14/08/2025
* A story on how I didn't crate train my puppy *
I didn't really do any structured crate training.... Yet Echo loves her crate ! How is that possible ?
I've set the crate up in our bedroom for night time sleep. When Echo first arrived I didn't expect that the crate would become her nap times spot as well so quickly.
The first day was hard in some ways - she was taken away from everyone and everything she knew and put into this strange new environment. The first day we stayed mostly in the living room other than the toilet breaks. She tried to go for multiple naps in various places in our living room but each time we moved she'd wake up/unsettle or get up and follow us around.
The first night I decided I'd go to sleep on the floor right next to her crate. I put some food down there and she walked in with no hesitation. She went to sleep but woke up a few times and cried a little bit. I decided to open the crate because it was obvious she didn't like being restricted. The night wasn't too bad overall but since then I decided not only the crate, but also the door from our bedroom to the living room would be open. I was worried a bit about the toilet accidents on the carpet in our bedroom but there were none. We were very on board with taking her to the toilet and the only accidents she had was some wee on the doormat (no poo accidents at all!).
But anyway back to the crate. The next day I left the door to our bedroom open. Ater her breakfast and some play she basically walked out of the living room and went straight into her crate for a nap. The habit was created . I knew she felt safe. The crate provided her a quiet environment perfect for naps. I think the fact that I haven't been closing the crate has contributed to the feelings of safety.
I genuinely believed that I would have to spend quite a bit of time helping her to feel safe and start using it for sleep and naps but she made it all so easy that no formal training was required. It doesn't mean that associations weren't made - the first night I responded to her needs , I slept next to her providing comfort and I opened the crate when I realised that confinement was too stressful.
The first night was the only night that I slept on the floor next to her. From the second night onwards I've been sleeping in my bed which is just amazing as I was prepared to spend days on the ground level and was planning to get a comfortable camping mattress to save my back 🙈
Also I just want to add that this doesn't mean that I will never do any crate training in the future. I'd like to help her to change her associations with being confined so that in cases when she'd to be crated with no option for immediate release she would feel safe and be able to settle - for example for travel purposes or in case of vet stay that'd require being confined.
