My dog is an adult rescue and has never been crate trained. Is it too late?

No — adult dogs can absolutely be crate trained, and many rescue dogs benefit enormously from having a settled den space in a new home. The process is the same as for puppies; adult dogs often move through the early stages faster because they have better bladder control. Go slowly on emotional adjustment — a rescue dog in a new home may be more anxious than a puppy from a familiar environment.

Should I put a cover over the crate?

Many dogs find a covered crate more den-like and settle faster. Cover three sides and the top with a blanket or purpose-made crate cover, leaving the front open for airflow and visibility. In Australian summer, ensure the crate is in a cool room and do not cover it in a way that reduces ventilation.

My dog cries all night in the crate. What should I do?

First, ensure the crate is sized correctly and the introduction was gradual enough. If the process was rushed, go back to Step 2 and rebuild. Second, make sure your dog has had adequate exercise before bed and a toilet opportunity immediately before crating. If the dog is in genuine distress — not just mild protest — they may need the crate positioned closer to where you sleep, at least initially, to reduce the anxiety of isolation.

Can a sitter use a crate I've never used at home?

Ideally, send your dog's own familiar crate with them to the sitter's home. If that's not practical, the sitter's crate should be the same approximate size, have familiar bedding from your home inside, and the introduction should be treated as if from scratch — meals near the crate, door open, no rush. Don't assume your dog will transfer their crate comfort to a completely unfamiliar one in an unfamiliar place.

Care & education

Crate Training Basics for Dogs — What Owners (and Sitters) Need to Know

How to crate train your dog properly — the right introduction, correct sizing, time limits, and how to brief your sitter so they don't undo your work.

By atticus · 10 min read · Last updated 17 May 2026

Crate training, done correctly, gives your dog a secure, predictable space that is entirely their own — a place they choose to go when they need to settle, rest, or feel safe. Done incorrectly, it creates a dog that fears confinement, panics when left, and presents exactly the separation anxiety problems owners were trying to prevent. The difference between those two outcomes is entirely in the approach.

What a Crate Is For

The crate is your dog's den. In the wild, dogs and their ancestors sought out enclosed spaces to rest — a crate mimics that instinct when introduced correctly. A well-crate-trained dog will often choose to sleep in their crate with the door open, use it as a retreat when overwhelmed by household activity, and settle more quickly in unfamiliar environments (hotel rooms, a sitter's home) because their familiar crate is present.

Heads up

A crate should never be used as punishment. A dog that associates the crate with negative experiences will refuse to use it and may panic when confined — the opposite of what crate training achieves.

This distinction matters practically: never send your dog to their crate because they did something wrong, never raise your voice near the crate, and never use confinement as a consequence for behaviour. The crate is a neutral-to-positive space, always.

Getting the Size Right

A common mistake is buying a crate that's too large — thinking more space equals more comfort. For crate training purposes, this backfires. The ideal crate allows your dog to:

Stand up fully without crouching
Turn around in a full circle
Lie on their side with legs extended

A crate significantly larger than this gives a dog space to use one end as a toilet and one end as a sleeping area — which actively works against house training and reduces the denning instinct that makes crate training effective.

If you have a puppy that will grow into a large dog, buy a crate sized for their adult dimensions and use a divider panel to reduce the usable space while they're small. Move the divider back progressively as they grow.

Feature	Dog Size	Approximate Crate Size
Small (up to 10kg)	60 cm (L) × 45 cm (W) × 45 cm (H)	Cavalier, Maltese, Miniature Schnauzer, Cavoodle
Medium (10–25kg)	75–90 cm (L) × 50 cm (W) × 55 cm (H)	Staffy, Cocker Spaniel, Border Collie, Kelpie
Large (25–40kg)	100–105 cm (L) × 65 cm (W) × 70 cm (H)	Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd
Extra large (40kg+)	120+ cm (L) × 75 cm (W) × 80 cm (H)	Great Dane, Rottweiler, Greyhound

Approximate crate dimensions for healthy adult dogs. Measure your dog before purchasing — breed weight ranges vary significantly.

How to Introduce the Crate

Rushing crate introduction is the most common reason crate training fails. The goal at each step is that your dog feels positive or neutral about the crate before moving forward. If your dog is showing stress at any stage, slow down — don't push through.

Step 1: Location and initial exposure (Day 1–3)

Place the crate in a room where your family spends time — not in an isolated laundry or garage. Put comfortable bedding inside and leave the door open. Let your dog investigate at their own pace. Don't coax them in, don't close the door, don't feed treats from the back of the crate in a way that requires them to go fully inside. Just let it exist as a neutral object.

