Crate Training Dogs: What the Science Says, Where the Limits Are, and When a Crate Makes Sense

In brief

Arguments about crates often mix up two different things. A crate with an open door that your dog enters voluntarily and can leave at any time is a retreat. A crate with a closed door restricts his freedom of movement—and that deserves a much closer look. In many English-speaking countries, crate training is a standard recommendation, especially for house training. The research behind it is thin. A large international owner survey found more owner-reported signs of distress when a crate was used to manage behavior problems than when it was part of training. Under German animal-welfare law, an ordinary closed crate does not meet the requirements for regular housing. An expert group suggests roughly 20–30 minutes as a practical reference for short crate-training sessions; this is not a statutory time limit in Germany.

This guide separates the issues: what the studies actually show, where welfare limits lie, what a crate is useful for and what it isn’t—and how to build one so it becomes a good place for your dog.

1. An open crate and a closed crate are two different things

Most misunderstandings arise because “crate” stands for two very different situations.

The open crate is a resting place with a roof and walls. Many dogs like to withdraw into den-like spaces, such as under a table or behind the sofa. What matters is that your dog decides for himself whether to go in and how long to stay. A veterinary review on the subject puts it this way: for a retreat, it is important that the animal can freely choose to be there; for that, the door has to be removed or kept permanently open (Döring et al., 2022).

The closed crate is something else. Your dog can no longer choose, can’t move away, can’t stretch out, can’t walk around, and can’t get out if something frightens him. That is where welfare questions begin.

2. What the science shows

2.1 The evidence is thin

For such a widespread practice, there are surprisingly few studies. Controlled studies on how being confined in a crate affects family dogs in everyday life are lacking. What exists are owner surveys and findings carried over from other settings.

2.2 Training or problem management: an important difference

A large international survey included 1,305 owners from 23 countries (Bleuer-Elsner & Masson, 2024). A quarter of them, 25.4 percent, used a crate for training or behavioral purposes, mostly with puppies up to six months old. The key finding: when the crate was used to manage behavior problems, owners reported signs of distress in their dog considerably more often than when it was part of training.

A note on scope: participants were recruited via social media, all information came from the owners themselves, and distress was reported, not measured. The study shows associations, not causes. But it fits with what an expert group compiled from the literature: dogs with separation-related problems showed more signs of stress in crates, and in laboratory dogs, restricted freedom of movement went along with stereotypic behavior (Binder et al., 2020).

2.3 A finding that points the other way

To be fair, this finding belongs here too. In a British longitudinal study, puppies who had been restricted overnight to a crate or room up to 16 weeks of age were less likely to show separation-related behavior at six months (Dale et al., 2024). That sounds at first like an argument for overnight confinement. But the limitations are considerable: 145 puppies were analyzed, the study was exploratory and correlational, and crates and rooms were combined in the same variable. It was also unknown whether the owners were nearby. The authors themselves point out that owners may quickly give up confinement if their puppy reacts with stress. Then the relaxed puppies would simply be the ones who stayed confined, and the crate would not be the reason.

3. Where welfare limits lie

3.1 What an expert group concluded

Where the law says nothing specific, the science and welfare principles have to guide the decision. An expert group of behavior and legal specialists from Germany and Austria reviewed the question in detail (Binder et al., 2020). Their conclusions are more nuanced than a fixed legal time limit. For short crate-training sessions, they suggest roughly 20–30 minutes as a practical reference. That figure is an expert assessment rather than a statutory threshold in Germany and partly reflects Austrian case law and welfare reasoning. For medically indicated crate rest, duration and interruptions should be set individually by the veterinarian; the group generally recommends regular opportunities to leave the crate where the medical indication allows it, while acknowledging that longer periods may sometimes be necessary. They emphasize that being able to change body position as needed is a basic welfare requirement, and they consider using a crate mainly for house training insufficiently justified.

3.2 How Germany regulates it

Under German animal-welfare law, the dog welfare ordinance (Tierschutz-Hundeverordnung) sets minimum usable floor areas of 6, 8 or 10 square meters depending on the dog’s size for regular housing. Since an amendment in November 2021, these requirements also apply to “room units” such as pens and cages (Döring et al., 2022). An ordinary closed indoor or transport crate does not meet those requirements for regular housing. Transport and veterinary treatment, where different requirements are necessary in the individual case, are expressly exempted from the ordinance. In 2016, the responsible federal ministry assessed overnight confinement of puppies in room cages as incompatible with the ordinance’s requirements, and administrative courts have also objected to permanent or overnight crating (summarized in Döring et al., 2022).

