Crate training a Tibetan Mastiff puppy

Crate training works really well when the crate becomes a genuinely positive space — somewhere the dog chooses to go, not somewhere they're sent. The size and type of crate matters more than most people realise, and so does how you introduce it. With a Tibetan Mastiff, there's a particular challenge: the puppy you have now and the dog you'll have in 18 months are almost comically different in size, so the buying decision is a bit unusual. To point you in the right direction — are you starting from scratch with your 10-week-old, is this purely for home use or do you need something that travels, and do you have a sense of what your pup's projected adult weight is likely to be?

That's exactly the right instinct, and it's very doable. A 70–75kg Tibetan Mastiff is going to need one of the largest wire crates on the market — we're talking a 54-inch or 'XXL Ginormous' size. The question with buying big for a tiny puppy is that a huge open space can actually make crate training harder: puppies feel more secure in a snug den, and a cavernous crate can also mean they toilet in one corner and sleep in another. The solution is a crate with a divider panel, so you can close off most of the space now and expand it as he grows.

The MidWest Homes for Pets Ginormous Dog Crate — the 54-inch double-door model. It comes with a divider panel, it's built from heavy-gauge wire (which matters for a breed that leans and pushes rather than scratches), and it folds flat if you ever need to store it. At 54 inches long, 37 inches wide and 45 inches tall, it genuinely fits a large male Tibetan Mastiff as an adult without him feeling cramped. The double-door design is useful too — a front door and a side door means you have options depending on where you place it in the room. It's available on Amazon UK and it's the one crate I'd confidently tell you to buy once and not revisit.

Yes, with the divider in place he'll have a space only slightly larger than his body — think snug, not spacious. Set it so he can stand, turn around, and lie stretched out, but not much more. That enclosed feeling is actually what most puppies want; it mimics the den instinct. You'll slide the divider back every few weeks as he grows. The key at 10 weeks is making the divided space feel genuinely good: meals in there, a worn t-shirt of yours on the bedding, door open for the first few days so he wanders in and out freely. No rushing the door-closing stage. He'll be reliably settled in it within two to three weeks if you go at his pace.

Good choice. One last practical note: Tibetan Mastiffs are a guardian breed, so some of them take a little longer to fully embrace confinement than a retriever would — they're wired to patrol, not to den. That's not a problem, it just means the early positive association work is especially worth doing properly. Feed every meal in there, toss high-value treats in randomly throughout the day, and let him discover it's the best spot in the house before you ever close the door. You've got plenty of time at 10 weeks — no need to rush.