Question about Crate Training
 

I just had an overall question about it.

How long are you allowed to leave them in their crate? (like 1-2 hours?)

Are you supposed to leave food and water in there?

What really is the sole purpose of crate training?

thanks in advanced.

I have 3 pups i'm trying to crate train and i'm having a hard time with my boys. I am a stay at home yorkie mom, so i don't leave them in their when they are awake.I have a playpen i put them in on my patio, with a top, but i will have to get another for the inside this winter. My one little boy goes in his crate no matter what i do. I need professional help.My little girl is the best. My experience with pups have been that girls are easier to potty train. That is just my experience.My two boys are something else, although one is better than the other. It is best to have a playpen so they can have water at all times. They tend to spill and make a mess in their crate, then if they have an accident you really have a messy puppy.I was leaving food in their playpen all the time but found they over eat and poop all the time. No regularity.They are just like babies. The first 4 weeks was the easiest for me, mommy took care of everything.My pups were 11 weeks old today and i have them all in seperate crates and they keep me busy all day between cleaning up messes and keeping them clean. I have had dogs all my life but this is only my third litter of pups i've raised. I love it, but it has become a full time job for me.I'm trying to figure out how to train these little boys to go outside. I take them out around 10;30 at night and get up by 6 or 6;30 and they have already made a mess. My little girl is always clean. I need help from someone who knows more about this than me. I have one adult male dog and i don't remember him being this hard to train. My three adult girls where all easy too.

There are a lot of articles regarding crate training online...

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/cratetraining.htm
http://www.perfectpaws.com/crt.html

And many, many more...

Well, The most I have ever let Tucker stay in his crate (rarely) is 6 hours. I always leave fresh water, and sometimes food for him, just incase he gets thirsty or hungry while he's in there. I think the purpose of crate training is to help with house training, and to have a safe place to leave your puppy while you are gone. I have found it very beneficial. It really helped Tucker learn to hold his bladder, so he had less accidents in the house. Also, when we have a lot of company, it's a nice quiet place for him to go and feel safe. He really likes it, and we used to have him sleep there, but I've slacked on that a bit, and he now sleeps with me in the bed :rolleyes: Sorry if I've rambled, I hope this helps a lil

Thank you everyone for your replies!

My 3 have been SO destructive with our things when we leave them at home (they have our room to themselves) so maybe I should crate train them. I'm only gone for 2-3 hours only to the gym.

And maybe it would be good for training. Thank you everyone :) really appreciate it.