Crates
 and I don't wanna have to crate him when I go to the grocery store and the like.
So, what do you all think? |
|
|
| I feel very sorry for all the dogs that has to be in a crate so often.
My dog have not been in a crate since she was 10 months. And i wont buy a crate for my next puppy, and no one of my earlier dogs needed to be in a crate. Its all about obdience and what we learn our dogs!! If your dog is chewing on things, its your fault. |
Maybe I wrote that wrong.. When I said had to be in their crates all the time, I meant all the times we were gone. Whenever I, or my hubby is here, they roam wild and free.  I don't work, so that is most all day long. But I feel bad when we leave and I have to put him in his crate. He's only 6 months old, so potty habits aren't quite to par yet, but soon. so i was just wondering. I pan on gettting him some more chew toys that he will like much more than the things that he souldn't be eating..  |
| Dogs who have been crate trained do not see their crate as a punishment, rather they see it as their bed or their den. Dogs are den animals. Some dogs don't like to be left alone and those dogs tend to be better left in a crate rather than chance the dog get into something it shouldn't. My dogs are always crated when I am not home. At night they are not crated, they sleep in my daughter's room. Even that they have to 'graduate' to, I have never left a dog under 9 months old uncrated unless I can totally supervise it. But every dog is different and you will get as many answers regarding this question as there are dog owners. There is no right or wrong answer to this. Only you can judge when Loki is ready. |
| Yeah, that was the other thing.. I wan ed him to be able to be out of his crate at night when we are sleeping.. He sleeps in my room in his crate, when I do eventually graduate him would it be a good idea to get him a doggie bed and gradually switch his crate for his bed? |
| you didn't word anything wrong new2sheepies.
You know your dog the most. If YOU think your dog is ready to move to the next step, I would try leaving him for very short periods (30-60 min) in a small area. For me, it's the gated kitchen. Sometimes the downstairs hallway. Then longer as he graduates each stage (doesn't pee while you're gone). Then you could try the whole house. I am 100% that I won't ever give Yuki the entire house. ...but I know her, and while I love her, I love my carpet being clean almost as much. 
My maltese gets to roam free but I don't think I gave her that privilege until she was well over 1. Every dog is different. Some will chew up walls, furniture, pee when given big spaces, etc. Some have no interest and will sleep the entire time and wait a million and one hours before peeing (my maltese). You are not being cruel when you crate a dog when you leave. Dogs, especially ones that grew up in one, feel secure and comfortable in their crate. Small spaces create peace of mind for the owner AND dog. While my maltese would freak if she went in a crate, she very much loves to be locked in my bedroom. At a new house, the entire house is too much stimulation and gives her anxiety (stuff to bark at, etc, etc). Don't feel bad if your dog never graduates past the crate when you're away. Sometimes that's just needed.  |
| Ehhh.
Dogs dont like to be put in a crate for many hours! They can not move if they get warm or cold, and usually, a dog will move around to find a better place to sleep many times a day! It has not that apportunity in a crate! A normal dog (that gets what it need of daily walks and training) will NOT distroy the house while it is alone!! And if your dog is peeing inside your house, you are doing something wrong. And when you gets a puppy, you have to deal with chewed-up things, thats a natural part of having a puppy! |
I have one dog that I know for sure will never graduate out of the crate when I am not home. Even if there are other family members home but I go out, Merlin has to be crated, if he isn't crated, he cries and whines and eventually goes off and pees somewhere because MOM left and forgot to crate him 
As I was typing this reply, my daughter found that Merlin had peed in the hallway, a few minutes before all of us were gone from the main floor, but we were all still in the house...Merlin got nervous, couldn't find me and he peed. Of course no one saw him so I can't reprimand him, how do I know it was him....well the girls don't lift their leg...he does 
I guess I must be doing something wrong.....good dogs don't EVER have accidents and good dogs NEVER have separation anxiety.  |
| I'm a big fan of crate training. In my experience, six months is too young to leave a puppy completely unrestricted and alone because you have at least one more chewing stage to go through. I went through the same decision process as you are when Bailey was about 8 months old. He was totally potty trained and never chewed on anything that wasn't "his" (toy, bone, etc.). So we started leaving him out of the crate all the time. When he was about 10 months he went through his "teenager" phase and he started challenging us more. One day I started finding little pieces of chewed up wire on the floor - and I couldn't figure out where they were coming from! I searched the house and it made me crazy... until the next time I tried to turn on the burglar alarm and it wouldn't arm! That little dickens would watch for us out the window, and while he was watching he would chew the alarm contacts off the window sill. Thank goodness he hadn't swallowed any of the wire! I realized that while he was still a puppy, he was much safer in the crate than out of the crate while we weren't home.
