It might sound cruel. You adopt a dog that has been through so much hardship, only to put him behind bars again, right? Wrong! A crate is not jail – it’s a place that gives your furry friend safety, time and space to start his new life with you. Have a look at our three reasons why:

1.     Your dog is overwhelmed

Think a minute like your dog: You are thrown into a new environment, in most cases your life before you got rescued was not ideal, there are new people, noises, colors, smells… You are overwhelmed, might want to run or hide and most of all need more than a minute to adjust. If you give your dog the opportunity to feel safe in a crate with his favorite toy and a cuddly blanket, he will be able to breath and assess. Safely.

2.     You do not know your dog’s personality

Yes, ideally the rescue did assess your new furry friend (we do!). But every dog is different. Every environment is different. They might react differently to different people, like we humans do. Maybe they are afraid of your coffee grinder. Maybe they have bad memories involving a broomstick. The rescue cannot know everything. So better be safe than sorry and give him and you the gift of a crate.

3.     You want to establish a routine

Dogs are creatures of habit as well as opportunists. If you establish a routine early on, they will know whats what. If there are no strict rules, they will make their own. But if you put their basket in their crate from the beginning, they know that they sleep in it and not on the couch. If they need to go in the crate while barking at the postman, they know that this is not acceptable rather than establish a barking routine. The crate is a safe place AND a time out zone.

Shopping list for crating:

·        A crate that has four inches in height and length on your dog – put it in a quiet corner but near enough that they get to know the family life

·        A basket with fluffy blankets an/or soft cushions

·        A toy for engaging them – recommended is a Kong with frozen dog food in it

·        A water bowl

Here at KLAWS we can not advocate more for crate training, However, we do want to point out that crate training needs to be done in a positive manner. We do not want the dogs to see it as a punishment or a place to fear. It should be their safe haven and a place of sanctuary. Also, unless it is overnight, dogs should not be left in their crates for more than a couple of hours at a time.