What to put in dog crate for puppy?

[snapdragongirl]

We are preparing for the arrival of our new puppy in a few weeks and we are planning to crate train. But what do we put in the crate?!

Do I need a crate liner plus an actual bed? Looking at donut style beds to begin with for comfort/anxiety but are these good? Can we just put a bed in there (with a blanket to snuggle?) without a liner/mat? Also planning to put toys in as well, but mainly thinking of what bedding etc to go for. Do we start with a smaller bed whilst he is just a puppy and then move to a larger bed as he grows? Want him to be as comfy and feel as at home as can be but don’t want to waste money on unnecessary items! (First time dog owners in case you can’t tell from my lack of knowledge!)

I had an inch of the Daily Telegraph, vetbed and fleece blankets, plus a couple of soft toys (non-squeaky, in case he played with them in the night!).

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crate training isn’t shutting a dog in a crate with a bed and toys and leaving it. You can’t even shut it in to start.

Thanks muddy! You didn’t have an actual bed then? Things are so expensive and I’d rather spend on the things that we really need than get drawn into buying everything I’ve seen that looks nice!

Thanks Wolfie, I’ve done quite a bit of research so know about not shutting them in, doing it gradually etc. to understand how the process works and what the benefits etc are. I’m just a bit unclear as to what to put in there as can’t find any guidance online and all the pet sites have so many types of bedding and I’m not sure what works best for a puppy.

Our puppy just has his bed, we.bought one that fitted the crate exactly and didnt.put anything underneath it. He has a blanket from the breeders and one of those snuggle puppies at bedtime, that has a heartbeat and a heat pack in it and he always cuddles up to it. In.the day he just takes a toy in there.

Best advice someone.gave us was to start with the crate at our bedside to help him settle at first and.gradually move him away to where we wanted him long term. We moved him about 1 foot per night 😅 and within 3 weeks he was in his allocated spot on the landing and sleeping 10-6. He runs up the stairs at bedtime, hops in his crate and lays straight down. Super cute!

To start with we just use vetbed. It’s so easy to wash and hard to destroy!

Aldi has a pet theme for its specials last week & some stuff might still be available. We got two crate mats which have a rubber base & are furry on top. My theory was that one could be in use & one in the wash.
We also got a separate bed to have in another room as, eventually, we want our dog to use both.
First time dog owners here though so what I’m planning and what happens could be very different!

We had a crate mat, a couple of small dog blankets, an old t-shirt with our scent and a bit of blanket from his mum/litter. I personally wouldn't bother with a proper bed in the crate as they might chew it/pee on it. Keep it simple, washable and with minimal stuffing until you know what they'll be like. As for toys, this is down to preference but I'd avoid leaving any toys with the puppy in their crate. For our dog (now 15 months), the crate is a space to relax and sleep, not to be entertained. We used to leave our puppy with a Kong or lickmat so that they would soothe themselves but wouldn't occupy themselves for too long once it ran out. The kong/lickmat were indestructible (well, as much as they can be!) so we knew they'd be safe. A lot of people talk about keeping their puppy entertained when they're out, but we've had much better success with tiring them out before we leave and then training them to see their crate as a space to relax without being stimulated.

Thanks Biro, I am trying to figure out whether to start with the crate in our room so we are close by to comfort. It will be a squeeze though if we get the crate size recommended for a golden retriever….the ultimate aim would be for the crate to be in our kitchen, so I did wonder about having it in the living room to begin with (adjacent to kitchen) and I can sleep on the sofa to be close by. But have the crate in the kitchen during the day (it’s the hub of the home and I understand it’s good for them to feel involved and that people are close by).

There isn’t room on our landing for a crate, although there would be a space for a dog bed if we moved to him sleeping on the landing in the longer term (not in a crate). I know some people use the crate in the earlier months but not forever?

Lostearrings I am thinking along similar
lines to you, although am also conscious things may not turn out that way in due course! Thanks for the tip re Aldi too 👍🏻

Thank you labowner, this is helpful advice! I hadn’t really thought about having toys in there as I understand it should be a place to sleep/be calm etc but then read its important to put toys in so thought I would add one or two. But will maybe keep it simple
to begin with. The tip re kong/lick mat is v useful!

