Crate training a Labrador is easy, however listening to them howl while in the crate can be a very unpleasant experience, especially at night. You may even be tempted to let your lab out of his crate just to stop the insanity. This is common for most owners, and you can’t really avoid it, but it usually subsides when the lab becomes used to his new crate.
When you first start Labrador crate training, it helps to get your dog used to the crate, make it feel like home for them. Adding chew toys and a blanket may help your lab from becoming bored and lonely but is not really recommended because labs have a very strong jaw and love to chew and may choke on small chewed up toy fragments.
The Labrador is not a breed that prefers to be alone. They naturally love being around people and, while that makes them a good family dog, they really get stressed when you leave them alone for a period of time. This can make crate training a challenge for you and you may have to ignore your puppy’s cries for the first few nights. After that your lab should be used to his crate and, as long as you crate him at the same time every day and establish a routine.
One thing that works well is moving the crate next to your bed so your puppy doesn’t feel so alone at night. Be forewarned though, if he wakes up and starts howling you will know it. Remember to have patients when crate training your Labrador and you may have to put up with him howling for a couple of days, but if you can get through that then you are well on your way to crate training your puppy.
For more ways to crate train your Labrador the right way
I highly recommend this training guide.
