You may have just adopted some adorable Pitbull puppies or you may be expecting them to arrive any day now or better still you already have him/her in your care. You may be wondering how you can ensure your new addition to your family is well trained and properly behaved.
Whatever the case may be, in this article, we’ll show you how to crate-train a Pit bull puppy in a simple but effective manner.
You already know that owning a puppy will involve quite a bit of training so that they grow up to become well behaved and well-rounded dogs. One of the methods some owners use is with the help of a crate.
This method has been a subject of dispute over the last couple of years so you need to understand how this method really works. You also need to know what it involves and what the advantages are.
What Does It Mean To Crate-Train A Pitbull Puppy?
Honestly, the meaning is in the name. It essentially means you train your puppy using a crate. It’s that simple when it comes to defining what it is.
The whole point is for owners to put their Pitbull puppy in his crate for a short amount of time while the process of training is ongoing.
A perfect example of this is if you ever needed to leave him in the house without any supervision for a short period of time. In cases where you need to quickly run an errand for a short amount of time, you can leave your puppy in his crate.
Owners also use the crate method to keep their puppy confined whenever it’s bedtime during the night hours and it’s not possible to watch their puppies then.
A lot of people tend to use crate training when they want to housebreak their puppy. Puppies usually don’t like to soil their sleep environment with their feces so owners take advantage of this. They do this by keeping them confined in their crates for a specific time period. They then train their puppy to leave the house to poop at certain times.
(Click here to learn when to wean your Pit bull puppy).
There are a couple of innovative methods to crate-train your Pitbull puppy and we’ve broken them down into three different methods below.
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Method 1: Training Your Pitbull To Love His Crate
Step 1: Associate His Crate With Fun
To do this, first ensure that the crate for your Pitbull puppy is left open. Make sure you’ve placed either a toy that dispenses food inside the crate or a new chew toy. Keeping a Pitbull puppy busy with toys is a very effective way of keeping him entertained.
The next step is to leave your puppy to freely go inside the crate himself.
Step 2: Use A Specific Command
Now that your puppy has successfully entered the crate of his own accord, if you notice he’s trying to take the toy outside the crate, use a command to stop him.
You can use a phrase like “No! Inside the crate only,” while blocking his path to communicate you mean business.
Step 3: Allow Him Passage
If your Pitbull lets the chew toy go, you can allow him to exit his crate. If he heads back into the crate to pick up the chew toy, once again prevent him from exiting the crate.
Step 4: Close The Door Gradually
When you notice that he has understood the association of chewing the toys only when he’s inside the crate, you can now close the door gradually.
Close the door only for a short amount of time when he’s busy playing with the toy.
Step 5: Gradually Increase The Time
The more time you notice your Pitbull puppy spends in his crate, you can gradually increase the time you leave him to spend inside the crate. If you do this, you will notice that over time, they become increasingly content at staying in there.
Method 2: Training Your Pitbull With Another Friend
Step 1: Anxious Pitbull Pup
If your Pitbull pup is the anxious type and becomes distressed when he realizes he will be left alone in his crate, then you can use this method.
All you need to do is make sure his crate is placed either near another dog or near you. Do these till you notice he is less anxious and distressed.
Step 2: Make The Crate A Happy Place
You can do this either by placing his crate near the bed or wherever you happen to be in the house. You can also once again place his crate next to the crate of another dog.
Make sure you fill his crate with an assortment of food-dispensing toys and chewable play toys.
Step 3: Ensure The Door Is Left Open
Since your Pitbull pup is the anxious type, you can allow him to move about freely when you start training him so ensure you leave the door to the crate open. Anytime he enters and stays inside his crate, make sure you reward this behaviour with a treat.
Step 4: Stroll Away
When you notice he’s occupied inside the crate, you can take a brief stroll away. If you notice he’s following you, ignore him while you stroll back inside the room containing his crate. Don’t leave the room until he heads inside his crate once more.
Step 5: Shut The Crate Door And Add More Time
As soon as you notice you can stroll away from the crate and your Pitbull pup doesn’t immediately follow, you can start to close the door of the crate.
Do this for a short time anytime you want to leave him inside his cage. You can start to add more time till you notice he begins to get more comfortable. Once you notice this, then feel free to leave him alone for longer periods of time without any fuss on his part.
Method 3: Training Your Pitbull To Associate His Crate With Rest
Step 1: Make His Crate The Only Comfortable Place For Him In Your House
Make sure that you’ve provided his cage with all his creature comforts such as his bed of course while including as many blankets as you can. Place inside the crate his favourite chew toys and regular toys.
