If you are not sure whether or not to purchase a crate for your Labrador puppy, the following article may help you decide: The benefits of a dog crate
The main purposes of a crate are to help a puppy with learning to be clean in the home, and to provide a place of containment when he needs to rest or when you cannot supervise him.
Crate training is a term we use to describe the process of adaption that the puppy goes through in learning to happily accept the crate as his own private den.
Which crate?
There are several different ranges of crate on the market, and what you are looking for is a sturdy wire crate that cannot be destroyed by chewing or scratching.
It is tempting to buy a crate that will fit him when he is fully grown but ideally a crate for a puppy should be relatively small or your puppy may decide to use one end as a toilet. He should be able to stand up without bumping his head and to turn around easily
Your puppy will soon grow out of his little crate and you will need a full sized labrador crate for the rest of his first year of life and possibly beyond. So it is worth getting a sturdy one. It is helpful if a crate can be opened from more than one direction, especially with the larger crates. You never know when you might need to place it in a different position.
Crates have come down in price over the last few years. This is the type I use for a larger pup:Large 36″ silver strong dog cage by Doghealth ck36
Where to put the crate?
The crate should be placed in a room where people pass through or spend a lot of time. Puppies need company and should not be banished to a back room or isolated for long periods of time. The kitchen is ideal in most homes.
What to put inside the crate?
It can be difficult with some puppies to find bedding that they do not destroy. Vetbed is an ideal crate liner but if your puppy chews it up and swallows bits of it, you may have to think again. Stuffed beds are usually ripped open and dismantled by Labrador puppies.
You do not need to leave water inside a crate as you will not be leaving the puppy in there for longer than an hour or so, except at night. An eight week old puppy will be fine without water during the night-time hours.
Getting your Labrador puppy used to his crate
Start by placing puppy in his crate frequently and each time you place him in there drop several little edible treats through the roof for him.
Don’t shut the door on him during the day to start with if you can avoid it. Just let him come straight out again when he has finished his treats. This introduces the crate as a fun and enjoyable place to be.
Each time you pop the puppy into the crate say “in your crate” in a cheerful and upbeat way. He will soon come to associate this phrase with going into his crate for a treat
Closing the door
The next step is to close the crate door momentarily and then open it again. Leave it shut only long enough for the puppy to finish his treat and notice that the door is closed. Then let him out. Do not wait until he gets upset or cries.
Repeat many times during the course of the next day or two.
Whilst he is homesick
During the night, for the first two or three nights, it may be helpful if you can have the puppy sleep in a sturdy deep sided cardboard box by your bed. If he is left alone at night whilst he is still homesick he is likely to howl, and howling in his new crate is not a habit we want to establish.
Accepting the closed door
The next task is to get the puppy to accept the closed door for longer periods of time. This may take a day or two. The idea is to leave the door closed for a few seconds longer each time you crate the puppy. But it is very important only to open the door when the puppy has been silent for several seconds.
What if he cries and cries?
If the puppy starts to whimper or howl you will need to turn away from the crate and ignore him. Busy yourself in the room but don’t look at him and don’t be tempted to open the door.
Wait for the silence as he stops crying and tell him what a good dog he is. Let him out immediately and go back to much briefer periods of closed door for a while. Build up again gradually, but do not be tempted to avoid crating him because it upsets him. If he whines, you need to crate him more often not less. Just make sure that each time he is crated is very, very brief to begin with. That way he will learn that being crated is not a big deal
Warning: if you open the crate door whilst your puppy is howling, he will howl longer and harder next time!
Longer periods in the crate
Build up slowly to a minute, then two minutes, then three, five, seven, ten, fifteen minutes and so on. Up to a maximum of about an hour during the day.
You will need to make sure that the puppy has had a wee recently, before being crated, and some playtime. Try to crate him when you know he is ready for a rest.
A routine of: outside for a wee when he wakes, followed by play, outside for a wee, meal, outside again for a wee and a poo, then into the crate for a treat and a sleep seems to work well for most puppies. You will soon figure out what works best for you and your family
What about night time?
At this stage most puppies will also be sleeping the night in the crate. Make sure he has been outdoors to empty himself before you put him to bed, and don’t leave him more than five or six hours to start with. So if you put him to bed at midnight, you will probably need to get up around five am to let him out for a wee to begin with.
If a puppy has fallen asleep in his crate and slept for more than a couple of hours then you will need to let him out if he wakes up crying.
If all goes well, you can stretch this five hours out by 15 minutes or so a night until you are getting seven hours sleep. If he wets the bed you will need to get up earlier the next night. I wouldn’t leave a puppy more than seven hours at night until he is around ten weeks old. And a few puppies will be 12 to 14 weeks before they can cope this long
This can be a tough time, with some inevitable sleep deprivation, but it passes quite quickly.
If you found this article helpful you might like to read: House training a puppy
This article was written by Pippa Mattinson. Pippa’s recall training book will be available from July 2012: Total Recall
Pippa Mattinson
The Labrador Site is brought to you by Pippa Mattinson. Pippa's latest book Total Recall is a complete recall training programme for puppies and adult dogs
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
How does this crate training work with dog which will go outside in a kennel during the day. My last lab was a surprise present from my then boyfriend (now husband) and I was working full time so he practically went it his kennel from the start as crates were unheard of then. We are hoping to get a new puppy soon(nelson the surprise died recently aged 13) and should I bother with crate training or concentrate on getting it used to its kennel.
Does the process change as they get older, we got our pup at 12 weeks and the last few nights have lead us to give this a try.
