Crates?

[ambulance_Driver]

Does anyone know if they make a crate large enough for a saint?  Thor is DESTROYING my house.  He has started pulling up the linoelum in the kitchen, shredded the couch cushion, and when I try to confine him to a room he scratches the door.  I really hate having to leave him tied out all the time when I'm not home but I can't have my house destroyed.  Any ideas?

[doggylover]

Does anyone know if they make a crate large enough for a saint?  Thor is DESTROYING my house.  He has started pulling up the linoelum in the kitchen, shredded the couch cushion, and when I try to confine him to a room he scratches the door.  I really hate having to leave him tied out all the time when I'm not home but I can't have my house destroyed.  Any ideas?

I don't know how hugimous Thor is, but I would recommend if you can't find something on the market, that you make something.  Does he have severe separation anxiety?  Why is he being destructive?  Do you know?

[GR8DAME]

Collossal crates are lifesavers with the destructive phase of big paws but they can be hard to find. They are not always carried at the larger chain petstores, but if you have a Mom 'n' Pop feed store or pet supply in your area they may order one for you. None of my dogs would have survived puppyhood without their crate, not to mention my house.
I can understand your reluctance to leaving Thor outside when you are not home. We have had far too many horrible instances of disappearing dogs with tradgic endings from members of this board to be nonchalant about that too.
Stella

[Boyle]

We have the colossal (54") crate Midwest Model 1154 and I don't know what we would do without it.  It is the black powder coat finish so it doesn't look gunked up like our old zinc one.  If you order the colossal, make sure you double check about the bottom pan.  We had to order that separately.  I think we spent about $250 for everything but that is much less than replacing the couchs, chairs, windows, doors, rugs, plumbing, etc.

[doggylover]

LOL that is such a great point.  You can never spend too much on house destruction prevention!

[COMARRO]

www.carealotpe ts.com I believe this website has big crates for big dogs! We were going to get one for Junior from the website that was large enough for when he got older. We ended up getting one from petsmart and he will grow out of it soon but he does not need it for now. Hopefully he does not start acting up to where we need a bigger one! oh boy!

[Bella's mom]

Yep, 54" Crate is a lifesaver.  I found it at a shop locally, but then found one after googling it.  You may get lucky like I did and find one that is a lower price than your local store.  The delivery fee is expensive, but for me the total equaled the same as if I had bought it locally.  I didn't have to deal with getting a truck to have it delivered though (no way would it fit in my Altima).

[sc.trojans]

Thor doesn't need a crate, he needs mental and physical stimulation due to severe boredom.  He is only trying to entertain himself and get out his pent-up energy so it is critical to help him do this and it means he needs more exercise, socialization and stimulation.

I don't know how old he is, but crating a dog for more than 4 hours or so during the day, especially if already crated through the night is not productive or useful. He needs to be able to stretch, utilize his leg muscles and address his own energy level. Crating him during the day will make your current problem worse.  He is a working dog who needs something to do.

If you have long work schedules or are gone a lot, can you get him into a doggie daycare where he can play and socialize with others his age? If not, how about hiring someone to come in twice a day and play with him? neighbor child? professional dog walker?  These are positive solutions that will help alleviate his frustration and your's.

Good luck!

[Bella's mom]

I stay home now so there is no need to crate, but I dont think its fair to say that people cannot crate their dogs for more then 4 hours, and that crating during the day will make problems worse.  Thats my opinion though. 

I agree.  When Bella was a pup there were times when I couldn't get home at lunch and there was a couple of times that I went out of town for the day.  I had a friend come over, play with her, and let her do her business.  I did even hire a professional dogsitter to come in twice on the out of town days and take her for a nice walk, etc.

