Photo above – This is our deaf Boston Terrier puppy Bowie. Victoria sets up an exercise pen (X-pen) around the crate and situates the crate inside the x-pen Within a few minutes the puppy figures out that if he stays inside the crate really good things happen and he gets to keep his stuffed Kong. I love what she does with Crate Training a puppy as far as showing the puppy when he ventures out of his crate his toys get put back into his crate. I came across this video by one of my favorite positive reinforcement trainers Victoria Stilwell. MidWest make a great line of crates that are available in many sizes. (read how you can establish a separate “time out” area here) Never ever punish your dog by putting the pup in a crate but instead set up a separate time out area somewhere in your home. Crate training your dog needs to be a positive experience for your dog. so it is vital to implement crate training when your dog first comes into your home. Trust me when I say you do not want a deaf or hearing dog with S.A. To see a training video in ASL by Savvy Dog Training with Savannah and Sydney, please click here. It’s a great way to keep all the dogs safe and keep them from resource guarding. Marshall in the above photos scratches on his play crate all the time to get in there, play and then he will jump in his bed to take a nap. Since we have 6 dogs and two will guard the toys and resources we want to make sure the puppy still has an opportunity to play with toys, play with chew bones and have fun.

We also put a big play recess crate in the kitchen. We also set up a special X-pen in my studio so he can hang with the other little dogs but play with his toys without any issues from the other dogs. He takes 3 naps a day so he doesn’t get over stimulated which may cause a puppy to bite hard, chew things and just be out of control. We keep a small crate in our bedroom for our newest deaf Boston Terrier puppy Marshall and one in the main living area where we serve him his meals, he takes his naps and he gets special fun toys to play with. Be sure to watch the crate games video below. Let me add that all puppies will test you and cry when they are in their crate. This crate will keep them safe when we are away (keep them from getting into things that can harm them) and crate training is so important so if your deaf puppy needs to spend time at the vet for any reason like spay/neuter or any surgery he won’t freak out and be stressed in a crate at the vet office if you start with proper crate training on day one. We want them to think of their crate as a safe den area. Trying to go back to a crate once the dog has developed separation anxiety (from becoming dependent on human physical contact at night) is almost impossible but it can be done.Ĭrate training is always our number one priority when our deaf puppies get here to the farm. Once a dog has gotten used to sleeping with humans, it is very difficult to go backwards and try to get a deaf or hearing dog to except a crate. The problem with this situation is in many cases the deaf dog has already developed separation anxiety (S.A.) because the pup was never been properly crate trained.

One of the most common emails I get here at is folks trying to crate train a dog after the dog has been sleeping in a bed with humans for some time.

Dog training hand signal in kennel