Why confine your dog to a Crate?

[newflvr]

Thanks!  They love their "crate"...especially if it's moving!

[Nina]

That is one cool crate!


I crate my 2 when we are not home, just because they will destroy the house, and they have. At night Harley sleeps on the floor or on the bed. Dilbert sleeps in his crate in the bedroom, not because he has to but he likes to, he will sleep in it with the door open.  When we are home, they aare never in there crates unless they go in by them selves to take a nap.


Nina

[Heighway]

Thanks every one for reminding me why I crate.  I've always had dogs, never crated before this one.  I had heard so much about the pros, I wanted to try it.  Understand that Webster is never in there more than 2-3 hours and never in there if we are home.  He goes in for a nap by himself if the door is left open.  He just doesn't seem to want to sleep so much at night.  I am sure that will get better as he gets older.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

Samson was crated at night until he was 9 months old I think...He never had a problem with his crate & rather seemed to enjoy it...I was glad when he was able to be out of it full time because I always thought if anyone broke in there'd be nothing he could do for us...I felt safer when he was out of the crate but he didn't feel safe so I moved to the family room & slept with him for many many months...I have just recently started sleeping back in my bedroom & he turned 1 in July...Pippin never had to be crated as we only had one accident ever in the house & the two rooms the dogs have are pretty much a big crate because they are puppy proofed...As far as crating while people are at work etc. I see no problem with it so long as the time the dog spends out of the crate is full of activity & excersize & being with their people...I wouldn't be comfortable with leaving my dogs in the yard when I am gone either...I don't even leave them out when I am in the shower...I feel that too many things could happen.

[Blair]

Now I didnt read any post regarding this LOL just writing my 2 cents  All my boys were crated trained as puppies. Zeus and Grey have free run of the house at night but not when we are gone, they are kenneled. Now working at a Dog groomers, you can tell the dogs that are crated and the ones that arent. It is so much better having a dog crate trained coming to by groomed, cause they are good and just lay down and sleep and wait their turns. Compared to the ones who have never been in a crate, they will pace, bark, and go crazy being in a crate. I dont think its cruel at all crate training, but only when its done right. Now I am sure this was said over and over again, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents LOL

[Newf Lover]

I guess I just don't have the fear that many of you have of allowing a dog to have free reign of the garage and/or back yard while being gone during the day.�  I really don't know what could happen to Drake to be honest.�  He doesn't chew on anything, nobody can get to him and all he really does is sleep and maybe get up to go drink some water.�  I guess I'm overly optimistic and lucky to have a low maintenence dog.�  If I had room for a dog run I guess I would put him in that, but there is no way he would�  like being kept in a crate, even though we used one to potty train him.�  The other thing is that we can be gone overnight and not worry about him having an accident in the house or running out of water.  We haven't done that very often, but it's good to know we can in case we need to.  There something to be said though about pulling into the driveway of your house, hitting the garage door opener and having a big fuzzy Newf come running out to greet you.� 

[HerbaMonster]

Hi! 

I felt the same way you did with using crates until it was my last resort for Herbie.  He has his own room with all kinds of toys, a bed, snacks, and water.  He still hated it and would scratch the door and floor until his paws were raw and his nails gone!!  We tried everything including pills but he kept hurting himself.  We decided to try the crate training one day and it was heaven sent!!  He didn't hurt himself and he was actually OK with it - granted he still cries when we have him in there in the beginning but the he's ok with it later.  His nails are all grown back and I'm not stressing about him being hurt in the room.  We're only doing this until he gets older and use to being alone in the house.  Oh, I did let Herbie alone in our house one time and he got into everything!!!  That is more dangerous for him so I think the crate is a good thing for now until he's trained. 

