Transitioning your dog out of the crate

Eventually, it will be easiest if your dog can stay loose in the house during your absence. He will be able to stretch out his legs, look out of the window, play with his toys and not be as bored as he would be in his crate.

Prepare for the transition as early as possible by letting your puppy roam the house under your supervision. At night, you can tether him to you and let him fall asleep as you relax on the couch. If you are eating dinner, teach him to stay on a mat and not beg. It is tempting to use a crate as a management. Often though there are easy other solutions so that the crate can be reserved for your absence or for sleeping at night.

Time to say good-bye

After all that crate training, the day comes on which your dog will no longer need it and be ready top live a grown-up dog life without his crate! You can pass the crate on to friends or relatives with a new puppy or donate it.

Most dogs are ready to be left outside of a crate somewhere between 6 and 18 months.Dogs that are very mouthy tend to take longer than breeds that are not prone to chewing or generally getting into trouble too much. Many Labradors will need a long time until they can be trusted to not try which furniture can be eaten, whereas especially toy breeds such as Dachshunds or Toy Poodles often need less supervision.

Your dog’s appropriate age for being left loose will depend on his breed, personality, activity level and your living situation. There is no formula to determine when he is ready. Listen to your intuition, owners spend much time with their dogs and know best when their dog can roam freely in the house.

When starting out, don’t make the period of no supervision too long, and have a neighbor or friend check in with your dog in the middle of the day. We don’t want him to get into trouble. Make sure you leave him alone only when he is tired, just like outlined above.

Then quietly leave without making a big deal about saying good-bye – your dog doesn’t understand it, and it will only wind him up if you give him many hugs and kisses. Leave him in the same calm way you left him in his crate, and he is most likely to just go to sleep until you return.

Open Door

Many dog owners keep the crate around even when their dog is no longer crated with the door closed. Dogs often remember the comfort of their crate (if training is done right) throughout their life and always enjoy to come back to it for a little nap.

If you have space, you can keep the crate around with the door open – your dog might just choose to settle in it here and there.