Crate Training
I can’t imaging training a new puppy any other way. It is very effective and done properly the dog will love the crate. It can become the adult dog’s safe space and preferred place to sleep and run to when they are afraid. You will witness the dog in the upside down, sprawled out, very vulnerable position in their crate more than anywhere else in the house.
The biggest bonus to create training is that if a puppy does not learn bad behaviors then they will not magically learn them as adults. Examples are chewing inappropriate things and housebreaking.
The create should never be a punishment. It is simply a fact of life for the dog. Sometimes, they need to be confined. Even as adults there are times confinement is needed- like when someone comes to the house that is terrified of dogs. In my house this applies only to service people. I don’t tolerate and don’t invite to my house humans that don’t love dogs. Another example is a dog that is afraid of thunderstorms where they can hurt themselves if left out. The crate is the safest place for them during these terrifying times. No amount of cuddling or soothing the dog will help, and they will still shiver in the crate, but it is the safest calmest place for them.
As a general rule, I keep a new puppy in the crate for a full 12 months. After that I keep them in the crate for 18 months when no one is home. After that more freedom is done gradually depending on successes.
For a puppy the rules is ‘when they are not being supervised then they must be in the crate’. Supervised means that the watcher is actively watching the dog. Not doing the dishes and checking on the dog sometimes, but actively looking at the dog. The only exception to this is when the dog is tethered. Tethering is when the dog is leashed/roped to the human or to a place very near to the human and in the human’s line of sight. Tethering to the human is nice because you can move through the house to get things done. Tethering near the human is nice when I am working on the computer- the puppy can’t get ‘to me’ and distract my work but I can see everything the puppy does.
Basically the first step to crate training is to get the puppy to like the crate. I’ve been lucky as I’ve always crate trained puppies as soon as they arrive in the house and they automatically like the crate. If this is not the case then do some internet searching and use the techniques others have- like hiding treats in the crate.