Bailey is one of those dogs who has grown up with the crate and likes it. He chooses to go in there to take his afternoon nap. When we're home the door is always open and he can come and go as he pleases. Now that he's 2 we only put him in there if we're going to be gone for an hour or longer. He gets a special treat when he goes in his crate and when we open that container, he goes right to his crate without even needing a command. I know it's not the right thing for everyone, but for us, it's been a huge benefit. |
 My OES Violet came from a rescue at 9 mts old and I never had to crate her. She had already matured enough to be left alone and she would not distroy anything in the house. We also always have had a doggy door on our house. China, my Aussie Shepherd was only 8 weeks old when we brought her home and we did crate her. We crated her at night in our bedroom and Violet would always lay next to the crate and stick her head against it for China to lay near her. We all had peaceful nights sleep because China was "contained". When I would go shopping, or out we would crate China until she was about 6 mts old. Then we would leave the door open to the crate if she felt the need to go in it. She did every once in a while. Eventually we just put the crate away.
My sister used to crate her dog and her children knew that when Bo was in his crate they where to leave him alone. So they left his crate out for a long time, because when Bo got tired of the kids he knew he had a place to go and get away from them. |
| We stopped crating Bert at about 7 months. At that point, he had gotten past the worst of his chewing, and house-training. I'm kinda on the fence about crating, since (as Willowsprite and others pointed out) the need for it varies from dog-to-dog. Some ways to transition, might be to leave him for (very short) times, and leave the kennel door open, so if he wants to go there for security, he can. Then gradually lengthen the amount of time he's left out. Good Luck! |
WizardMerlin wrote: I guess I must be doing something wrong.....good dogs don't EVER have accidents and good dogs NEVER have separation anxiety.
I wont call a dog with seperation anixety normal or healthy. |
| Ok. I have to saywe had the best, most wonderful GSD when I was a teen, and she was healthy and VERY well trained. She suffered from SA, and she had to be crated. She loved us until the day she died, and there were never any ill side effects from the crating. I'd like to think that we were keeping her safe from hurting herself when he was in one of her anxiety modes while we were gone and couldn't keep an eye on her. So, if it comes to her or anydogs safety, I think crating is fine. I hope you feel that safety is paramount with your dogs as well. i was simply wondering for those of us that do not deal with SA, when would be best. |
| At our house, we have all combinations of crating, being out in the whole house, or in part of the house.
Our min pins love their crates, they go into them alot even when we are home. They love the nesty secure feeling that the plastic crates give them. They also get nervous and pee if left out when we leave. They are 7 and 8 yrs old. Simon the basset is free in the house all the time. He never has accidents, and sleeps on the livingroom couch - by 9pm every evening without fail! He is going to 8 next month, and I adopted him from basset rescue as a 6 yr old. Riley the rat terrier is almost 2. After his puppy teething and potty training, he has been trustworthy in the house - the same as Simon. He does have a crate - he eats in there. We also use it if he gets muddy and we need a place to put him for a bit. Chewie is 11 months. he is totally house trained, but goes crazy with chewing and other bad behaviors if we leave him out when we leave. It is too stressful for him to be out - he loves his plastic crate and goes in there often during the day. At night he always goes into it and puts himself to sleep. It is a huge great dane sized crate, and he has plenty of room to move around in it. I hope eventually he can be out more, but right now he actually relaxes more in his crate. The house is still too much. Maggie is about 1 1/2 yrs, and she is our newest dog - a blue tick coonhound. She was negected and abused, and was tied out 24/7. She is learning her house training, but is not 100% yet. She also is very inquisitive and gets into everything if not supervised. It is like she is living through a puppyhood for the 1st time. For her safety, she needs to be crated when we are not home and overnight. She loves her wire crate with it's fluffy dogbed (and she never has even chewed one bit of it!) Everything else we give her, and even things we don't give her are chewed up quickly. Again, she led a very different life before us, so she is still adjusting. |
Whoops! I mistook Wizardmerlin for Willowsprite! 
