05/29/2026
💤Fun Fact Friday:💤
Part Two
At around 4-5 months old, as a puppy becomes more reliable overnight, does not need to relieve and can be quietly confined in a crate or tie-town for short stints during the day, our raisers will start to wean their puppy out of the larger YES space and into a crate-only configuration. In order to maintain excellent confinement skills, puppies will continue to need to be crated often; while home alone, overnight, and for periods of time with family in the home. Crate confinement is utilized all the way up to recall for the older puppy.
The transition away from the YES space is often completed in several steps, and may take a few days to a few weeks, depending on the puppy.
Step one: Remove the potty tray after it has been dry for several days, to make sure puppy is no longer needing to relieve while confined. At this stage, puppy is still using the YES space, just without the potty tray.
Step two: Begin using the closed crate with the YES space walls still in place. This is best done during the day, for short periods, to teach the puppy that the crate is a great place to be. Raisers can use training games and food-stuffed toys to create a preference for the crate. Raisers continue to place puppy in the full YES space for longer periods of time (like overnight).
Step three: When puppy is remaining crated and settled with the YES walls still in place for shorter periods of time, the puppy can then be crated for longer periods of time (like overnight). Once the puppy has demonstrated that she is quiet and happy in the crate, the raiser can finally remove the YES walls and all that remains is the crate only.
Some tips that can also ease the transition are upsizing to a larger, roomier crate; adding some new bedding and/or a new toy if puppy is trustworthy; or shrinking the YES walls down around the crate until that YES space is smaller and smaller and puppy chooses to stay in the crate more readily. Some raisers choose to use a new location for a crate during this transition, while others use the same location, just eliminate the YES walls. During the entire transition, the raiser continues to reward the puppy for using the crate with kibbles and praise and makes the entire process fun and rewarding.
PD: Three photos of 4 month old YLGXF Corina transitioning out of her YES space. In the first, Corina is taking a short, daytime nap in her closed crate with the YES space still in place around it. She has some toys and bedding in her crate, but no potty tray. In the second, Corina has upsized her crate to a 42" wire, got a new bougie pink bed, and the YES space walls have been removed from her area. In the third black and white photo, taken from Corina's crate cam, she is seen happily settled in her crate overnight with her belly and legs in the air. Big girl Corina!