Hi Danielle, at twelve weeks your puppy may be able to last a bit longer at night than a new puppy, but it is best to err on the side of caution and not leave him too long to begin with. Pippa
Hi this may sound silly but I’m getting a puppy (hasn’t been born yet)and I already have 2 cats so therefore a litter tray that the cats don’t use any-more; could I train pup to use this to start with?
Hi Roze, you could train your puppy to use a litter tray but then you would have to train him all over again to go outside so I wouldn’t recommend it. It is quicker and easier in the long run to teach the puppy to toilet outside from the very beginning. Good luck with your puppy.
Pippa
Hi,
I have a 13 weeek puppy and he has never (yet) weed or soiled in his crate over night. A few days ago we decided to take his crate away and leave him in a bed over night, rather than his crate. However now when we come down in the morning there is wee and poo everywhere! I don’t understand why this has happened? Is this usual if and when you take a dogs crate away? Have we taken the crate away too early? When do you think it is acceptable to take your puppy/dog out of his crate over night?
Jesse
Hi Jesse, your puppy is far too young to be de-crated. Keep him in a crate at night until he has been clean and dry in the house for at least three months during the day, and until he has stopped chewing the furniture. Many Labradors can be de-crated at around a year old. Some keen chewers need to be crated for a few months longer. Pippa
We will be collecting our lab puppy in six weeks when he is eight weeks old.
Whar size crate would you suggest to start with?
John
Day 3 of having our 8 week old lab ‘Nell’ and we tried to follow our vet’s guidance of getting her in the crate at night time as early as possible. So last night she went in well and settled for 2 hours, then howled and cried for 2 hours. We felt she was becoming distressed and went to her without fuss. A quick outside trip at 3am, then back in the crate but as soon as I left, the howling began again. I waited for a quiet few seconds and went back again without fuss. We both then slept in the lounge till 7am, and she didn’t yelp or move. What should we try tonight? Help!
Hi there,
Your puppy is crying for a couple of reasons.
1. He is crying because he is scared. He does not feel at home yet, his own home is far away. It will take a few days for him to accept your home as his own.
2. He is also crying because he is lonely, missing his brothers and sisters
The combination of these two factors is just too much for some puppies and they get very upset. There is also a risk that they will get into a habit of crying.
So, many people keep a crate by their bed for the first few nights until the puppy feels more at home. This takes up to a week. You can then move his crate downstairs into the kitchen, where he may still cry a bit, because he will be lonely. But he will get over it more quickly because he feels ‘at home’.
The alternative is to leave the puppy alone and just let him cry it out. Some puppies are soothed by a radio or a ticking clock, and/or a stone hot water bottle. But for many puppies, some degree of crying is inevitable I’m afraid. If you reward the crying with attention, he is likely to keep it up so you need to decide your strategy and stick to it.
Pippa
We are collecting our chocolate lab next weekend. I am confused as to what size crate to get him. I think you are suggesting 36″ unless the lab is very large? We were advised by the breeder to get a 36″ but have got confused by other web sites suggesting 42″. Can you confirm which size would you go with? Many thanks
Hi Alan,
Some adult labs will need a larger crate, the breeder knows her own dogs and their likely final size, so I would go on her advice. You will a divider to begin with, or to borrow a puppy crate for the first few weeks, as the big one will be too large initially. I have amended the article to make this clearer.
Pippa
Hi
We are thinking if getting a lab puppy, a male. I am currently pregnant and am not sure this is a good idea, however I will have 10 weeks off with the pup before the baby is due, I have a toddler who us lively with Animals. I think it would be great to raise a baby and lab together. Do you have any advice. We have family near by and it’s mum is up the road so plenty if people to help out when I do go into labour? From Vicky
Hi Vicky, I think you will find people to support the arguments both for and against having a baby at the same time as a puppy.
This is a purely personal view. But I would say ‘don’t do it’.
Incidentally, I have raised four children on my own, and currently have four grandchildren under the age of five. Two are babies under three months old.
I think I can say with absolute certainty that my daughters are very happy that they don’t have a puppy to think about right now. It is kind of hard to remember just how tiring a small baby is, and how hard it is to focus on anything else once the baby arrives. Especially as you have a toddler too.
Perhaps your hardest challenge will be coping with a toddler and a puppy. A toddler cannot be left alone with a puppy at all, the constant supervision and/or separation will be wearing. And puppies are demanding little creatures, your puppy may not be fully house-trained before the baby arrives, and he will be needing a lot of training and attention at around the time your baby is due.
If you decide to go ahead, and you have not had a puppy before, do read everything you can lay your hands on so that you will be prepared.
And I wish you lots of luck
Pippa
Hi, We just recently picked up our Chocolate Labrador puppy who is now 7 weeks and 4 days old. Tonight will be her 4th night and we have not had ANY success with crate training. No matter how much we get her accustomed to her crate with the door open, as soon as the door closes she starts whining/yelping and will not stop! My family and I all leave the house in the morning for work but we haven’t left her for longer than two hours during the day. At night, she doesn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time and when she’s not sleeping she’s yelping. Any suggestions?
Hi Alison,
Four days is a very short time and many puppies will not have settled in to their new homes at this point. Her crate is still not somewhere that she feels at home. You may find that she settles better at night by putting her crate in your bedroom for a few nights, this will give her chance to get used to the smells and sounds of her new home, and to feel safe when she is left alone.
This article looks at coping with a crying puppy. You can also teach your puppy not to make a noise in the crate during the day using a clicker. This article explains how.
I also recommend you join the forums for help and support from other Labrador owners.
Best wishes
Pippa