Home of the Sliding Door Crate

In addition to a sliding door, this versatile crate also has a standard swing door on one end allowing it to be used in many spaces. It folds flat for convenient storage and features a removable tray to make cleaning extra easy.

You may be wondering if crating your dog is the right decision for your family. The simple answer is that every dog benefits from being crate trained. There are multiple points in their life where they may need to be crated, for example whilst travelling, at the vets or groomer, or after surgery. Even if you don’t intend to regularly crate your dog, crate training can make unexpected experiences or emergencies much less stressful.

Crate training can be particularly useful for puppies to aid with toilet training and prevent them getting up to mischief when they cannot be supervised. It’s important you select a crate size that enables your dog to stand up and turn around safely.

Some easy tips to help your dog learn to love their crate:

• Don’t start closing the door until they are comfortable being in the crate.
• You can help make the crate a positive experience by feeding them their meals in there and leaving treats for them to find.
• Once they are comfortable in the crate, very gently move the door but don’t fully shut it. The door moving and making a noise may be scary, especially for a puppy, so give them some treats and ensure they are comfortable with the door moving before continuing to the next step.
• It’s best to close the door whilst your dog is distracted with a meal or long lasting treat. Start with very small time increments and slowly build up duration.
• Once they are happy being in the crate for a few minutes you can add some distance. To begin with stay in the same room but do some housework or watch TV, and gradually work up to leaving the room.
• Try to build duration and distance tolerance separately before combining them.

The key to successful training is taking small steps at your dog’s pace. If they are becoming stressed or anxious go back a couple of steps and work back up. The training process may take weeks or longer.

The best time to train a dog to love their crate is when they’re tired and looking forward to going to sleep. Before crate training sessions, set them up for success by doing some physical and mental exercise first, and then finish with a calming activity like sniffing some treats out of the grass or licking a Kong or lick pad to help bring their arousals levels down.

With the correct training, dogs will view their crate as a safe space where they can go to relax. To maintain this positive association, crates should never be used as a punishment and children should not be allowed to disturb your dog in their crate. Dogs should not be left alone for extended periods of time and should always have access to water.