Would You Trust a One-Year-Old Alone in Your House?

(Archived from Banks K9 Solutions; originally posted Oct 12, 2017.)

Why using a crate will save your sanity

Most young children don’t know enough about the world to be trusted alone for extended periods of time. They could get in to trouble, or get hurt. When left alone, kids are given something to do in the hopes that they will stay still while you get your life together. Maybe they get to use the iPad, or watch a movie. If it’s nap time, they’re put down in their crib.

Bringing a new dog in to your house, regardless of the dog’s age, is similar in a lot of ways to having a young child in the house. They can’t be trusted to know right from wrong until you teach them. And you can’t teach them right from wrong if you’re not there to supervise them.

This is why crate training will save you loads of frustration. You can’t possibly watch your new dog all of them time, I mean – you got a life to live! But if your dog does something that’s unacceptable and you aren’t around to let him know, then your dog is going to think it’s ok to do that super annoying/destructive thing as long as you’re not around.

I use the crate pretty heavily with new dogs, whether they are 8-week-old puppies or adult dogs. Crating your dog is no different than putting your 1 year old down for a nap. Some dogs will pass out wherever you are, but others get crazier as they get more tired. Nap time, in the crate they go.

Aside from using the crate to train your dog in the house (cause, how else do you do it?), the crate is also necessary for those times that your dog is hurt. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I had to rush MoonPie to the emergency vet yesterday. Long story short, she injured her back leg and is on crate rest of 2 weeks.

She is a young, energetic dog who will NOT be slowed down by a silly little injury. Luckily, she’s crate trained and associates the crate with calmness and sleeping. If you have a dog who isn’t crate trained but has hurt them self, trying to crate train an injured dog could result in making the injury worse. Some dogs panic if they are just thrown in the crate, especially if the dog isn’t used to it and is in pain. It's best to start your crate training on day 1 when you get your dog, that way you have when emergencies interrupt your life.

Crates are the best, don’t you think?

About the Author: Jen Banks has been training dogs professionally since 2008. She started her own pet dog training company in 2014. Owner and trainer at Banks K9 Solutions in Fitchburg MA, she provides group classes and in home training for families and their dogs.