Can You Cover A Dog Crate With A Blanket?: Several individuals feel that teaching your dog to go or remain inside a crate while you’re away from home is callous.
When crate training is managed correctly, it can motivate your Frenchie to learn behaviors that might end up keeping it from requiring a crate in the future.
Many individuals choose hard-covered crates that give no exposure to the area surrounding them. Others use mesh crates and will cover them with sheets or lightweight blankets.
Whether you’re trying to decide if covering your dog’s crate is correct for you will depend on your home setting, your dog, and your reasons for using the crate.
What Is Crate Training?
Crate training helps your dog to equate a particular location as their area. They would go to for safety and comfort or feel overwhelmed by going on’s in the main house.
One common explanation of why people crate train their dogs is to assist in toilet training. Most dogs would not soil the environment in which they sleep.
Crate training may also minimize behaviors varying from destructive behavior to fear.
This strategy could be used to promote a desirable habit. Make sure placing your dog in their crate must never be seen as a punishment. This could lead to more anxiety.
In some cases, a crate may become stressful for dogs, particularly young puppies, if they cannot see what’s happening within the environment surrounding them.
If you have your dog’s crate in a busy area, for example, your living room, you can relocate the crate to a quieter place that still feels safe, like the corner of a spare room or bedroom.
If your dog persists in barking or biting on its crate, it could be in your long-term interest to cover it with a blanket or bed sheet.
Benefits of Crate Training
Crate Training Your Dog by Pat Storer mentions the following benefits.
There are many reasons to include crate training as part of your dogs continuing educational program:
| Housebreaking Your Dog | Deter Destructive Habits |
| Give Your Dog Their Own Space | Keep Your Dog Out Of Trouble |
| Make Traveling Safe | Confine A Sick Dog |
| Give A Dog a Time Out Space. |
Why cover a crate?
If you believe your dog would benefit from a covered crate, but you are not entirely sure, there are some things to keep in mind that might help you make the right choice.
The concept of allocating a specific location for your dog to retreat to at certain occasions is basically to replicate the environment of a den, which is a small, safe place that wild animals create for themselves.
Individuals frequently design their dog’s crate with some fluffy bedding, a favorite toy, and adequate food and water. This is important when you leave your dog in a crate while away.
People are likely to cover the crate entirely in the hope of making it even more of a den-like environment.
This helps not expose the dog to stimuli that could excite them, like an animal roaming about, playing, or perhaps several people talking in the same place.
Realizing that exciting activities are occurring in the area but not being able to participate can be quite stressful for some dogs and can trigger them to bark.
Being physically restricted to the crate when people or other pets are in the environment may contribute to fear-based stress, ultimately leading them to avoid returning to the crate later.
Placing a sheet or blanket over your dog crate may provide an increased measure of protection and calmness for some dogs, making their den comfortable and complete.
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What Are Den Animals?
From our perspective, a den is considered part of a home for a dog. This is essentially a space like a living room. In Human terms, a den can be described as a place of tranquility and comfort.
A den is a burrow throughout the animal kingdom, essentially a hole made by animals. It aims to safeguard the animal from starved predatory animals and temperature extremes.
Dogs do not seem to be considered den animals. Indeed, they tend to shelter in small places or love snuggling in blankets. However, dogs don’t reside in a den throughout the year, nor would they dig into burrowing themselves in a hole to live much of the year.
This is one of the other contentious concepts which has split dog owners in their opinions on the issue for years.
How To Cover A Crate.
Covering your French Bulldogs crate is simple, and it can be done on the cheap with an old sheet, towel, or soft blanket you have lying around at home.
When selecting the right coverage, the critical thing to remember is to ensure the materials you use can allow air to pass freely through it. So avoid something bulky or heavily insulated, which may stop the flow of air inside the crate.
Cotton sheets are an excellent choice for most dogs and should not make ventilation difficult, as long as your dog has no respiratory problems.
Also, popular commercial pet crate covers come in darker colors, such as brown, grey, or black, which can often add to the den-like environment you hope to create for your furry friend.
It could be something to consider when selecting the covering to be used.
If you are concerned that your Frenchie is not getting a lot of circulation in their crate, you can easily change the coverage of your crate to meet their specific needs.
Try placing the crate in the corner of the room and covering just the sections of the crate that are visible to the rest of the room.
Commercial crate covers can also be purchased to slip over your current crate with adjustable sides if you’re striving for a visually appealing alternative.
Be careful to keep your dog’s crate from any area exposed to direct sunlight for an extended period, and be sure to place crates away from any objects that can be dragged into the crate via crate.
When To Skip Covers
Covering your French Bulldogs crate will relieve stress and encourage them to quiet down, giving you a rest from constant barking or scratching inside of their crate.
However, crate covering may create more problems for you and your dog for certain dogs.
For example, covering your dog’s crate can be hazardous is if your dog tugs the blanket through the metal wire to the inside of the crate. This often ends with a torn blanket but can also pose a choking hazard.
A further red flag that crate covers are not really for your dog is if you notice them showing anxiety or aggression when you get them into their crate or if they start barking too much when the cover goes on.
Crate covers only succeed if your dog learns to equate the covering with peace and comfort, so if they associate it with fear, you’ll have to try something different.
Getting your dog used to its crate cover can be achieved with constructive reinforcement training, such as giving them a treat or showering them with encouragement when they enter their crate.
Try to build up the amount of time your Frenchie stays in their crate while offering a reward for a job well done. If the cover continues to be a significant source of anxiety for your dog, it will be advisable that you obtain the help of a qualified instructor or dog behaviorist.
They can help spot any underlying problem contributing to their fear of the cover.
How Do You Get A Dog Used To A Covered Crate?
A gradual introduction is ideal for having your little Frenchie used to a covered crate. An adequately trained dog perceives their crate as a secure and happy space; you must never throw a blanket or cover over it to punish them.
Try the following steps to train your dog to become accustomed to a covered crate:
- Place your blanket or cover over the top of the crate and wrap up the fringed material to leave the sides exposed.
- Allow your French Bulldog to enter the partially exposed crate on its own and gradually increase the time it is prepared to spend in there.
- After several days, lower the cover on one side.
- Once your Frenchie has accepted that one side of the crate is covered, lower the cover over the other side.
- After becoming accustomed to two covered ends, let all the cover hang over the back of the cage.
Give a lot of admiration and incentives for good behavior. Consistency, like all elements of dog training, is crucial.
Please do not leave your dog unmonitored until it has adapted to the covered crate to make sure that it is happy and does not chew or rip the cover.
Is It Safe To Cover A Dog’s Crate?
Suppose you follow several essential guidelines. Blankets and sheets must be kept away from heat sources, make sure that the material is breathable, and minimize the use of crocheted blankets that may grab or untangle.
Watch the temperatures within the crate in the hot summer climate to make sure it isn’t too warm. Brachycephalic dogs are much more vulnerable to overheating than other dogs, making airflow especially important.
Between the ages of four and eight months, dogs can chew more often than usual as they are teething — they can chew any sheets or toys within reach. If your dog is into chewing, try to protect the cover.
Especially try to keep it from being pulled and chewed on in the crate; as mentioned before, plastic crates can provide the same solace without destroying materials within reach of your dog.