advice on where to put a crate in crate training

Goolay

Hi all,

we are picking up our shih tzu puppy tomorrow and need some advice on crate training. We bought a crate and have it all ready to go. We just need to decide where to put it.

Basically we live in a ground floor apartment. We plan for her to sleep in our bedroom (not on the bed) but to spend her days mostly in the living room with me as I work from home.

Our options for the crate seem to be:

Move the crate from room to room depending on day/night
have 2 crates
have it in the bedroom and a little bed in the living room
have it in the living room with a bed in the bedroom

all advice welcome!

andreac

Honestly? I wouldnt have it in the bedroom, as the dog will get used to always going to sleep when you are there, so if theres a time you need it to sleep somewhere else, the trouble you will have will be a problem id say.

Personally for me the crate stays in the same place all of the time, this way the dog gets to know its routine and where the crate is. Moving it all the time will only confuse the dog.

In my opinion just have one crate and leave it in one place, my preferred place is the kitchen.

Im not a huge fan of dogs sleeping in bedrooms. As i said, if the dogs expects you to be with it every night then it will always expect that and that could become a problem.

Cherry Blossom

OP, I would just figure it out as you go, because you will change you mind and the rules um-teen times till you find what suits you. My dog sleeps with me during the week when I'm at work and downstairs at the weekend when I spend all day with her so either way I'm away from her 8 hours a day. It doesn't confuse her in the slightest and is the best way for me to organise the time. If she's in a mood that she won't settle when she's in my room, she goes downstairs then too. Doesn't take them long to figure the rules out whatever they may be .

**Vai**

Agree with Andrea totally, keep it in the same place. Not really to stop confusion but moreso because they like routine. I keep my crate in the busiest room in my house, thats the advice I was given when starting off crate training and its worked a treat.

Cherry Blossom

I suppose I'd say also, let the puppy have a wander around the house and pick her own spot