Crate Training your French Bulldog Puppy

Step 1: Introduce Your Puppy To The Crate

If you’re crate training a puppy, your job is simple: make every interaction puppy has with her crate a positive one. The best way to crate train a puppy is to go slow and try not to stress the puppy or yourself over the process. And the best way to reduce stress is for your puppy to associate the crate with good things for puppy. Throughout the day, drop some yummy treats in your puppy’s crate. Finding edible treasures in her new room will build a positive association. You should also feed all your puppy’s meals in her crate for the same reason. If she’s hesitant to enter the crate, put her food and treats inside the doorway. Gradually move them to the back of the crate. You can also take your puppy’s favorite toy or chew and tie it to the back of the crate. This will encourage her to lie down in the crate to play with it. If your puppy doesn’t love the crate, and you believe she’s had a bad experience with it before, be patient. Never push or force your puppy into her crate. That’s a surefire path to a puppy who cries or whines in the crate.

Step 2: Make Puppy Crate Training A Game

Once your puppy has gone in the crate a couple of times, it’s time to make a game of it. Let her see you with yummy treats or fun toys and toss them into the crate. Praise the puppy when she runs into the crate to retrieve them. When your puppy comes back to you, start the game again. Do this five times in a row, several times a day. After a few days of tossing treats in the puppy’s crate, you can start teaching her to go into the crate herself. Before you start this step, your puppy should already run into the crate to retrieve treats when you toss them in. When she does, toss the cookie in the crate. Ss she’s running inside, say “Get in your bed” and praise her when she does. Repeat this about 5 times, for 10 sessions, until she races into the crate to get her treat. Then, you’ll want to make it a bit more challenging. Next, instead of throwing the cookie in first, say “Get in your bed.” And wait until your puppy goes in the crate before you give her the treat. If she doesn’t, wait … and if she still doesn’t go in, end the session. Try another session in a bit and go back to throwing the cookie in first, then you can try the cue again. When she goes into her crate on cue, give her several cookies and make a huge deal out of her. Do it a couple more times, then end the session. The key to crate training a puppy is to always leave her wanting more.

Step 3: Close The Door

Once your puppy goes into the crate on cue, it’s time to close the door. Ask her to “Get in your bed” again, then close the door once she goes in. You still want to give her treats … but this time, feed them through the door. Give her three or four treats, then open the door. Repeat this about 5 times. Next, walk around the crate after you close the door. Toss treats at your puppy as you do, then let her out after a minute or two. Make this a fun game. Once you can do a few laps around the crate, it’s time for the next step.

Step 4: Short Stays

The next step to crate training a puppy is to build up some duration. Get your puppy a special bone to chew on, place her crate beside your chair and put some toys in the crate. Then cue up Netflix. Your goal is to have your puppy crated beside you for an hour or two. Make a point of getting up and going to the kitchen for a drink or a snack. But make sure you’re back in a minute or so. You can even bring snacks back for the puppy. Her first experience in lockdown needs to be a very, very positive one! If she starts to cry or throw a tantrum, ignore it. Never open the door if she is vocalizing … you will train her to throw tantrums to get out of the crate. Never reward behaviors you don’t like. After about half an hour, let the puppy out of the crate, as long as she’s quiet. Open the door and say “OK.” Don’t fuss over your puppy. You want the fun and treats to happen while she’s in the crate and behaving nicely, not outside the crate. Once she exits the crate, give her the cue to go back in again and give her something delicious when she goes inside. This time don’t close the door. If the puppy doesn’t go back in the crate, try to bribe her with toys or treats. Do whatever you can to get her back in the crate, but don’t lock her in it. You want her to learn that going in the crate doesn’t mean she has to be there for a long time. Your puppy can then relax outside the crate while you finish your movie.

Step 5: Longer Stays

If movie night was a success, it’s time for longer duration lockdowns. For the next few days, lock the puppy in her crate when your home for longer periods. Do your housework, get caught up on your taxes, do some work or laundry … all while she is relaxing in her crate. She may vocalize but remember to never open the crate when she does. Rewarding any behavior will make it happen more often. Be sure to keep checking in and giving treats. You want your puppy to learn it’s no big deal if you disappear … and that you’ll always come back. So, when you start to leave the room, praise puppy when you disappear then come back and give her a treat. To set your puppy up for success, always make sure she has a nice chew when you put her in her crate. Continue to come and go and praise her when you’re out of her sight. Make a big deal out of how good she is and drop by her crate often to drop treats in for her. If your puppy will go in her crate willingly and stay without crying, you can extend your puppy’s crate time without you around. Here’s a good schedule for extending lockdowns: 1 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4+ hours. Be sure to throw in some shorter duration stays as you increase the time. Continue asking your puppy to go in her crate for just a few seconds to a minute with lots of rewards.

Step 6: Leave The House

When she is happily relaxed in her crate, you can start to leave the house. Use the same schedule above and continue to mix in short stays with lots of cookies. Once you ask her to hang out alone in her crate for an hour or more, make sure you set her up for success. The best time to ask her to stay home alone is when she’s tired. Take her out for a good romp before you leave for an hour or longer. And make sure you give her water and a good chew toy. It’s important that you leave and return without any fanfare or fuss. You’ll want to spend lots of time snuggling your puppy, but now is not the time. Be businesslike with departures and arrivals. If you make a big deal out of leaving, she’ll learn to make a big deal of leaving!!

Crate Training A Puppy At Night

Despite your best efforts, the first night may be a bit stressful for your puppy. There may be crying, there may be barking, or puppy may pee in the crate at night. Don’t worry, it will get better! The key to success is to place the crate right beside your bed for the first few nights or weeks. Remember, you don’t want your dog to associate her crate with you leaving! She should be close enough that you can stick your fingers in the crate. If she vocalizes at night, tell her she’s a good puppy and put your fingers in the crate. She’ll appreciate the company and should settle back in and go right to sleep. If puppy doesn’t settle after a few minutes, she probably needs to go outside. Just pick her up and don’t talk with her or fuss over her. She needs to know she’s being let out for business, not for fun …So try to interact with her as little as possible. Nighttime is for sleeping, not for fun!

Training tip by Dana Scott2022-12-05, Dogs Naturally. https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/crate-training-a-puppy/