I just KNEW I was going to do that with your new avatar Kim! Sorry! |
| My parents had never crated there other two OESs ( hmm doesn't look right but anyways) so I didn't the first few days I had to go back to work after we got her. That was a mistake. We put tarps down for her to on but she began to think she could go on the tarps even when I was picking them up and home. We got her a crate within two days and she loves it. At night after I let her out she won't even follow me back upstairs just does in her crate. She doesn't see it as a punishment she sees it as her sanctuary. It's her little place to get away from the world. |
| On almost any topic discussed here on the forum there are many viewpoints and in a lot of cases what is correct for one dog/owner combination is not necessarily correct for another dog/owner combination. We also acknowledge that we have many members whose first language is not English so we give those members the “benefit of the doubt” regarding spelling, word choice and grammar. However this new member Kristina’s posts in this thread accusing people of having “unhealthy dogs” because of separation anxiety or potty accidents and that crating dogs is something to be sorry about has gone too far no matter how many “accommodations” we are willing to give. Her own arguments are also internally inconsistent so I’m “wading in” on this.
Crating a dog is NOT a form of punishment, is NOT cruel nor is it cause for pitying a dog. Crates provide a refuge, place of security and re-enforce routines in their life. First off refuge: All of our dogs have their own crates in which they eat, sleep and are secured when we are out of the house. Their crates are their own “dens” in which they can eat/sleep/rest quietly without worrying about pack order and dominance and in which they are able to have their treats at their own schedule without worrying about having to “defend” their meals or treats from the other dogs. Their crates are a place where they often choose to go when they are tired from exercise or have had a long day. Come 10:00 pm they put themselves to bed if we haven’t already done that ourselves. They ARE comfortable in their beds and frequently CHOOSE to go there for a variety of reasons. When we first got Farouk home from his breeder he was used to having to sleep with all of his littermates and when he was introduced to his crate you could see the “is all of this just for me?” look in his eyes. He took to his crate IMMEDIATELY and has never exhibited any inclination to sleep elsewhere. Being the most quiet and reserved of our dogs he often retires to his crate when he feels “overwhelmed” and wants his “own space and time”. It is also very reasonable to expect that the dogs should be constrained when the pack leader – you – are away from the home and cannot watch over their behaviour. It is simply good discipline and responsible stewardship of our dogs who are entrusted to us and who themselves trust in us totally. Crates are also a place of security. Kristina has said that puppies chew, it is a fundamental part of their nature and indeed in this she is correct. Amongst the things that a puppy can chew if not watched and corrected are electrical power cords. Their natural tendency to chew can easily be fatal in these circumstances. In their unrestrained exploration of a home they can and will pull on things, some of which may topple over and kill the dog or cause a variety of injuries and wounds. While relatively rare homes are also subject to break-in and even if no harm is done by the criminal the dog can get outside through doors or windows left open with attendant risks to their life from traffic, animal control, etc. I know that when we are out of the house our dogs are secure and far safer than those left to roam the house. Arguments about dogs being trapped in their crates during a house fire are specious (false, hollow) because dogs roaming free are at exactly the same risk since they cannot open doors or windows to free themselves. (In our case we have a home security system which also monitors for fire and the monitoring centre is aware that we have dogs that require rescuing if the fire alarm were to be activated. Finally routines. As pack animals dogs would naturally develop routines and in the home they fare best when they have routines. The use of crates very much imposes routines on domestic dogs and re-affirms both your status as pack alpha and what they are to do and when. All of our dogs know that when we go out they go to bed, and lets face it most of the time dogs that are not “employed” as working, service or guard dogs sleep most of the day anyway. You are simply dictating where they are to sleep when you are away. Reasonable stewardship of domestic dogs also includes ensuring a controlled environment (heating/cooling) and the provision of appropriate snacks/treats for the duration of their crating. There will be those who vehemently disagree with my points on crating and that is their right to say so and discuss their choices. However insinuations that crates and those who use them are inhumane and irresponsible have no place here or on any rational discussion group. Carl |
