If you have ever asked the question, “Is it cruel to crate a dog at night?” then you are probably wondering why some people would consider this to be an answer. Crating dogs at night is certainly not cruel in and of itself, but it is done for various reasons. The main reason that crate training dogs at night is to prevent them from being disturbed when their owners go to sleep. It is thought that dogs do not have sleeping patterns of their own and tend to wake up during the course of the night, either because they are checking out the world or because they are looking for something. For this reason, keeping them in a crate at night makes sense.
Another reason that crate training a dog at night may make sense is if your dog is a “scrounger”. In other words, he may want to get out of the crate in the middle of the night to see what’s going on in his owners’ world. He may be whining and crying or he may just be a little mischievous. At nighttime, dogs are much harder to keep track of, so it is much more likely that your dog will get out of the crate and get into trouble. Even though the puppy may have some behavior problems, if he is whining at night it is probably because he is unhappy about something.
Some dogs seem to need a nap in the middle of the night, but then whining and crying will usually keep them quiet until morning. If your dog is one of these dogs, crate training him at night can mean that he doesn’t get to go anywhere when the other dogs are sleeping. This is especially good if you have more than one dog because then you don’t have to take him out all the time. However, he will probably have a better sleep if he can go out during the day when other dogs are awake.
Sometimes, dogs end up getting into their crate during the night because they are just tired. Try to give them a reward right before they decide to go to bed. You could also run a strip of cable behind their bed to simulate an outside environment for them. Just be sure to make it short so they can’t take advantage of it.
Many dogs who have been crate training for a while will whine and cry during the night, but this is normal. They are probably feeling lonely and just want a place of their own to feel safe. It is very hard to turn down a new dog and crate training them at night is one way that you can establish a closer relationship with your new dog.
Of course, you should never punish your dog for whining or crying at night. The best thing you can do is simply ignore it. If they start to whine, take them out to a location where there are other dogs so they won’t feel so isolated. Even if you don’t feel like bringing them out, leaving them in their crate at night could get annoying. Eventually, you will probably wish you had taken them out sooner!
When it comes to crate training your dog, it is best to leave him alone for the night once you get home. This way he will go to sleep more quickly. Take him to his crate when you are both ready and take him out to the designated area. It is not good to be interrupted while he is trying to go to sleep.
Finally, you must remember that your dog may sleep much longer than you do. If your dog sleeps well when you leave him alone, he probably won’t need the extra five hours of sleep that dogs need to function properly. When it comes to crate training your dog at night, you may want to consider buying a crate bed. These dog crates let your dog stay in bed throughout the night, allowing him to go to sleep much quicker!