Step 2: Positive associations — meals (Day 3–7)

Start feeding your dog their regular meals near the crate. Over several meals, progressively move the bowl to the entrance, then just inside the entrance, then to the back of the crate. By the end of this step, your dog should be walking into the crate to eat without hesitation. Continue leaving the door open.

Step 3: Door closed briefly (Day 7–10)

Once your dog is eating comfortably inside the crate, close the door while they finish their meal, then open it immediately when they've finished. Extend this slightly over the next few days — close the door for 5 minutes after the meal ends. Stay in the room. If your dog is calm, open the door calmly. If they're distressed, you've moved too fast — reduce the duration.

Step 4: Building duration (Week 2–3)

Begin asking your dog to go into the crate at non-meal times using a calm cue word ("crate" or "bed" work well). Use a treat to mark entry, then close the door and stay in the room. Build from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to an hour over this period, remaining visible and calm.

Step 5: Leaving the room and the house (Week 3–4)

Once your dog is settled in the crate for 60 minutes with you in the room, begin leaving the room briefly. Extend absence over several sessions until you can leave the house for 2–4 hours without your dog showing distress signals (whining, barking, destructive scratching at the crate).

How Long Can a Dog Be in a Crate?

Crating has time limits. Exceeding them regularly causes stress and undermines the training.

Adult dogs: 2–4 hours at a stretch during the day is a reasonable upper limit for most dogs. Overnight is appropriate if the dog is settled and has had a toilet opportunity immediately before bed.

Puppies: Follow the rule of thumb that a puppy can hold their bladder for approximately one hour per month of age, plus one (so a 3-month-old puppy: 4 hours maximum, and that's a ceiling not a target). For practical purposes:

8–10 weeks: 1–2 hours maximum
10–12 weeks: 2 hours maximum
3–4 months: 3 hours maximum
4–6 months: 4 hours maximum with a midday break

What breaks the training:

Using the crate as punishment, even once
Forcing a dog into the crate that is refusing to enter
Leaving a dog crated for 8+ hours during the day on a regular basis
Letting a dog out of the crate when they're whining or barking — this teaches them that vocalising opens the door
Inconsistency between household members or between owner and sitter

How to Brief Your Sitter

If your dog is crate-trained, your sitter needs to understand and replicate your protocol exactly. Inconsistency between how you use the crate and how your sitter uses it can undo months of careful training in a matter of days.

Write down the following and give it to your sitter:

1. The cue word. What word or phrase do you use to ask your dog to go into the crate? Your sitter needs to use the same word consistently.

2. The routine. When does the dog go in the crate? At bedtime? When you leave the house? For scheduled naps? Give the sitter your actual schedule, not a summary.

3. How the dog signals they're ready to come out. Does your dog have a settled behaviour (lying down, quiet) that you wait for before opening the door? The sitter should wait for the same.

4. What to do if the dog refuses to enter. Does your dog accept a treat lure? Or do you use a different approach? The sitter should not force entry.

5. Absolute rules. List the things the sitter must never do — sending the dog to the crate after a mistake is the most important one to name explicitly.

Tip

If your sitter is not comfortable using a crate, or their own home doesn't have one, arrange for your dog's crate to travel with them. A familiar crate in an unfamiliar home is a significant comfort for a crate-trained dog. Most sitters appreciate having it — it makes settling the dog substantially easier.

Common Mistakes

Buying a crate that's too large. As above — the denning instinct depends on the crate feeling like a snug space, not a room.

Progressing too fast. Dogs that are pushed through crate introduction stages before they're ready become anxious about the crate rather than settled. If your dog is resisting, slow down to the previous step.

Using the crate for a dog with separation anxiety. A dog with clinical separation anxiety will escalate in a crate — they will injure themselves trying to escape. If your dog has diagnosed or suspected separation anxiety, crate training should only happen under the guidance of a veterinary behaviourist, not from a general guide.

Crating a dog for a full work day. A dog crated from 8am to 6pm is not a well-managed dog — it's a dog in distress. If you work long hours and have no one available for a midday visit or walk, consider doggy daycare, a dog walker, or a neighbour arrangement rather than crating for the full day.

Giving up too early. Crate training takes two to six weeks done properly. Some owners abandon the process after a few days of the dog whining, conclude that "their dog doesn't like the crate," and miss out on years of benefit. The whining in early stages is normal; it should reduce as positive association builds, provided you're not reinforcing it by letting the dog out on demand.

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