Let’s talk crate/ confinement training today and alone time. There are so many folks that have a lot of opinions on the matter. First let’s clarify the difference. Alone time means anytime you leave your dog alone in the house. Confinement training is when your dog is confined in some way, usually a crate or in my house a crate connected to a pen. For the shake of this post, we will call it confinement training. Now you can do both together or separately. So, you can be alone in confinement or out. Most people that use confinement do this training at the same time they have done alone time. This is what I usually did until I got my newest addition. I had to split these two, and then add them together. Rlo was having a hard time being confined, which with other dogs in the home and him being so small it is necessary at times for him to be confined. Therefore, I started small. A few seconds, then minutes than hours in the crate. Then I worked on alone time ( I have cameras set up to watch him). I did a few seconds, then minutes alone outside of confinement. Then I added them together. Slow is fast when it comes to dog training. I paired the confinement with yummy things, like filled kongs or westpaws. For the alone time I did desensitization. If you are struggling with your dog or puppy don’t hesitate to reach out. I provide online options with 5 days a week support and coaching.