Thanks Carl. I didn't want this thread to turn ugly or anything, not that it has.. I'm glad this is sparking so much discussion, though. |
| I have never crated a dog in my life until we got Harley, a 3 1/2 year old OES rescue. We've had him for a week now, and he's doing pretty well with the crate. He lived outsided tied up all the time by his former owners. The rescue kept him in a boarding kennel with a doggie door, so it was a good transition from little human contact to more contact, to now living inside with us all the time. We're still working on potty-training, so the crate is enormously helpful. When we are home, we have to watch him constantly to prevent/correct accidents and know when to take him outside. It's a work in progress, but he will not potty in his crate, so it's really good when we're away and can't watch him.
It's hard for me to say how he feels about it-- we're having him sleep there at night for now as well since he's a new dog. We have a dog bed by our bed for him once he becomes trustworthy about pottying, but that may be a couple months down the road. More than having my carpets soiled, I believe that because the crate prevents accidents, it's an extremely important training tool, and it will get the job done faster than if I allowed accidents to happen. Eventually we'd like to wean him off the crate, but if that never happens (while we are out of the house anyway), then so be it. It's safe for him and for us, and I don't see it as punishment as long as he isn't in there for long and he gets plenty of attention and exercise when we are home. He doesn't like to go in yet because he knows it either means we are leaving or he has to sleep without us. However, he loves his kong, and he gets that every time he goes in his crate, so it's becoming easier and easier for him to go in. |
| I didn't want to crate George as I thought it was cruel, However after he damaged the house we decided it was our only option and we bought a crate!
it's made a huge difference and he is a much happier dog. When we are ready to go out he goes out in the garden, has a wee, comes back into the house gets a couple of biscuits and goes into his crate. When he is fed up / wants time alone he goes in his crate and uses it as his own space and we don't bother him while he is in there! he is happier and we are happier knowing that he can't have hurt himself or damaged the house while we were out. At the end of the day it's lovely having a dog but you want him to be safe while you are out, and at the same time you don't want your house ruined by a dog either! I am hoping in time that he will graduate from his crate and have the run of the house but if he doesn't thats ok. All dogs are different and each owner has to judge for themselves what is best for their dog and themselves. All dogs have to be left at some point and you have to be confident that the dog is left in the best environment! if that for anyone is to crate their dog then that is best! |
| Crate training is a very personal choice. I have nothing against those who use them. It just wasn't for us. Mojo HATED his crate.
Our decision to stop using it was based on behavior verses age. I started with confining him in the kitchen while I was in there with him. Then I would move about the house and finally would go outside for short periods of time. (I did have to double gate because he went right over a single) Once he started sleeping all night, he started sleeping on the floor by our bed. After that if I was only going to be gone a short period, he could roam the house. I still confined him in the kitchen for longer periods until I was sure there weren't going to be accidents. There were a couple of times at first when I came home to shredded newspaper. I found that giving him a Kong with peanut butter or a treat ball as I left, gave him something to do. |
| My parents have a crate for their OES Maggie. She has always loved it and it is her safe place. She goes in there whenever she wants and especially if there are storms. It was located in the kitchen area, which was all linoleum and could be completely blocked off...so until Maggie was about 7ish (she's 9 now) my parents either kept her in her crate or then just enclosed in the kitchen. I think it lasted that long mostly from habit. I don't think she would have done anything if left unattended after about age 2. Now she roams the entire house at all times.