The rules are not undisputed even there: a German professional association for dog trainers criticized in 2022 that the regulation was not based on scientific findings about crating and argued for time-limited, professionally guided use (Friedrich & Mackensen-Friedrichs, 2022). The point about the evidence is fair, as section 2 shows. Where you live, the rules may be different or absent. The welfare questions are the same everywhere.

4. When a crate makes sense

4.1 In the car

In the car, a suitable and securely fastened transport crate can be an appropriate way to restrain and transport your dog. A dog who knows and likes the crate usually travels more calmly than one who is pushed into it for the first time.

👉 Getting your dog used to car rides

4.2 When your veterinarian prescribes rest

After some surgeries, such as cruciate ligament repair, your veterinarian may prescribe strict rest. That is what a crate is for—and it shows why getting your dog used to it beforehand is so valuable. A dog who doesn’t know the crate experiences the rest period as an additional burden. The expert group recommends preparing for a planned surgery with about four to six weeks of habituation (Binder et al., 2020).

👉 Cooperative care in dogs: what the evidence supports

4.3 As an open retreat

An open crate as a den in the living room is unproblematic, as long as the door stays open or is removed. Many dogs like to use one, especially in busy households or on days like fireworks nights.

👉 Fireworks and dogs: how to get your dog through New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July

5. What a crate is not for

• As a shortcut to house training. The idea: a puppy doesn’t like to eliminate where he sleeps, so a small crate keeps him clean. The expert group considers this insufficiently justified (Binder et al., 2020), and house training works without a crate.
• As a sleeping place behind a closed door for puppies or adult dogs.
• For being left alone. A closed crate does not treat separation-related distress and can increase stress in some dogs, especially if they are uncomfortable with confinement.
• To “settle” an overexcited dog. Shutting an overexcited dog away so he calms down mostly keeps you from seeing how he is doing. Calm can be trained.
• To lock away problem behavior. A crate does not treat a behavior problem. In the survey, owners reported signs of distress more often when crates were used in connection with behavior problems (Bleuer-Elsner & Masson, 2024).
• As punishment. A crate a dog is sent to after a “mistake” becomes a place he avoids—and is then lost for the car and the vet as well.

👉 How to house-train a puppy

👉 Teaching your dog to be home alone

6. Building a crate the welfare-friendly way

The goal is a crate your dog enters voluntarily and relaxes in—for the car, the vet and as a retreat. The steps below reflect experience from training; no study has compared specific sequences. But the expert group emphasizes that habituation with positive reinforcement is the prerequisite for any crate use (Binder et al., 2020).

6.1 The right size

In practice: your dog should be able to stand upright in the crate, turn around comfortably and lie stretched out. For transport, a well-fitting crate is safer than one that is too large; as a retreat at home, it can be roomier.

6.2 Step by step

1. Set the crate up open—in a place where your dog already likes to lie. A soft blanket inside, the door open or taken off.
2. Good things happen there. Put treats in and in front of the crate, later offer the chew or meals inside. Your dog decides how far he goes in.
3. Reward going in. If he goes in on his own, he gets something good, and he may come out at any time. You can introduce a cue once he reliably goes in by himself.
4. Lean the door shut briefly while he is chewing inside, and open it again right away. You stay with him.
5. Seconds, not minutes. Close the door briefly while he is relaxed, and open it before he gets restless. Increase only slowly, and always within a few minutes while you are in the room.
6. Get him used to the car the same way—first the crate in the parked car, then short drives.

6.3 When to stop

If your dog scratches at the door, pants, whines, barks or leaves his treat, you went too fast. Open the door, go back a step and practice for shorter periods. A crate your dog wants out of is not a good place for him at that moment—and won’t become one through enduring it.

👉 Controllability and predictability in dogs

7. What helps instead

For the situations in which many owners reach for a closed crate, there are alternatives:

• Puppyhood: a sufficiently large area fenced off with gates, in which your puppy can move freely, and at night a sleeping place close to you.
• House training: frequent opportunities outside, rewards in the right place, supervision indoors.
• Learning to settle: a blanket trained as a relaxation spot, fixed rest periods in the daily routine, enough sleep.
• Being left alone: a gradual build-up, and professional help for genuine separation anxiety.

