09/16/2025
Controversial hot take: you don't crate your puppy enough.
Young dogs need a LOT of management to prevent accidents, excessive barking, inappropriate chewing, rude social behavior, and encourage relaxation. This doesn't happen on accident.
Stricter management early on leads to looser management sooner. Loose management early on leads to stricter, more stressful management longer as the criteria for day to day routines have been inconsistent.
Set your young dog up for success!
- Give them potty breaks after every activity (eating, drinking, playing, napping)
- Provide age appropriate chews and put away your favorite shoes
- Mitigate barking through sufficient exercise and training
- Allow interactions with well rounded adult dogs, people, etc. that will be a part of their lives regularly (not random dogs from the sidewalk)
- Utilize multiple forms of confinement to encourage relaxation: crating, ex-pen, tethering, standing on the leash
- No free roaming the house without direct supervision
Although teaching foundational skills is valuable to puppies at this age, it does not even compare to the value that comes from teaching them about the world, how to co-exist productively, and have an on/off switch
