Teaching a Puppy How to Be Patient in their Crate- Take the Lead K9 Training

One of the first things we start working on with a new puppy is crate training! (Or one of the things you may still be struggling with as your puppy is 4 months old - many people have a rough few months of crate training, like Breck the golden retriever's family!)
Typically, your puppy has been with their litter up until this point, and unless the people caring for your pup already started this process, there is a chance your puppy has never "slept alone" or been confined by a crate. That means your puppy is going to be going through many changes right away - a new house, a new family, and a new crate!
These food games of exploring the crate help your puppy transition to going into willing and eating inside the kennel (creating a positive association)! The transition from following your hand in, to tossing food for them to follow can happen very quickly with a food motivated pup!
As you pattern this more, you can start to work on waiting at the door before exiting as well! It's all about rewarding patience and good behavior!
Something to keep in mind is that you should make sure you are not getting your puppy extra excited in the crate - approach the crate and these exercises calmly and quietly (No big GOOD MORNING PUPPY! voices from you or talking to while in the kennel) - wait for your puppy to be quiet before letting them out.
Your puppy is probably going to be pretty fussy in the crate initially- you can try covering the crate and turning on some music to help them not be so sensitive to ever sight and sound in the environment around them. We also like using a dog toy that has a "heartbeat" to help them adjust to kennel time, as well as having some chewy bones inside.
Make sure to follow our potty training guidelines (posted a couple days ago) in regards to your puppy's age and how long they can hold it inside the kennel. It's important to make sure your puppy doesn't need to use the bathroom of they are being fussy. That said, if they've pottied, trained, played, and pottied them again, when you crate them you'll just have to let them cry it out until they fall asleep :)
You're home more with your puppy than ever before - make sure you a using the crate through the day!!! Your puppy needs to learn how to settle in their kennel when you are HOME AND during the day because you will eventually need to leave home!