To my surprise, many new puppy owners do not crate their new arrival. Their thinking is that confining a new puppy to a cage will not be a good start to the owner-puppy relationship. They would rather the puppy be free to explore at will and thus become a happy part of the new family unit. Confining, they believe, will only instill fear and anger towards their new owner and they see it as a form of punishment.
In reality, crating is an absolutely healthy and necessary way to start your new puppy off on the right track. First and foremost, crating provides structure and an acceptance of boundaries. It also is an awesome housebreaking tool, helps save your valuable property from damage, and promotes a healthy relationship between the owner and puppy. All baby things, including humans, want and need structure in their lives. It’s healthy and necessary.
When a crate is used for structure, it establishes an appreciation in the dog that it must follow the rules. It’s not about punishing after an unsavory act, although it could be. Using the crate on a regular basis allows the puppy to understand and accept the concept that there are rules in their new home. A crate need not be a place that a puppy is afraid to go to or recognizes as the “bad” place. It can simply be a place for a baby dog (with a lot of energy) to decompress. To a puppy, it’s just to show them that it’s time to go to their own place for a while. The reason is defined by you!