A lot of people normally have the wrong conception when it comes to crates.
This conception leads people to believe that crates are a punishment for dogs, and therefore they won’t use them. Much to the contrary, crates are actually one of the safest places you can put your English Springer Spaniel, which also gratifies her natural instincts to situate herself within a den.
If you have a crate and leave it open, your Springer will start to go to it when she gets sleepy or when she gets confused. Although Springer’s tend to like crates, you shouldn’t overuse one by allowing her to spend hours at a time inside of one. While you should be training her to get used to the crate, you should never allow her out if she is barking. Once your Springer starts to appreciate the crate, you can leave her in it for a few hours here and there – such as when you are away from home.
When you get your puppy and bring her home for the first time, you should already your crate there and situated where you want it to be. You should set the crate up in a central area, but never in areas that have a lot of traffic. Most people who use crates tend to leave them in the kitchen near a door, so the puppy can go outside whenever she needs to relieve herself.
Once you bring the puppy home, you should put her inside the house and allow her to start searching for the crate. Leave the door to the crate open, and the Springer puppy should start to wander in and out of it. You can also put a toy or dog treat inside the crate, to give your puppy extra incentive to enter. Once she goes inside praise her, and let her know that she is doing the right thing.
If your English Springer Spaniel stays in the crate on her own, praise her for it. Once your puppy starts getting in the habit of going into the crate on her own, you should place a new toy or treat inside for her to play with. After a while, you can close the door and see how she reacts. If she starts to whine, you can talk to her and put your fingers through the door, although you should never immediately take her out – instead wait for her to settle down.
Even though it may take some time, crate training is great for your English Springer Spaniel.
You can use the crate when you need to leave, when you have family over, or for when your dog has a medical condition such as diarrhea. If you use a bit of patience and never use the crate for punishment – your English Springer Spaniel puppy should catch on to the crate pretty quick.
Trixie continued to use her crate until she was older and had to surrender it to pups I was fostering.