Now that she is almost eleven months old, she is adjusted to being in the crate when I am not home.  At night, she sleeps on the bed with me.  When I have her stay in her crate, I always leave her with at least two toys that she likes and I always give her a Nylabone edible or a Kong packed with goodies and peanut butter.  Any type of interactive toy is also great.  It challenges them and entertains them.  (I got rid of the Buster cube, however, because I just couldn't get it open to clean it. (It also made horrible noise when she played with it on my hardwood floors  )  I also think that exercising such as a long walk before you leave gets some of that energy out.

[Bella's mom]

I know my last post was long, but I forgot to add that I think NOT crating a dog can be harmful.  Think of all the dangerous things that they can get into while you're away.  ESPECIALLY big paws.  Some things that you may not even think are dangerous.  Material chewed from a couch can lead to intestinal blockage, for example.

[GR8DAME]

Crating a dog 24/7 is nothing anyone here would advocate. 
Using a crate for the dog's own safety for periods when you cannot be in attendance is often a neccesary evil for those of us that work. In my opinion it is better to safely crate than to leave the dog outside where they can be stolen, escape, bark and annoy the neighborhood, and be at the mercy of people who think it  funny to poke them with sticks, tease them or even toss poisen over the fence to watch them convulse. I live in a decent area in suburbia, not a slum or out in the country, just a mixed working nieghborhood and all of the above has occurred within two miles of my house.
Stella

[brinks]

I am a total crating fan.  My parents bred Great Danes when I was younger.  When I was out of the house and on my own I had both great danes and bullmastiffs.  Now, I own a dogue de bordeaux. Each and every time, I got a puppy, I crated them when I was away from them.  I would be away for sometimes up to 8-hour periods.  I would use the crates until the puppy stages were passed and then only use the crates once in awhile.  In fact, I still have the crates (the doors are off) and the dogs use them on their own.  They drag all kinds of toys in there and often I find them sleeping in there.  It actually appears comforting to them.

There are lots of tips for using crates though that should be adhered to, for example, not using it for punishment and making sure they are not left alone for long periods every single day. 

Try googling crate training and see what you come up with.  I think you'll find it's more beneficial than leaving the dog to it's own vices.  The Great Danes we've had fit nicely into the midwest crates we have.  They last forever.  For creature comforts we had padding made to fit the pan bottom.   Equip it with some chew toys and some favs and they'll love it.

[Lyn]

I don't crate train.. but I'll tell you why. I'm a 'homemaker', ugh I hate that word. LOL Bubba is left alone maybe 4-6 hours a week when I need to go shopping or when I go visit friends. When I was housetraining him he had a sitter if we left. LOL I know it sounds cheezy but he did. We also got lucky because he's not a chewer. He's never destroyed anything. The most he does when we leave is curl up on our bed on my pillows.

From 9 weeks old he slept on our bedroom floor accident free. So we didn't feel the need to crate-train him. Our bedroom is so small though it's kinda crate like in a sense. LOL

[macybean]

I used to crate Sadie. Riley barked non-stop when crated when he was smaller, so I started using a baby gate to keep them in the kitchen when I was gone. Riley had a few accidents in the kitchen (more space, so I guess he felt like he could pee on one side?), but overall, it's worked well. He's not a big chewer (some issues with teething), but has recently gotten into pillows and shoes. The kitchen gives them room to stretch, play with toys, drink/eat, and sleep (I put their beds in there durind the day).

[shangrila]

Our bedroom is so small though it's kinda crate like in a sense. LOL

Our bedroom is the same way for zoey - not because it is small, but because it is our 'den' where our 'pack' all sleeps at night, so she sees it as a sacred space. About the extent of the mess she is willing to make in the bedroom is to carry our dirty laundry over to her bed so she can smell it in her sleep 

Ambulance Driver, I would suggest you look into an excersize pen. They can contain your saint like a crate would, but it gives them a slightly larger area so that they can walk around a bit and stretch themselves. If you put up a pen and fill it with some dog toys, I am sure Thor would be a happy camper You can see some examples at this link:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/ProductList.aspx?PC=productlist&Nav=180&N=22+97+30+5613