We have a crate bed that fills the whole crate.

Did you have that from the start poodle? I suppose I’m worried about accidents in the early weeks and ease of washing/having a spare mat/bed…

Also, I’m assuming we should get the XXL crate (the size recommended for a golden retriever) rather than a smaller one to begin with?

We got the L one from Pets at Home for our Labrador (second to biggest size). People say to use smaller crates for puppies but ours always did fine in the full sized version. You can always get a divider

The crate is supposed to not have room for them to see one end as a bed and the other as a toilet, so a puppy should have a smaller crate than they will need as an adult (which is a pain!) But some crates come with a divider I have seen, so meet both needs.

I didnt read this until after I bought our crate, which is the size our puppy will need as an adult 🙈 so too big really but luckily he hasn't wee'd in crate!

Your plan for downstairs sounds workable to me.

We just use vetbed in the crate. As another poster said, it’s somewhere to switch off and sleep so although he can take toys in there in the day if he wants then the only thing in there at night is a piece of vetbed. Ours has been in the kitchen since night
one, bedtime routine was out for the loo then back in, straight in crate with a plain biscuit and covered over. It’s been really helpful to have this routine when going on holiday and as a result he will sleep anywhere in his crate.

We have had puppy since April and were first time dog owners too. We had a medium crate from pets at home with the crate liner inside and then just some blankets. (Medium sized breed) This has worked fine. Glad we didn’t bother with a bed inside as when he is out of the crate he prefers to sleep on the floor to any bed we have ever offered him 😂

Good luck with pup ❤️

Our Pup absolutely loves the aldi special buy bed that DH brought home for £10 he has that in living room. We also got a lickmat and shuffle ball that you hide treats in and they were really cheap.

@snapdragongirl.We did what you have suggested. We had the crate in the living room at first and took it in turns to sleep on the sofa and then moved the crate a bit at a time into the kitchen .
When we had the new kitchen installed we had a dog bed area put in under the worktops where both dogs sleep together in their beneath it .
We used to put a puppy pad on the floor near the crate at first and then slowly moved them towards the back door over a week or so . We also put her outside frequently to have a wee and she was toilet trained within a few weeks .

Don't put anything in the crate the dog can swallow or choke on, or pull apart - particularly if you are getting a Golden Retriever.

Those nice fluffy 'heart-beat' dogs that people here rave about putting in a crate with their dog? Yeah. Lasted 2 seconds with my youngest girl and she nearly swallowed the heart. She was 8 weeks old. If she had been in a crate, and not supervised, god knows what could have happened.

Dog needs a bed, some water, and that's it. It's for them to sleep, not party all night 😊

I had a crate with a divider so it was small enough for him and his bed. I did use a heartbeat teddy toy too and the box that the heartbeat is in seems very secure/sturdy….csnt imagine he’d chew his way through it even if he chewed through the teddy (which he hasn’t). The breeder gave me a blanket which she’d rubbed over his mum so he has that in there too.

he has never weed in there and has slept through from 10pm to 6am from night one.

We have a 15 week old Lab. We were given a medium crate with a divider to start which worked really well - she has only had two accidents in the crate since we got her at 8 weeks. We put a flat dog bed in there that just fitted the smaller part with a blanket that the breeder had rubbed over her bedding and litter mates. Two weeks ago we removed the divider and bought a bigger cushion that covers the whole area. We’re going to have to buy a large crate when she’s bigger but this one will be fine for the next few months. We cover the top, back and two sides with a blanket at night. She had a teddy dog toy in there with her for the first few weeks but now doesn’t bother with toys as she just sleeps. We followed a very strict crate training routine suggested by the breeder from day 1 and it’s worked like a dream.

Vetbed - all I’ve ever used in a crate, my dog is adult now and still chooses to go in the crate to sleep, on the vet bed.

Only 1 accident ever I’m aware of (I got up to let her out to wee etc in the early days to suit her baby bladder). A couple of (hardy) soft toys as well.

I chose not to do the sleep nearby thing and just started as I meant to go on and it worked fine, but I appreciate the range of views on this!

I forgot to say, I also use a clean vetbed (I have 3 for rotation/washing) on the top of the crate and the rear is against a wall, so it’s darker and cosy in there.