Yes, you can put your pitbull away in his crate when he is getting out of hand or loses priviledges.  However, a crate is NOT just something to punish your pitbull with.  I believe ALL pitbull’s should be crate trained.  It’s a huge part of training in general.

A crate can also be a safe haven for your pitbull, a place where they feel safe and secure when the “real world” is a bit too much.  During the holiday season, especially at New Year’s with all the fireworks going off, our dogs love being in their crates.  They feel very secure in there even with all the loud, strange noises going on around them.  Crates often act as shelters or dens for your pitbull.  Do not underestimate the importance of using a crate when training your dog.

At first your dog may not like being in the crate.  It may be a good idea to reward him for going in when you first introduce the crate, that way he learns that going into the crate is not a bad thing.  You can even just work on going in and out for a few minutes a day every day, each time, give a reward for him going in.

One word of warning: it’s a good idea to remove collars or choke chains from your dog while he is in his crate.  If you don’t, you take the risk of it snagging on something and choking him.

For more information on how to properly use crates in training your pitbull, check out our Training DVDs page.  The first two DVDs shown do address using a crate for training your dog.