Confinement is the term best suited to describe how you will always know where your dog is or what your dog is doing. Through the use of various tools, you will confine your dog to certain places or areas. Just like humans are most polite and well behaved when in a new situation, dogs often place their "best paw" forward when coming into a new home. But, just like we relax once we get to know the rules, dogs relax and sometimes rude habits appear several weeks after the dog arrives at a new home.

Confining your dog helps prevent bad behaviors from becoming well-developed habits. You cannot teach your dog what you want unless you are there. Confining your dog while you aren’t paying attention to her insures that the behaviors she is learning are ones you want her to practice for the rest of her life.

Confinement also helps reduce your dog’s stress and confusion when arriving in a new place with new people. Dogs need someone to show them the ropes in a new situation. The more you can structure your dog’s day and teach him what kind of behaviors are acceptable, the sooner your dog with be able to relax and understand the rules of his new home, and the happier everyone will be.

The most common confinement tools are leashes, crates and tie-downs.

Have your dog on leash, with the leash tied to your belt loop or otherwise attached to you when he’s with you inside the house.

• Your dog is learning that he is supposed to be with you.

• Your dog will learn immediately not to go potty indoors.

• Your dog will learn what is and isn’t okay to chew.

• Your dog is learning that indoors, you are supposed to be calm and quiet.

A crate is a place to put your dog when you cannot watch him, not a form of punishment. Crates come in two basic types. The crate will help you manage your dog and will encourage good habits, but it will not eliminate bad ones. You are your dog’s teacher; the crate just keeps him away from temptation when you’re not around to teach.

While in a crate, your dog can do a number of things: sleep, sit or lie quietly, play with the toys provided. These are the things we’d all like our dogs to do when we’re away from home. Leaving a new dog to freely roam in the house can be risky. You aren’t there to stop your dog from chewing furniture or having potty accidents in the house. Your dog may decide it’s great fun to bark at passersby out the window or to knock over and eat the garbage. By using a crate, you are preventing your dog from forming bad habits.

Choose a crate that’s just big enough for your dog to stand up, turn in a circle and lie down. It is very important to make sure that your crate is the right size for your dog. A properly sized crate will allow your dog to comfortably stand up, turn around, and lie down. That’s it. If your dog is not filling up most of the crate’s space when inside, your crate is too large. Dogs 10 months and older are finished growing taller, so buying a crate that fits them is easy. Puppies and adolescents are trickier, because they’re still maturing. The most economical thing to do is to buy a crate for the size of your dog when he becomes an adult, and then fill up the extra space with something like a plastic milk crate.

As your dog grows, you can give him the added space instead of buying a series of crates. Some of the wire crates also come with dividers that you can use to partition off a smaller area until your dog grows. Dogs are naturally clean animals, which means they don’t want to soil where they sleep. A dog in a properly sized crate will hold her bladder because if she pees, she’ll have to lie down in it. If a crate is too large, your dog may decide to pee in the back half, and then sleep up near the front.

Make the crate comfortable with something soft on the bottom as well as a few chew toys. Towels or blankets work nicely for older dogs. Young puppies, or a dog whose chewing habits you’re unfamiliar with, may do best with newspaper to start. You can use shredded newspaper on top of flat sheets, or even an old blanket or towel. You can also add some tasty chew toys. Be careful with stuffed animals or anything with tiny bits that could become choking hazards. Since your dog will be in the crate when you can’t supervise, make sure the toys you leave him with are safe.

The crate should be in a secure place your dog enjoys, like the living room, kitchen, or a bedroom. Pick a place where you spend a lot of time. Dogs whose crates are placed in an area where nobody goes often feel as if they’re being separated from their families. Make sure your dog’s crate is in an area that allows him to feel included. Children should not be allowed access to a dog once he’s in his crate, especially if he went in himself to take a break from the rest of the world. Your dog’s crate should be his safe haven where he can go if he feels overwhelmed or exhausted.

