Standard Poodles -
Crate Training

"Crate training is an important aspect
of training your Standard Poodle!"

The natural instinct of a dog is to avoid soiling the area where it sleeps and eats. The crate helps to enhance this instinct, as the dog will associate the crate as his den and avoid soiling in it.

Dogs also like structure and routine. This will make the dog, as well as you, happier. Your Standard Poodle will soon learn to do its business at certain time and in the correct area. Be sure to give the dog lots of praise during this training and not be too frustrated if the dog makes an occasional mistake.

Picking the Correct Crate Size and Type

There are all sorts of crates available out there today. I personally like the wire crates, although there are some that are made of hard plastic. You can get covers for the wire crates.

Take into consideration the size the dog will be when it is full grown and buy a crate for that size. This will prevent you from having to purchase another one later. The metal MIDWEST Life Stages Training and Travel Crates have a wire divider that you can partition the crate off when it is a puppy.

Getting Your Standard Poodle Used to Its Crate

It is important to remember that this is your dog’s own private space, so you should try and make it as comfortable as possible. Get a nice bed or crate pad for the bottom.

The way I got my Poodle used to the crate was to put a doggie treat in it. He would go in a get the treat. I did this several times without closing the door, letting him go in and out as he pleased. Make sure you give your Poodle lots of praise while you’re doing this. After you’ve done this for a while, try putting a treat in the crate and when his attention is on the treat, close the door for about 10 or 20 seconds. Praise him a lot while he is in the cage to let him know it is OK. Gradually do this several times a day, increasing the amount of time for each interval. If he starts to get upset, let him out. Be sure to end each crate training session on a happy note.

Once he gets used to the crate as his comfortable home, he’ll start going in there on his own expecting treats and praise. When he does, say something like “Wanna crate?” or “Go in your crate”, with a happy voice, while you get his treats.

When he starts staying in the crate for a few minutes at a time, leave the room, gradually extending the time you are gone each time. When you return, walk over and open the door and let him out without making a fuss. After about 3 or so days, he should be officially crate trained. You should be able to leave him for an hour now and gradually start increasing the time he is in the crate alone.

Here's an excellent video by Melanie McLeroy of Taurus Training Dog Facility showing how to crate train your puppy.

When you first start crate training, it is important to take the dog out of the crate as soon as you return home or shortly after he wakes up and let him out to go potty. It's a good idea to get your Poodle used to relieving himself in a specific area of the yard all the time, this way you won't have lawn damage from urine all over your yard. When the dog potties in the appropriate area, give him lots of treats and praise, so he associates going potty with good things. If he does not relieve himself in three to five minutes, immediately return him to the crate and try again in a little while. If he does potty in the set time period, reward him by allowing it some playtime inside or outside.

Handling Accidents When Crate Training

If you dog has an accident or makes a mistake during crate training, don’t punish the puppy, just clean up the mess. When the dog has an accident, it means he had unsupervised access to the house too soon. Don’t allow unsupervised access to the home until you can trust his potty habits. Don’t rush the process! If mistakes happen, go back to the crate training.

Don’t leave the dog in the crate for extended periods of time while you are at home. If he’s left in the crate too long, it will confuse him and cause him to soil his sleeping area. This can cause a set back in training by weeks or months.

Other Crate Training Tips

• Never use the crate as punishment, or the dog will think of it as a prison.
• Don’t leave him in the crate for more than two hours, just long enough for a nap and chew time. Longer than that and he will start to cry.
• Don’t let him out if he is barking or whining. This will make him think he has to cry to get out. Only let him out when he is being good. He has to learn to be quiet to get out.
• Don’t get excited or make a fuss when you let him out, just open the door and let him out to potty. When he does potty, be sure to praise him.
• Since he will be spending lots of time in his crate, be sure he has lots of dog toys for him to chew, being sure the toys are big enough that he doesn’t swallow them. Chew toys will help keep him from getting bored.

My Standard Poodles really enjoy being in their crates. They know when I say “Time for Bed” every night and they just automatically go in their crates. I swear if they knew how, they’d close and latch the door themselves! My male apricot Poodle automatically goes in the bedroom by himself about 9:30 every night and gets in his crate and goes to sleep while we are in the living room watching TV.

I’m sure your Poodle will enjoy being in a crate and will feel safe and secure once you train him and he gets used to it!