For this to work effectively, you’ll need to make sure that every other place in the house where he would normally rest/chill is not so comfortable. If it’s not possible for you to do this, you can make sure you discourage him from sleeping on your couch or bed every single time you notice him trying.
Step 2: Associate His Crate As A Place Of Reward
Whenever you notice your puppy voluntarily enters his crate to play or rest, ensure you reward him with a special treat. Alternatively, you can simply praise him very highly and affectionately.
You can pick a specific phrase you use to praise any time he does this so he quickly associates entering his crate with being rewarded.
Step 3: Close The Door Gradually
Anytime you notice your Pitbull pup has been inside his crate for a long period of time in his crate and he went there voluntarily, close the door. Do this only for a short amount of time. It will communicate to him he’s being rewarded for his calm comportment.
Step 4: Gradually Increase The Time
Once your Pitbull pup is used to being inside his cage, you can increase the time the door of the crate is left closed. You can observe your Pitbull pup by either making use of a closed circuit camera or by checking in person.
If you notice he’s not feeling very comfortable in his crate, then you can let him out to stretch his legs a little.
Step 5: Command Him To Enter His Crate And Reward Him When He Does
When it’s close to bedtime, you can start the process of commanding your Pitbull puppy to enter his crate at this time. You can also do this if you need to run a few errands outside the house.
Always reward him anytime he obeys your command and enters inside his crate.
In this video, a Pitbull puppy owner describes how he crate-trains his Pitbull puppy
Additional Tips For Crating Your Pitbull Puppy
1. Make Sure You Don’t Leave Your Puppy In His Crate Until He’s Gone To Potty
The last thing you want is to wake up in the morning and find a soiled crate because your four-footed friend couldn’t help himself. If you’re not sure your puppy will be able to make it through the night, you can always place a potty inside his crate to relieve himself.
Doing this will mean that you will need to ensure he has also been trained to use a potty.
2. Make Sure Your Puppy Is Always Stocked With Essential Items Such As Water.
Also make sure you leave some toys in there for him to play with it. This is because after a while, crates have a tendency to get a bit uncomfortable and somewhat boring. Make sure this doesn’t happen and provide him with toys for his entertainment.
3. Don’t Crate Him For Over 6 Hours
6 hours or less is the recommended amount of time for you to leave your puppy inside a crate per time. If your Pitbull puppy is very young, then never leave him inside his crate for longer than two hours.
4. If The Conditions Are Dangerous, Don’t Crate Your Puppy
Dangerous conditions include when the weather is too hot or if your puppy wears a collar. This is because a collar has the potential to be caught on the bars of the crate.
Other dangerous conditions include any items present in the crate which could potentially choke your puppy while he’s inside his crate.
Tips on Getting A Crate
If you decide to crate-train your Pitbull puppy, then the process becomes much simpler if you know the best method in selecting a crate.
It has to be big enough for your Pitbull puppy to move around and do normal activities such as lying down and sitting up.
We’re also sure you won’t want to always get a new crate every time your puppy grows a couple of inches. So, if you already have an idea of how big your puppy will eventually grow in size, then the better for you. It’s always advisable that you purchase a crate that is fairly large.
If you can purchase a crate that comes with dividers, great!
If you go for this approach, you will know you’ll be able to take full advantage of the crate training process. You will also be able to minimize the likelihood of any unfortunate injuries or accident anytime your Pitbull pup is inside his crate.
Problems Associated With Training Your Pitbull Puppy With A Crate
Arguments also break out over this method of training dogs mostly because a lot of people consider crates to be similar to a jail cell. These people are right but only if a crate is not used in its proper function.
When a crate is used the way it was designed to be used, they can actually be a source of comfort to your Pit bull dog. This is also to their obvious addition of being an excellent tool used in training dogs.
As a dog owner, you need to understand that dogs have a wild past. Yes, they were domesticated by human beings. However, a lot of breeds still maintain some of their old instincts.
Problems Associated With Training Your Pitbull Puppy With A Crate
Arguments also break out over this method of training dogs mostly because a lot of people consider crates to be similar to a jail cell. These people are right but only if a crate is not used in its proper function.
When a crate is used the way it was designed to be used, they can actually be a source of comfort to your Pit bull dog. This is also to their obvious addition of being an excellent tool used in training dogs.
As a dog owner, you need to understand that dogs have a wild past. Yes, they were domesticated by human beings. However, a lot of breeds still maintain some of their old instincts.
Instincts like these include the need to rest in a particular area of the house e.g. a lair. The truth is that, providing a crate for your Pitbull is the closest thing to a lair that you can provide for them in the comfort of your home.