Hope this info helps.  Patricia

[patrick]

Crates are a good tool if used correctly as a den or safe place for the dog but I also think the rule that they shouldn't spend more time in the crate then out should be applied.  The puppy I just got back - I spent 2 months convincing the owner to return the puppy - she was a wonderful pet owner in some respects but the puppy was spending up to 22 hours a day in the crate.  There were no behavior issues - the puppy never chewed anything inappropriatel y, was 100% housebroke, never got into the trash, had a securely fenced yard.   Her 'bad' behavior was that she whined while in the crate.  And this person repeatedly told me -you know she doesn't whine when she is out of the crate.  UH DUH

Her reasons for crating were during the day while she was at work- OK no problem  But then you added at night when sleeping - OK still not a problem.  But then the puppy was also crated whenever the owner cooked or ate herself, Twice - 3 times a day, whenever she was cleaning, whenever she did laundry, whenever she vacuumed swept or mopped the floor, whenever she was mixing up the dog food bowls, whenever the dogs ate, whenever she went to the store, whenever she had company over, whenever the owner was reading a book, whenever she did yard work or gardening, whenever she was on the computer and so on.  That pretty much covers close to 24 hours a day.  Reasons - well she walks around (heaven forbid you should have any animal that moves!!), she follows me, she wants to be petted, she begs for food when I am eating, she stands right next to me when I'm fixing the dog food bowls (oh sin of all sins!) she wants to play with the mop/vacuum/broom, she disturbs me when I am trying to read. 

When was the puppy out of the crate?  Ten minutes in the am to potty then back to the crate to eat then 10-15 minutes again to potty.  Back in the crate for 8-9 hours.  Out of the crate for 1/2 hour run then back in the crate for a couple of hours.  Out of the crate for a few minutes then back in for dinner (both human and dog)   Out of the crate for maybe another hour then back in for the night.   This actually could be considered abuse  no matter how well intentioned.

[GR8DAME]

Crates are great as a training tool, not as a substitute for training. I have three dogs in my house. They all have their down places in the kitchen for when I am cooking or eating, they are not allowed to approach the table until the last plate has been cleared. They know their places, and although Strider's place for right now is his crate, he goes in it independently and the door remains open. In a year or so, when the crate goes back in storage, I will move his crate pad out to another spot and that will be his down place. As for feeding time all three go to their elevated feeders and sit and wait for dinner once I have collected all the bowls. If there were not some form of training in the daily aspects of their lives, I could not cope with three dogs the size of mine, and I refuse to have three crates in use at the same time. It sounds like your puppy's owner reguarded the pup as an inconvience to normal life. Perhaps that is the difference. My dogs are an asset to my normal life. JMO.
Stella

[Gypsy Jazmine]

Crates are a good tool if used correctly as a den or safe place for the dog but I also think the rule that they shouldn't spend more time in the crate then out should be applied.�  The puppy I just got back - I spent 2 months convincing the owner to return the puppy - she was a wonderful pet owner in some respects but the puppy was spending up to 22 hours a day in the crate.�  There were no behavior issues - the puppy never chewed anything inappropriatel y, was 100% housebroke, never got into the trash, had a securely fenced yard.�  � Her 'bad' behavior was that she whined while in the crate.�  And this person repeatedly told me -you know she doesn't whine when she is out of the crate.�  UH DUH

Her reasons for crating were during the day while she was at work- OK no problem�  But then you added at night when sleeping - OK still not a problem.�  But then the puppy was also crated whenever the owner cooked or ate herself, Twice - 3 times a day, whenever she was cleaning, whenever she did laundry, whenever she vacuumed swept or mopped the floor, whenever she was mixing up the dog food bowls, whenever the dogs ate, whenever she went to the store, whenever she had company over, whenever the owner was reading a book, whenever she did yard work or gardening, whenever she was on the computer and so on.�  That pretty much covers close to 24 hours a day.�  Reasons - well she walks around (heaven forbid you should have any animal that moves!!), she follows me, she wants to be petted, she begs for food when I am eating, she stands right next to me when I'm fixing the dog food bowls (oh sin of all sins!) she wants to play with the mop/vacuum/broom, she disturbs me when I am trying to read.� 

When was the puppy out of the crate?�  Ten minutes in the am to potty then back to the crate to eat then 10-15 minutes again to potty.�  Back in the crate for 8-9 hours.�  Out of the crate for 1/2 hour run then back in the crate for a couple of hours.�  Out of the crate for a few minutes then back in for dinner (both human and dog)�  � Out of the crate for maybe another hour then back in for the night.�  � This actually could be considered abuse�  no matter how well intentioned.