We tried the crate with Barney. Since we had such a good experience with Maggie liking it, I figured it'd be easy. Barney HATED his crate. We found it easier to keep him in the kitchen with baby gates. We might be able to leave him alone to roam the house soon. I don't think he'd do much besides sleep. Oh, and he's 2 1/2 now. |
| i lucked out with derby it was only for one week.. he hated the crate so he learned to be good fast |
| We use crates for our convenience, firstmost. To protect our belongings from harm, e.g. getting rugs destroyed and shoes chewed up....and to protect our dogs from being harmed by our belongings..e.g. electrical wires. If we did not have any of this in our homes a crate would not be required.
To respond to the arguement about a place of refuge we could always let the dog have a room, or a place under a table or whatnot....Or better yet, give them a crate and remove the door, so they could come and go as they please, when they want to. If there was no danger to the dog or to any belongings of ours. Some parts of the world crates are not used as extensively as in North America, so they are not looked at in a favourable manner. And often crating are used far too much so that it becomes cruel. I am sure the dogs would all be happier if they did not need to be locked up, but I am also sure that they would be a lot happier if they were not required to be on a leash when outside in public, also. They need to adapt to the way of life that we have to offer them, in whatever part of the world we happen to live in, and that often included crates, fences, and leashes. Kristina's mention of unhealthy dogs who have SA and house-training accidents is meant to point out that many dogs are not healthy "mentally", and we can agree with that. Sometimes a crate may cause anxiety and that can create problems for the dog, and sometimes it will help. Sometimes it does neither. |
Carl Lindon wrote: On almost any topic discussed here on the forum there are many viewpoints and in a lot of cases what is correct for one dog/owner combination is not necessarily correct for another dog/owner combination. We also acknowledge that we have many members whose first language is not English so we give those members the “benefit of the doubt” regarding spelling, word choice and grammar. However this new member Kristina’s posts in this thread accusing people of having “unhealthy dogs” because of separation anxiety or potty accidents and that crating dogs is something to be sorry about has gone too far no matter how many “accommodations” we are willing to give. Her own arguments are also internally inconsistent so I’m “wading in” on this.l Carl, I think you've made some great points about the use of crates. I too agree that it's a personal choice and not inhumane when used properly. However, I disagree that Kristina was being too accusatory. I honestly think a lot of it is the language barrier along with trying to make an effective point on the internet, which can sometimes be difficult even for those of us whose English is our first language. I reread her posts several times and this is the way I took her opinions to be: Quote: I wont call a dog with seperation anixety normal or healthy. I think she meant that, in that case, you aren't dealing with "normal conditions" not that the dog was flawed or sick. It may just have been a question of semantics more than malicious intent. Kristina wrote: Ehhh. Dogs dont like to be put in a crate for many hours! I think "many hours" may have a different meaning to her than us. She may have misunderstood that the dogs were in the crate all day with no "out" time. I'm speculating there, though. Kristina wrote: A normal dog (that gets what it need of daily walks and training) will NOT distroy the house while it is alone!! And if your dog is peeing inside your house, you are doing something wrong.
And when you gets a puppy, you have to deal with chewed-up things, thats a natural part of having a puppy! I don't think the first part of her point is about puppies, but older dogs who may have housetraining issues. I think she means that, as the owner, it is your responsibility not to blame the dog, but to find out why the problem is occurring and to take steps to fix it. I think, overall, she means that when a dog makes a "mistake," you shouldn't blame the dog but to blame yourself for not taking the right measures to prevent it. I don't know, I just didn't take it that way and I hope she didn't mean it to offend anyone. As a new member, I'd really like to give her the benefit of the doubt. I know in some countries, crates just aren't big like they are here so discussions on the topic can get a little hot. Years ago we had another Norweigian member who had a harsh view on crates-- now she was accusatory and really ruffled some feathers! Everyone's entitled to an opinion... most of the time.  |
| I just wanted to chime in an say that I think this is a personal decision and it really depends on the given animal and you. Fred has a crate and if I leave the house for a while he goes into the crate. Although, I can trust him not to have an accident in the house; I cannot yet trust him not to chew things that were not meant for chewing. When I return to the house, Fred is immediately allowed to wander the house. If I have to run over to a neighbor's house Fred is allowed to stay in the kitchen which is tiled and I make sure that the counters are free of items that might fall victem of his surfing exploits At night, Fred sleeps on his bed next to our bed.
