How Long Can I Leave My Puppy In The Crate
Click HERE to Learn Secrets to Puppy Crate Training!
You awaken from your nap, clearly distraught…..what, who, when, where, you think to yourself, what happened.
As the fog lifts you remember that you must have dozed off and left the puppy in the crate. Oh no, quickly you jump up, run in the other room and race to free your puppy.
Come to find out…
Fido has been napping along with you.
Shweeeeeew, disaster avoided.
Yup, I feel ya, we’ve all been there at one point or another, you know the feeling…I know I forgot something just can’t rememb….
GOT IT! Left the puppy in the crate, can’t talk now, gotta go, thanks for the…
Listen it happens, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s just not make it a habit.
The main thing when finding out how long is too long, to keep your puppy in the crate is to use good judgement.
If your puppy happens to use it’s crate to tinkle or drop a duece, than darn skippy you waited too long.
Nature is ingrained in dogs to not use their den as a toilet, so if they do, then they just couldn’t hold it any longer.
When puppy crate training, it’s best to start out with short intervals and then gradually increase for longer periods of time until the puppy gets a bit older and can hold it a little longer.
If you work 8 hours a day and you don’t have anyone to watch your puppy during the day and you can’t come home every half hour to let it out.
Don’t
Get
A
Puppy
Tip – Rescue an older dog from the pound.
Now back to puppy crate training 101.
Start introducing your puppy to the crate sloooooooowly. 2 mins, 5 mins, 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins.
You get the idea, now, you can do this over a few days, you don’t have to wait weeks.
With an 8 week old puppy try to let it out after 1/2 hour or so.
3 months, after 1 hour
6 months, after every few hours
1 year, after four hours.
Older dog, optimally no longer than 6 hours while you are at work.
Just make sure to give plenty of exercise when they are not in the crate to keep them healthy and happy. Even small dogs need exercise and stimulation.
Remember these are just suggestions and not rules………every dog can be different and you will learn more as you go.
There are plenty of other options for puppy crate training today more than ever.
Doggie day care
Dog walkers – hey school kids are always looking to make a few extra bucks.
Dog camps
Retired relatives, etc…