Your Dog Sleeps In Crate With Door Open? Tips For Training

The dog crate is an excellent helping tool in training dogs and helps you within the first months of their life in a new home. 

Yet, the main goal is to teach them how to become independent and use the crate as their hiding space. 

If you want to know how to reach leaving the crate door open at night, you should read this article and find some excellent tips! After some time, you will watch how your dog sleeps in crate with door open quietly.

Why Use Crate For Training

Training a dog with a crate might seem like strict training, but it has more positive aspects than negative. The crate is an excellent way to teach your dog where it should go and which part of the apartment should be considered as its property. There are several types of crates, but the most popular and often used is the metal, wired model. When you choose the right one, you should consider the maximum size of a dog and leave some extra space to be able to move and rotate. All models do have easily removable doors that allow you to close them inside if it is needed. 

The crate is not only good for marking the space they can use, but it provides safety and cosiness for a dog when you are gone. Dogs are very social animals and need human attention and touch. Having a space filled with their toys and cosy blankets is ideal to avoid loneliness. What is more, no one can disturb the space and make them angry or nervous. You must reward your dog for using it and avoid seeing it as a punishment. What is more, leaving them too long inside may result in anxiety and fear of getting in. Be sure that you release it as soon as you get home or wake up in the morning and spend enough time playing or exercising. It is remarkably better than a dog sleeps in a crate with the door open to let it express feelings and stay in touch with you. 

Sometimes, it may be complicated to organise a crate into your living space. if you don’t have enough room, you can use other methods and dog crate alternatives to see what suits you best. 

Training Puppy To Sleep With Door Open 

It may seem impossible for a puppy to sleep with the door open, but it is doable with the right training. To help you get your puppy sleeping in a crate with the door open, we bring you some training tips to follow. 

• >Make it a comfortable and positive place 

Be sure that your dog sees a crate as a positive place and use it for sleeping or playing activities. Since the puppy is small, bigger crates can scary it, so be sure to fill it with blankets and comfortable pillows where it can hide and have a good sleep. 

• Fill it with toys

Teach your dog that all of its possessions need to be in one place and use the crate as storing space for all blankets and toys it uses. When you play with it, tend to use toys directly from the crate and put them back in when you`re done. What is more, you can add a T-shirt with your smell to remind them of you. 

• Use treats

The first couple of times it will be hard to persuade the puppy to even get in the crate, so sleeping with the door open might seem impossible. Yet, when you teach it to come in the crate freely, treat it every time you left the door open and it didn’t come out. Be sure to use healthy snacks and to keep eye on its weight. 

• Use commands 

Sometimes, you need to raise your voice a bit and use commands to get what you wanted from it. Puppies learn fast and they will remember the voice of your tone when you want them to do something. Say your order and have a strong will to finish it. 

• Be patient 

Teaching dogs may be very exhausting, but it will pay in the future. Once your dog is comfortable with staying in the crate, you can teach it to sleep next to an open door. If your dog is constantly getting about, you have to try to return it and show that it is their place to be, especially during the night. 

Training Older Dog To Sleep In Crate With Door Open 

House training an older dog without a crate is an easier procedure since they don’t have to get used to a new place and limitations. Yet, there are many useful tips on how you can teach older and sometimes more stubborn dogs. 

• Be patient and firm 

It sounds like a piece of common advice that you need to be patient with a dog when you train it, but it is important for better results. Usually, older dogs are used to crates, but not with sleeping with the door open. When you lead them in the crate in the evening, be sure that you treat them every time they stay inside with the door open. Also, use healthy snacks and watch on their diet. If your dog is keeping getting out, being sure that you return it every time and reward them for it. Check on it regularly and give them attention for well-behaviour. 

• Use it as an award

Older dogs can be a bit stubborn but are usually aware of mistakes and consequences for bad behaviour. You should use a crate as an award and teach them to feel safe and loved inside. You will soon see that they will regularly go inside, just to stay calm and observe their family. Be sure it is located near your most active room. 

• Fill it with known toys and smells 

Older dogs are very bonded with the owner family, which means it needs to have familiar smells around it. If you are changing your sleeping position for a crate, be sure to involve enough familiar smell to feel welcome and safe. 

Why Is Better To Keep Door Open 

There are situations when you can close your dog in the crate because you want to feel safe for it or family members. Sometimes, dogs can be very playful and disturb you in your work or can even destroy a piece of furniture while you are absent. However, there are situations when it is better to leave the door open and we bring you all of them. 

For a puppy, it is ideal to leave the door open to show you if it has a necessity. Puppies up to 4 months old can wait for only 4 hours and need more space for necessity. If you use a diaper or pad and put it directly in the crate, the dog will use it and may become nervous to spend so much time wet and in the bad smell. So, use the crate as only a sleeping and playing spot, but teach it to use a pad or diaper outside if it is necessary. 

For older dogs, how big crate you have bought, they will need bigger space to move. It is very bad for their posture and bones to be constantly in one position. So, it will be ideal to leave the door open to allow free movement and changing positions. 

Bad Dog Behaviour In The Crate 

Some dogs have problems with getting used to crate and cause trouble to their owners. These are some common situations and tips on how to solve them. 

• Puppy from crying in the crate

Crying in a crate may be very annoying for the owner, so you probably want to know how to keep puppy from crying in the crate. It is normal behaviour for a small puppy in the first months. You should comfort it, but be persistent and ignore it to teach them that this kind of behaviour won`t bring any good or attention. If they don’t stop whining after longer training, you should contact the vet and check if they had any trauma in the past 

• Biting crate 

When dogs are feeling left alone, they might become aggressive. You will first notice it for biting the crate or hurting themselves in an attempt to escape. To avoid it, try to make it a positive experience. 

• Changing behaviour 

Some dogs, when they need to use the crate as their position, start to feel anxious and change behaviour. If your dog is acting sad and refuses to eat or play, but is completely healthy, it may have problems with depression. To avoid it, place the crate in one of the most visited rooms. Also, be sure that it has more active time, playing outside and being in touch with its family.