This is what works for us; something different is going to work for everyone here. |
| As an alternative to a crate, how about using baby gates to limit to the kitchen area? I too am a believer in crate training but during the day, I leave my puppy confined to the kitchen area. Personally, any dog of any age let to roam the house free when no one is home is trouble waiting to happen...So many things around that can be dangerous if chewed or ingested, etc. It isn't always a matter of being potty trained. |
| I agree. But I think that if you get as much as you can off the floor and out of "grazing" range, it would be fine. We have had many (when I was growing up) dogs that were allowed to roam free when we were out doing things like grocery shopping. But if it comes down to safety and I thought he would get into too much, of course I would crate. I'm not ready to do it right now, he's just too young, but somewhere in the future, I would like to try.
Do your guys' dogs actually sleep during the night when they are out of the crate? They don't wander everywhere and get into stuff? I just have this vision on Loki chasing the cats up and down the hallway and barking at them..
Also, I would just like to say welcome to Kristina and I hope this didn't scare you off! We all have love of our dogs and I know you were just expressing yours. By the way... Pictures of your pup?? |
| Barney sleeps in our room (with our door closed--with our 3 cats, too!) and he sleeps most of the time. He might move around a little, and every once in a while (not often at all) he'll chase the cats...but for the most part it is fairly peaceful with us all in one room Except my cat Kirby, which is a whole other story...she will NOT leave me alone at night...knocks things off tables, etc... |
| Our two dogs sleep in our room at night, with the door shut. Each dog has a dog bed, and a special favorite sleeping spot, and basically just go there as soon as we tell them that its bedtime.
When Bert was a little guy, and used to being crated at night (at the breeder's) we would have a crate with the door open available for him, but after only a few days, he chose a spot near the sliding-glass door where he could stay coolest, and look outside. With a reasonable amount of "puppy-proofing", some training, and maturity, I feel that most (perhaps not all) dogs can be trusted with the run of the house. As I said it an earlier post, I do think this varies for dog-to-dog, and household to household...Our choice has been not to crate beyond house-breaking age, because I feel that our WHOLE (admittedly SMALL )house should be their "safe" area, and "den". Each dog has a special spot, in the living room as well, with a dog bed, that they can consider their own . I CERTAINLY dont feel that the folks who choose to crate are being "cruel", but I have seen circumstances where its been used too much. (We have had 2 rescue dogs that came from places where they were crated pretty much 24/7  ) I'm really glad to see this topic brought up, and discussed, since I think its an interesting question, and one that I'm pleased to hear varying view-points on! |
| The crate thing did NOT work too long for Yuki, but I just didn't try hard or at all to push it either. I would have if we didn't move, and I didn't get a chance to purchase another one (went through 2 sizes). She stayed gated in a small space. However, I fully support crating and think everything said about it (dog feels secure, good training, etc, etc) is correct. |
| When I got Bella at 8 weeks I got her a crate. She didn't like it at first but got to the point where she was OK with it. The funny thing was, I have a 6 year old rescue, JoJo, who I never crated because she was totally housebroken and "chew" broken when I adopted her. She LOVED Bella's crate! She would always go in the crate to sleep, either during daytime naptime or at night. I ended up having to get a secong crate for Bella because JoJo completely took over the first one. Bella at 9 months, now goes in the crate herself when she wants to sleep. I only crate her when I am away, not at night anymore. She still will countersurf and chew things! |
| I am trying to remember Loki's age, refresh my memory. Fred graduated from sleeping in the crate in our room, from having the crate open with a bit of space, to open with even more space and then finally no crate. I don't set up situations for him to fail, ie. leaving shoes on the floor that might serve as tempting chew toys. I don't leave the door to the master bathroom off of our room open because F has a thing for toilet paper, any paper he can find for that matter and feminine hygeine products.
