive reinforcement training method – a technique that was used to train Obama’s dog!

Positive Thinking Towards The Crate

The idea behind the cage training technique that I decided to follow was to get Sadie to adopt positive thinking towards the crate or “cage” as some like to call it.

It took me a week or two to get past this phase of the training, but it is really simple and only takes a couple of minutes each day.

You would start by introducing her to the crate and teaching her the commands she needs to follow when you need her to go into the crate and when she should come out of the crate.

To do this, I used a couple of Sadie’s favorite treats.

I would tell Sadie to “Go in” to the crate and then throw one of the treats inside the crate.

Once she is inside, I would tell her “out” – and throw a treat on the outside of the crate.

Each time she follows my command and goes for the treat, I would pet her, tell her “good girl” and give her another treat.

It was a little difficult at first, but she eventually got the hang of following these two important commands that are used during puppy cage training.

As Sadie got more used to the crate and started following my commands without having to use a treat and tell her that she did a good job every time, I started to close the door for a moment every time she was inside of the crate.

I gradually extended the time that the door was closed.

First a few minutes, then 15 minutes, half an hour, and eventually I was able to place her in the crate for more than an hour at a time.

While she was inside the crate, I would leave her some toys to play with.

When I needed her to get out, I would take the toys away.

Ultimately, this step was to create a more positive vibe for the cage so that she doesn’t feel imprisoned.

Creating A Puppy Cage Training Schedule

When Sadie was used to the cage and followed my commands correctly without hesitation, it was time to create the perfect puppy cage training schedule for her.

Since a puppy needs to potty more frequently than older dogs, I had to start out with a tighter schedule inside the crate.

During Sadie’s first two months, I took her outside to potty every two hours.

At night, however, she would sleep soundly in the cage without the need to go outside. I also added many breaks from the cage for playing and feeding.

After month two, I started to add an additional hour before taking her to potty each month.

At month three, she had to spend three hours before going outside to potty. Month four was four hours, etc.

By month six, I stopped at six hours. Generally, at this particular age, you can choose to let them stay in the cage for up to eight hours at a time before you take them out to potty.

Just be sure to give them a lot of attention when you let them out, to play with them a little, and, of course, you need to feed your puppy.

If you want more detailed training for your puppy I would recommend Brain Train Your Dogs It has helped me keep on track with all the training my dog really needs.

Click here to check out the online dog training program

Final Words

After deciding that I cannot simply put up with Sadie ruining my favorite clothes and using the house as her toilet, I looked into training methods to help me “house train” her.

I discovered what is known as cage training, did some further research, and was able to implement the steps accordingly.

Today, Sadie knows exactly what to do when she has an urge to urinate or poop.

She no longer tears up my clothes, shoes, or even the couch – but rather knows that she should stick to her own toys.

If you know someone who could benefit from puppy crate training, be sure to share this post with them.

Also, please feel free to share your comments on puppy crate training below.

Tell us how you were able to create the perfect schedule for your puppy (don’t forget to tell us a little about your puppy too!)