Introducing Your Dog to the Crate (The Simple Way). Set aside an hour or so when you first bring your dog home to introduce him to the crate. Teaching your dog to willingly go inside will keep you from getting frustrated every time you want to leave your house and your dog refuses to enter. There are two basic ways to introduce a dog to her new crate. The first way is to simply push your dog inside, shut the door, and go about your business. Some dogs do fine this way (especially if you’ve placed a delicious food-stuffed toy inside ahead of time), but others become very stressed and decide the crate is scary.

Introducing Your Dog to the Crate (The Gentle Way). The other way is to introduce your dog to the crate more slowly. Start by simply letting him sniff around the crate, go inside if he chooses, or not. Take a few small treats (hot dogs or cheese usually works well) and toss them into the crate. Don’t close the door yet. Just let your dog walk in, get some food, and walk out again. You’re teaching him that going inside the crate is nothing to worry about. Some dogs will happily trot inside to munch the treats. More sensitive dogs may not go in so quickly. Try placing the first couple treats right at the edge of, or even just outside of the crate. As your dog gets comfortable, try putting the treats farther and farther back until your dog can walk into the crate while still relaxed. If your dog dashes in, nabs the food, and runs out, he’s still nervous about the crate, and it’s not a good idea to move on.

When your dog is calmly walking in and out of the crate for treats, start closing the door as she eats, then open it up again when she turns around to head out. Some dogs get upset when they find a barrier between them and outside. Move at your dog’s pace.

Next, close the door and start giving your dog treats through the bars for a few seconds. Then open the door and let your dog out.

When your dog is happy about eating treats through the door, start spacing out the treats so there’s a few seconds in between. Try moving out of line of sight. When you have a good thirty seconds between treats, and your dog remains calm, get a stuffed food toy, place it in the crate, and let him work on it in the crate with the door closed. Hang around. Observe. Eating dinner out of kongs in his crate the first night home is an excellent introduction both to stuffed food toys and his crate. Even when your dog is fully acclimated, make sure there’s always something appealing in the crate. He’s giving up spending time with you, but he may not mind so much if there’s something inside to play with instead.

Proper Use. Crates are an excellent place to keep your dog when you are leaving him home alone or when you are going to sleep for the night. Make sure your dog has had the chance to urinate and defecate before putting her in the crate for any extended period of time. While it’s fine to leave your dog in a crate while you go to work, you must make sure your dog’s energy needs have been met before you place him in a crate for an hour or more. It’s unfair to expect a dog brimming with energy to sit still all day without burning any of that energy off beforehand. Ideally, you should come home for lunch or at some point during the day to let your dog out to stretch her legs and relieve herself. If you’re unable to do so, perhaps you can arrange for a friend or dog walker to come to your house instead. To keep a dog in a crate for eight to ten hours straight, without even a potty break, is improper use of the tool.

Don’t leave meals or water in the crate. It’s fine to give your dog a chew toy or kong with something tasty smeared on the inside, but it’s not a good idea to fill up your dog’s belly and then leave him alone for many hours. Young puppies have to learn to control their bladder and bowels. Feed your dog before he goes into the crate. Give him an opportunity to drink some fresh water. A half-hour before you plan to leave, remove the water and any food that’s left. Make sure your dog gets a final chance to go potty before he goes into his crate.

Only let your dog out of the crate when she is not barking. If your dog barks to be let out of the crate, DO NOT let her out until she stops. It doesn’t have to be a long pause. If all you can get is a second, use it. But, if you open the door while your dog is barking, she will quickly learn that barking is an effective way to get you to let her out. If you wait until she’s quiet, you’re teaching her that the door will never open if she’s barking.

If You Can’t Crate. If no one can let your dog out during the day, you should not use a crate while you’re at work. Instead, keep your dog in a dog-proofed room (bathrooms usually work well) where there’s nothing dangerous, little she can destroy, and an easy-to-clean floor. Rooms are less effective than crates for housebreaking, but it’s better if your dog soils in a room and sleeps on the other side, than to come home to find your poor pooch smeared in feces. A dog who must consistently relieve herself in her crate will unlearn the "don’t sleep where you poo" mentality. Instead, use the crate for shorter periods of time, and keep your dog in a small, secure room when you’re at work.