That just breaks my heart!! ...I am so very glad you got the puppy back!!

[JennLM]

Icerotti made a good point.�  A crated dog is pretty worthless for protection if you are being robbed.�  I like the idea that if anybody is stupid enough to try and break into my house at night, not only will they have a .357 Magnum waiting for them, they will have the fury of a Newf disturbed from it's sleep to deal with.�  Helps me sleep at night!

I had a home invasion, they walked by 3 of our wolfdogs and 4 big ol Newfs.. Only one came forward to save my life so don't count on it.

Of course if you think and act liek crating htem is horrible they will ract as such. If you always make it a spoitive thing and use a crate right it will be their den. Dogs are denning animals and decended fromwolves no matter the breed. If a dog can be 100% trust with no accidents or is non-destrcutive then sure let them go uncrated.. 

I have to get past people with the thinking of crates are cruel every day when I teach my obedience classes.

[Heighway]

Tonite, we tried keeping Webster awake while we watched the baseball game.  He fell asleep on a mat by our bed.  When the game was over we closed the bedroom door and turned out the lights, thinking we would just let him sleep there. Webster immediately woke up and scratched on the door.  I got up, thinking he would want to go out, instead, when I opened the door, he went straight across the hall and got in his crate and laid down. It made me feel good, like having the crate was the right thing after all.  It is now 4 am, and he is up for a potty break and a few ice cubes.  He will be up about 10 minutes then back to the crate.  I think he likes having a place to call his own.

[Newf Lover]

That's cool that so many of you have great experiences and results with your dogs being in crates and thank you for sharing your stories with me.�  I am glad Drake doesn't need one, for several reasons.�  One being that we don't have to keep an XXL Crate inside the house somewhere.�  Dog beds are enough for him and aren't as distracting as a big crate sitting in the middle of the room, a nice looking dog bed is much more cohesive with the decor.�  We are blessed with a mellow dog that won't destroy the house if we leave him alone, we are thankful of that and that's one of the reasons why we got a Newf.�  Another reason is I can honestly say that we are never going put Drake on an airplane, unless the desparate airlines start allowing dogs in with the passengers.�  If I had to, I would rather pay the full price of a seat to allow my dog to sit with me rather than be put in the unpressurized hull in a crate.�  I have heard nightmares about air travel and dogs, how the dogs are covered with vomit and poop when they arrive, how it's freezing down in the hull where they are kept.�  No THANKS!�  So, our XXL dog crate sits alone in the garage. full of stuffed toys and other doggie play toys.�  We might need it again for Drake one day, but I hope not.� 

[felicity]

i think crating is an American thing because i don't know anyone who does it, iv'e never done it myself, i have never needed to.

anassa is well trained and can be left either outside or inside by herself, at night she sleeps on a huge pillow at the end of the bed and wakes us up if she needs to do her business. Then in the morning when my husband leaves for work she will hop on the end of the bed and sleep there.

i really don't understand it either and have never had any problems for not crating my dogs but each to their own.

maybe not crating is an Aussie thing lol


felicity

[brandon]

i think crating is an American thing because i don't know anyone who does it, iv'e never done it myself, i have never needed to.

anassa is well trained and can be left either outside or inside by herself, at night she sleeps on a huge pillow at the end of the bed and wakes us up if she needs to do her business. Then in the morning when my husband leaves for work she will hop on the end of the bed and sleep there.

i really don't understand it either and have never had any problems for not crating my dogs but each to their own.

maybe not crating is an Aussie thing lol


felicity

What do you do in Australia if you have to leave a puppy inside while you're gone?