Best Places to Put the Dog Crate in the House

You have a new puppy, and it’s time to start crate training!

With all of the ins and outs of getting your pup interested and comfortable with their new kennel, you might have forgotten to take a peek at where the best place to put the dog crate is in your house.

Believe it or not, the crate’s location can make a big difference in your crate training adventure.

Dog crates work best in the corner of a living room, in your bedroom, in a spare room, or in a designated dog room. Dog crates should not be placed near anything dangerous such as wires or poisonous plants, under a window, in a walkway, or by the front door.

In this article, I will give you a list of the best (and worst) places to put the dog crate in your house!

Ready? Let’s begin!

Best Places to Put the Dog Crate in the House

Choosing the right place for the dog crate can make your crate training endeavors much easier. Crates are supposed to be comfortable and enticing for a dog, and location plays a role in their eagerness to come inside.

When choosing a good place for the crate, think about what your dog is like in personality and temperament. Social or very relationship-oriented pups will be more inclined to feel comfortable where all of their humans are, so placing the crate in a populated room is a great idea. Dogs that enjoy their alone time or like to sleep in quiet will do far better in a more private location.

The best location depends very much on the type of place you call home, whether it’s an apartment or condo, a house or guest house, a townhouse, or even an RV!

The general consensus is a social dog should be near their people, and a more reserved dog should be in a more quiet location.

In the Living Room Corner

A corner of the living room is an excellent crating location for the social butterflies out there.

Your dog can feel like they’re still a part of what’s going on while being able to relax in their own space. As such, it can be easier to get a pup that wants to be near their people at all times into the kennel because they won’t feel so isolated from you.

However, it is still a good idea to have a secondary crate in a quieter spot, as parties or having guests over can even make the most social pups a bit overwhelmed.

Then, when company comes over, the pup can be moved to a more private spot in the home to detox from all of the social interaction.

In the Bedroom

Another common spot to place the dog crate is in the bedroom. This has its great pros and its tedious cons, so whether or not the crate goes into the bedroom depends heavily on your pup and lifestyle.

On the upside, many dogs feel a lot more comfortable sleeping near their owners, so having the crate in the bedroom can make them feel safe and relaxed.

Having the dog close by can also alert you to any medical issues they may be having, any signs of distress, or be notified when your pup needs to use the bathroom.

On the downside, not all dogs are quiet sleepers. From snoring to tossing and turning to licking - all of these sounds can easily wake light sleepers.

Some dogs may be more inclined to bark or whine when crate training because they can see you. As well, if your dog’s sleep schedule starts earlier than yours, you coming back into the bedroom and turning the lights on can disturb your dog’s sleep schedule - causing grumpiness.

In the Spare Room

For the dogs needing some privacy, using a spare room in the house is a good idea.

The spare room can refer to a guest bedroom, an office space, a game room, or something of the like. A spare room does not refer to a closet, walkway, or storage area, so don’t place the crate there!

When putting your dog in the spare room, make sure they have easy access to this room at any time. That way, the less social pooches can calmly walk over to their zone whenever they feel like taking a bit of a break.

However, even training a dog to use the crate in the spare room, make sure to keep an eye out on when your dog may need to go to the bathroom or need a drink of water. As we don’t spend a lot of time in spare rooms, it can be easy to lose track of time, and you likely won’t hear your dog asking to be let out.

In the Dog Room

Some of us are so dedicated to our four-legged best friends that there is a designated dog room in the house!

A dog room refers to a spare room that is fully converted for canine comforts, such as a place to store beds, toys, leashes, and more. This is an obvious spot to crate your pup, and it lets your dog know that they truly have a room all to themselves.

Dog rooms are common in multiple dog households, as the dog stuff can accumulate and fill up a home easily. Having a specific space for everything and the ability to build out comfortable dog kennels is a great asset to multi-dog owners.

Should the Crate Be Moved Somewhere Else at Night?

As to whether or not the crate should be moved somewhere else at night, that depends.

For puppies, it is more inclined to have the crate somewhere you can see it at all times because that makes caring for a baby animal much easier. As such, you might want to move the crate from the common daytime area into the nighttime bedroom when it’s time to settle down for the evening.

However, moving a crate around can be a pretty tedious practice.

My advice? If it suits your lifestyle, have multiple crates. In the least, have two; one in the living room and one in the bedroom. Then, your dog can decide which crate they want to use and when.

Avoid Placing the Crate in These Places

Here is our list of the places in your home you should try to avoid placing the dog’s crate. Some are quite obvious, and others not so much!

Near Anything Dangerous

Do not underestimate your dog’s propensity for reaching dangerous things even when enclosed in a crate!

Pups are crafty creatures, and their paws and tongues are more maneuverable than it may seem.

As such, you really need to do your due diligence and check the surroundings for any sort of poisonous plants, power cables, sharp objects, and anything else that could pose a safety risk to your puppy.

As a general rule, it’s best to not have anything surrounding your crate.

But if you live in a smaller space and are limited, just keep at least electrical components and plants away from the kennel.

Common house plants that are poisonous to dogs include Aloe Vera, Ivy, Jade, Dumb Cane, Philodendron, Pathos, Sago Palm, ZZ Plant, Elephant Ear, Corn Plant, Asparagus Plant, Desert Rose, Bird of Paradise, Peace Lily, and the Chinese Evergreen.

Under a Window

Although it may seem like a nice idea to let your pup be able to see out of a window when kennelled, it may not be the best choice.

If you live in a hotter climate or your window gets a lot of sun, the crate can become very hot!

Heatstroke is a concern when your pup is crated, even if that’s not something that comes immediately to mind. I chatted about the dangers of a hot crate in our crate temperature article here.

As well, if you have an anxious or over-excited pup, being placed near a window can be problematic for a different reason.

Anything (or anyone) who goes past the window can cause a reaction in your pup, which is the total opposite of what you want to achieve with crate training.

Your dog needs to be calm, sleepy, and comfortable in their kennel, which usually means needing less distraction.

In a Walkway

Placing the crate in a walkway might seem like a good idea because your pup can always keep an eye on where you are, but it’s really not a comfortable place to have it.

Not only does the crate impede the movement of everyone else that lives in the home, but a walkway can cause anxious behavior in a dog.

Your pup will constantly be aware of your walking back and forth, and if they don’t want to be in the crate, this can cause a lot of whining and scratching as they try to get your attention to be let out.

By the Front Door

Placing the dog by the front door can be tempting - it’s an easy access point for walks or crating directly after a walk, your dog can alarm you to an intruder, and in most homes, the front door looks out into the rest of the house or apartment.

However, the front door is not a good place for a dog crate.

For the same reason that a crate in a walkway or under a window is not a great idea either, the front door can further exacerbate the anxious or over-excited issues.

Your pup will constantly be aware of someone or something walking back and forth by the door, and this will drive your four-legged best friend absolutely bonkers.

Think of it this way, wouldn’t you feel bothered if you were in a confined space and constantly heard something moving on the other side but could not check out what it is? Of course, your dog feels the same discomfort.