👉 Separation anxiety in dogs

8. A note on the evidence

The welfare principles are clearer than the study data. On how crates affect family dogs, there are mainly owner surveys: an international one with 1,305 participants (Bleuer-Elsner & Masson, 2024) and a British longitudinal study with 145 puppies (Dale et al., 2024). Both show associations, not causes, and they partly point in different directions. The reference value of roughly 20–30 minutes is the assessment of an expert group, not a measured or statutory threshold (Binder et al., 2020). The German legal situation is described according to a published veterinary review (Döring et al., 2022). The steps in section 6 reflect experience from training.

9. Conclusion

The crate itself is not the problem. The problem is the closed door when it stays shut too long or for the wrong reasons.

The three things that make the difference:

Open is a retreat, closed is confinement. The open crate can stay as long as your dog wants. The closed crate belongs to short, specific situations: transport, veterinary reasons, short practice sessions.

Habituation before you need it. If you will need the crate for the car or for crate rest, build it up weeks ahead with food and patience.

No crate against problems. House training, being alone and restlessness can be trained. Locking dogs away was associated with more distress in the survey.

Key takeaways on crate training

The evidence is thin. Controlled studies on crating family dogs in everyday life are lacking; what exists are owner surveys (Bleuer-Elsner & Masson, 2024; Dale et al., 2024).

Used against behavior problems, the crate was associated with more distress than when used in training—according to 1,305 owners from 23 countries (Bleuer-Elsner & Masson, 2024).

A British finding points the other way, but with 145 puppies it is small, statistically imprecise and possibly biased by which dogs stayed confined (Dale et al., 2024).

A retreat needs an open door. The dog must be able to decide whether to go in and how long to stay (Döring et al., 2022).

Closed only briefly. Exceptions are transport, veterinary reasons and short practice sessions; for short training sessions, an expert group suggests roughly 20–30 minutes as a reference value, not a statutory limit (Binder et al., 2020).

In Germany, the dog welfare ordinance also covers crates. Since November 2021, “room units” such as pens and cages are explicitly included, and the responsible federal ministry assessed overnight crating of puppies as incompatible with the ordinance (Döring et al., 2022).

Before a planned surgery, habituation pays off, with about four to six weeks of lead time (Binder et al., 2020).

References

• Binder, R., Arhant, C., Affenzeller, N., Bayer, K., Fiala-Köck, B., Flohr, J., Jung, H., Kluge, K., Schneider, B., Schönreiter, S., Schwarzer, A., & Schöning, B. (2020). Unterbringung von Hunden in Boxen und ähnlichen Unterkünften – Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der kurzfristigen Unterschreitung von tierschutzrechtlichen Mindestanforderungen. Wiener Tierärztliche Monatsschrift – Veterinary Medicine Austria, 107, 212–232. https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/fileadmin/v/tierhaltung/Material/WTM_Unterbringung_von_Hunden_in_Boxen.pdf [in German]
• Bleuer-Elsner, S., & Masson, S. (2024). The cage as an educational and therapeutic tool for dogs: Results of a dog’s owners questionnaire survey. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 279, Article 106386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106386
• Dale, F. C., Burn, C. C., Murray, J., & Casey, R. (2024). Canine separation-related behaviour at six months of age: Dog, owner and early-life risk factors identified using the ‘Generation Pup’ longitudinal study. Animal Welfare, 33, e60. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2024.56
• Döring, D., Schneider, B., Erhard, M. H., & Schönreiter, S. (2022). Verwendung von verschließbaren Hundeboxen im Alltag. Deutsches Tierärzteblatt, 70(3), 306–313. https://www.bundestieraerztekammer.de/btk/dtbl/archiv/2022/artikel/DTBl_03_2022_Hundeboxen.pdf [in German]
• Friedrich, E., & Mackensen-Friedrichs, I. (2022, May 23). Stellungnahme: Die zeitlich begrenzte Unterbringung von Hunden in ausreichend großen Boxen. BVZ Hundetrainer e. V. https://www.bvz-hundetrainer.de [association statement, not a scientific publication; in German]
• Tierschutzgesetz (TierSchG), § 2 [German Animal Welfare Act]. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tierschg/__2.html
• Tierschutz-Hundeverordnung (TierSchHuV), §§ 5 und 6, geändert durch die Verordnung vom 25. November 2021 (BGBl. I S. 4970) [German dog welfare ordinance, as amended on November 25, 2021]. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tierschhuv/

Note: This guide describes welfare principles and, for Germany, the legal situation according to published veterinary reviews. It is not legal advice; rules differ between countries.

Frequently asked questions about crate training

Science, welfare limits and habituation