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Dog crate training is a wonderful dog training aid but is not a miracle fix for house training and bad behavior. It will take several weeks of working with your dog to see progress.  But, it will be so worth the effort for both you and your dog.

An additional bit of free dog training advice:

Be patient with your animal and yourself. Taking dog crate training at a pace suited to the dog’s overall character and age is incredibly important.  Each dog, just like each child, learns at a different pace.  He will want to please you but just may not be able to right away.  Additionally, NEVER use the crate as punishment. That will completely undermine the whole process and purpose for the crate.


1. Location, Location, Location: A crate should be close to family spaces. Put a blanket that you’ve slept with in the bottom so the space smells familiar. Initially at night the dog will want to be close to you so keep the crate near the bedroom (you can slowly move the crate away over time). A hanging water bottle (like those for hamsters) is a good idea if you know your dog will have to be crated for extended hours in the future.


2. To get the pup to go into the crate, use a small treat or piece of food. Put it inside the door near the edge. Let the dog retrieve it (leave the door open). Successive times after this, move the food further into the crate still leaving the door open. Alternatively try using the dog's favorite toy at this stage.  In fact, make sure you keep a supply of his favorite toys inside the crate at all times.  After all, don't we all love to have our favorite things around us?


3. Step three is getting the dog to eat meals inside the crate. As with step 2, each time you feed the dog here move the bowl farther back. Both step two and three are designed to build positive associations with this space in the dog’s mind.
By the way, pay attention to how long after eating you dog needs to go to the bathroom. That way you can get the pup outside with time to spare. Remember to bring a treat for success!


4. Once the dog is happy eating meals fully inside the crate, you can now begin to close the door until he’s done eating. Each time thereafter, keep the door closed a few minutes longer before you let him out. Do not give into whining. Sit and talk to the pup calmly until the whining stops, then open the crate.


5. Now its time to begin extending how long your dog stays in the crate. If the pup already eats happily in the crate and stays for up to 10 minutes after eating without a fuss, try calling the dog over to the crate with a treat (as in step 2). Name the crate and point to it (for example, “come to your room” works well ). Point into the crate and keep encouraging the dog to enter. Once he does voluntarily – he gets the treat and you close the door.


Sit beside the crate with the dog inside, doing more positive reinforcement (“good dog”) for a few minutes then move to where the dog cannot see you for about five minutes. When you return wait a few minutes more before opening the crate. Give praise.
Repeat the entirety of step five until the dog handles a half hour of alone time without barking or whining.


6. You can now begin to crate your dog for times when you need to leave the house. Follow the routine of getting him to “go to his room”, being encouraging and offering a treat for success. When you return let the dog out of the crate immediately take him outside. Puppies under the age of six months should not be in a crate for more than three hours.


Note that when you are home – leave the crate open so the dog can freely enter and leave that space (he will begin to “hang out” there quite naturally). Doing this decreases stress when the dog is left alone as he is already comfortable with the crate. If the pup isn’t fully house trained by this point, you can crate him or her during the night. Keep the crate nearby, however, so your dog can wake you if he  needs to go out.

Consider these tips, practice them, and above all, show your dog lots of patient love and you will both succeed at dog crate training.