I love all the benefits of crate training a dog or puppy! I see a crate as a tool to allow my puppy or dog future freedom.

It’s also fine if you prefer not to use a crate. I’m just saying I personally see a lot of benefits, which I’ll go over. (I use the words kennel/crate interchangeably in this post.)

Just a few of the many reasons a crate has been helpful for my young weimaraner include:

• Preventing bad habits like chewing
• Help with potty training
• Gave him a place to relax
• Safety during travel

This post is sponsored by Carlson Pet Products, a company that makes pet crates, gates, dog beds and more.

Three reasons I’m glad my dog is kennel trained

1. A kennel set my dog up for good behavior

Remy is now almost 3 years old and we’re beginning to leave him loose when he’s home alone and at night. We’ve had zero issues with him as far chewing, barking, getting into the trash or counter surfing. Remy just relaxes on his dog bed when we’re not home.

I believe this is directly related to the fact that for the first two years, we always left Remy in his kennel/crate when he was left alone. This was usually only for an hour or two because my husband and I both work from home.

Our puppy learned to just chew on a Kong toy in his crate or nap quietly until we returned. This was a totally non-stressful, regular occurrence.

Had we not used a crate during those puppy days, I believe my dog would’ve developed terribly bad habits such as chewing our stuff, barking, counter surfing or getting into the trash when left alone.

I just wanted to show how using a crate can actually lead to MORE freedom in the future! I’m thinking about folding our crate up and storing it in the garage but I’m so thankful we have it!

2. Kennel training for travel

My young dog has gotten to do quite a bit of traveling in his 2.5 years! We’ve taken several LONG road trips to visit family. We’ve stayed in several hotels near national parks. He’s been to Air B&Bs. We moved across the country from San Diego to Montana, and I even left him at my parents’ house in Wisconsin for three weeks.

For all of these “adventures” it’s been extremely helpful to have a crate from Carlson Pet Products. For example, when we went to Yosemite and stayed at a pet friendly lodge, I was happy we had our crate along so we could go out to dinner and relax knowing our puppy was not destroying our room.

And when he stayed at my parents’ house, our pet sitters, they were able to put him in his crate at night knowing he wouldn’t chew anything or walk around waking everyone up.

A kennel is extremely convenient for traveling, in my opinion. Ideally, you won’t need to use one forever but for young dogs it is a huge stress reliever for everyone! (Including the dog because he knows to relax in the crate.)

3. Kennel training when we have visitors

We’ve had a few friends and family stay with us, and I am glad my dog is kennel trained. He stays in his kennel at night so he’s not walking around waking everyone up.

Over the holidays, we plan to have family stay with us for a week, and during that time it will be easier for everyone if Remy sleeps in his crate at night.

Additional reasons I’m glad my dog is kennel trained:

Agility – Dogs are expected to wait in a crate when their handler steps out to learn the course.

Vet stays – Most vets use a “crate like” kennel for patients that need to stay overnight or for a few hours during the day.

Groomers – professional groomers often use crate-like kennels for their customers

Natural disasters – You never know when you may need to crate your dog due to circumstances or emergencies out of your control such as a hurricane.

Flying – I do not recommend you fly with a dog that is too big to ride in the main cabin with you. However, sometimes life gives us limited options and your dog may need to ride in a crate in the cargo section.

If you’d rather not use a crate …

It’s totally fine if a dog owner chooses not to use a crate. I know plenty of people who have never used a crate and their dogs are just fine!

On the other hand, it can’t hurt if your dog is at least accepting of going into a crate for short periods just in case of the life situations I mentioned above. If a crate is no big deal for your dog, then he’ll be less stressed out if he ever needs to stay in one for short periods.

Think of it as part of training, by adding more experiences for your dog just as you might train him to ride in an elevator, climb on agility obstacles or have his nails clipped.

More info on our crate from Carlson Pet Products

We have a fold-up wire crate from Carlson Pet Products. You can order a crate on the company’s website HERE.

Cost: Our large crate (42” L x 28” W x 30” H) is $89.99 but prices range from $49.99 to $149.99. View all the sizing options here.

The large size is plenty big enough for my 60-pound weimaraner. It has one door at the front of the crate. Crates from Carlson Pet Products are collapsible, which is so nice for travel or storage.

Our crate folds nearly flat and only takes about 20 seconds to fold up or set up, and I can do it myself. It’s built with a steel wire frame with a multi-point locking system that will keep your dog secure and safe in the crate.

Do you use a kennel/crate for your dog?

Let us know in the comments!