OK, there are lots of behavioral things that people want to know about. I figure the best way to go about this is to list HOW we think you need to build your foundation - manners are really a fine-tuning of the ground floor basics that every dog needs.
Every dog needs a crate. There is NO exception here. A dog needs a crate for many reasons. The most important of which are potty training and sleeping, amongst other things. A crate is a safe and HAPPY place for your dog - never punishment. It can be used as a time-out, but it is not a punishment. A crate is your dogs very own home - he lives in your home, but that is his very own space within it. Our dogs will crate up without hesitation because we spent the beginning of their life with us reinforcing how special you are once you are in your crate. You get food, warm blankets, toys, treats, and (in our house) big, raw bones. When we leave, we get a handful of treats and the dogs all race into kennels so fast- people tend to laugh hysterically when they see it.
How do you size a crate? You need to know how big your dog will be full grown. I prefer one size larger than that, simply because I think I would like more room ha ha. I particularly like wire crates. When the dog is a pup, you can purchase inserts which make the crate smaller. This facilitates potty training immensely. Wire crate also do not hold odors like plastic crates do and in our house are more secure - we have had many an intelligent pooch push open the door on a plastic crate. On a wire crate, you can buy latches and hitch-type closures from the feed store to assist in this not happening.
What to sleep on? Well, that depends if you've got a blanket eater! Blankets and cloth can cause obstructions if a dog chews and swallows them, so buy the bedding according to your dog's behavior. I used to try to get cushy crate mats that cost way too much money until the 3rd one got eaten and I got sick of paying the money for a pile of trash. I now buy Costco (Kirkland) brand dog blankets instead. One blanket will cover a 48" crate, which is what we have. There is a thin layer of fluff in these blankets, so if your pooch can't resist, I usually go to the Goodwill or Walmart and get a set of cheap sheets for the bottom. If the dog absolutely cannot help eating cloth then he/she will have to make due with the plastic bottom, which of course is better than the cold ground outside! Whatever you choose, make sure it is easy to launder. I aim to wash blankets at least once per week to make sure pests stay outside!
What else goes on/in a crate? Some people buy covers for the crates, I suppose this would be helpful for inducing sleep or keeping a crate-aggressive dog at bay. If you can trust your dog not to swallow pieces, you may or may not want to include a toy. There are several toys which are designed to keep a dog busy while you are away by releasing a piece of kibble every so often for the correct manipulation of the toy - something like this may be handy. One such toy is called a buster cube. One of our dogs feels better if she has a toy in her mouth and she never eats them, so she is allowed to have her Kong in her crate with her. Other dogs are just plain bored, so I let them have large pieces of old bones to keep the boredom at bay. I am fully aware that giving a bone in my absence is taking a risk and is usually not recommended - I am simply sharing my practices. Keep in mind that I know the dogs very well that I am handing these out to.
Behaviorally, I think crates are an absolute necessity. There is a big camp of people that think that crates are cruel - these are often the same people that have serious behavioral issues with their pets. Dominance issues, potty training, separation anxiety and more can all be seriously curbed by regular and predictable use of a good crate. Of course there is a point where crates are abused or overused...I am not advocating that your dog spend its entire life in there, but a reasonable amount of time each day goes a long way in your training endeavors and keeping the line in the sand between the people and the dogs.
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