Your Guide to Boston Terriers!

Crate Training Alternative

by Colleen Fernandez

I’ve talked to a lot of dog owners that just can’t seem to master crate training. Personally, I think crate training is a great method for housebreaking your Boston terrier, but of course it’s not going to work with all dogs. Here’s the story of a Boston terrier owner that tried a crate training alternative and had great results!

Roscoe’s Story

A friend of mine adopted an 8 month old Boston terrier from the Humane Society. They told her the dog was housetrained but when she got him home, she realized he was not! Roscoe had no idea that he was supposed to use the bathroom outdoors; in fact I think he had it backwards. My friend would take him outside for hours at a time and he wouldn’t pee or poop. The second she brought him back inside, he’d go to the bathroom! She researched various potty training methods and decided that crate training was the most widely recommended and accepted method for housetraining. Crate training’s supposed to play on the idea that dogs don’t want to make a mess in their “living area.” But according to my friend, Roscoe had no problem with pooping and peeing where he sleeps. He eventually understood the concept of going to the bathroom outside (taking him to the dog park helped with this), but he still had accidents when he was left in the crate while my friend was at work. We were discussing Roscoe’s issue at the dog park and someone mentioned that he might have an anxiety disorder, and the crate may be making him worse. So, we recommended that my friend try using a baby-gate, to section off an area of the house and leave Roscoe there. So far, this is the best method for Roscoe. He doesn’t have complete access to the house, but he still has plenty of space to move around and play with his toys. And he’s been having fewer and fewer messes every day! So if you’ve tried housetraining your dog, and gotten nowhere you may want to consider this crate training alternative: use a baby-gate! It may be the answer to all your problems. You can find a baby-gate at Wal-Mart for about $20, so you’re not taking too much of a risk!