We sleep with the doors to our room closed and there is a gate right outside of the bedroom door in front of the staircase. He can't wander the house because the gate is there preventing him from investigating. (we set our house alarm at night) In the room Fred usually moves back and forth from the window that his bed is next to to the other window. He likes to sleep by the windows. He weasels his way onto our bed from time to time when my husband is away on business. It's funny. He respects the space of the bedroom and sort of knows sleeping free in our room is an earned thing. If he did anything destructive the crate would move from the family room to our bedroom. |
| Im sorry.
I did not mean to offend anyone. In norway, craves are becoming more and more used as a easy solution, by owner who are not willing to use some time to train their dog. I will write more when i got time. |
| We have had Sophie about three months and she has been in our room since the first night. She is 14 months and very content at night but... she has anxiety when we crate her when we have to leave her. She is not quite trustworthy with chewing to leave her alone in the house yet! We are working on that. I hope its soon, since I hate to know she is upset so much when we are gone. She doesent seem to mind the crate as she goes in and out of it on her own. |
WizardMerlin wrote: Dogs who have been crate trained do not see their crate as a punishment, rather they see it as their bed or their den. Dogs are den animals. Some dogs don't like to be left alone and those dogs tend to be better left in a crate rather than chance the dog get into something it shouldn't. My dogs are always crated when I am not home. At night they are not crated, they sleep in my daughter's room. Even that they have to 'graduate' to, I have never left a dog under 9 months old uncrated unless I can totally supervise it. But every dog is different and you will get as many answers regarding this question as there are dog owners. There is no right or wrong answer to this. Only you can judge when Loki is ready.
I agree. Matisse LOVES his crate when it's bed time~ He already knows that that is HIS space. I'm thrilled with crate training him. I think it would be good for him to stay in it when I'm not home for his own safety right now. I would do the 30-60 minutes as suggested by someone in a previous post..... |
| Sheepie dreams - my Lambluv still loves her crate - she goes there often on her own. My other OEs never liked his crate - although he eats in a large softsided crate that we also use for traveling and he is okay with that one. I love the pictures of Matisse on your site! |
kerry wrote: Sheepie dreams - my Lambluv still loves her crate - she goes there often on her own. My other OEs never liked his crate - although he eats in a large softsided crate that we also use for traveling and he is okay with that one. I love the pictures of Matisse on your site!
Thank you!!! I think Matisse realizes that's "his" space. I'm pleased with the outcome and I believe it to help with my bonding experience with him as well. |
| We are going through the same dilemma here. Simon is 9mo old and is completely potty trained, although not completely chew trained. He goes in his crate on command and on his own. If I lay in bed he will come in and go in his crate. We are going to Colorado in August. We will be staying in a few motels, a condo, and camping. Yes the dogs are going with us. I want Simon out of his crate by then. The bad thing is that when Simon is out he will occasionally jump up on the bed...on top of us...65lbs of OES coming down on top on us...grace he is not. So anyway, we are going to be working on this in the very near future. |
Simon's Mom wrote: The bad thing is that when Simon is out he will occasionally jump up on the bed...on top of us...65lbs of OES coming down on top on us...grace he is not.
Sigh. That is Bosley exactly....He doesn't understand from a physics point that is is sometimes virtually impossible to get up when 70 pounds of doggy is on top of you. As soon as I stir he wants me to get up, so lays on top of me and gives me kisses, so I will wake up and feed him....If I pretend to go back to sleep he will move off me, and goes to lie back down. Then I have to get up quick! |
new2sheepies wrote: I have been wondering how soon do you guys start leaving your dogs out of their crate when you are gone to go to the grocery store, work, or whatever. All my dogs that i have owned have had to stay in their crates no matter how long I was gone due to toilet habits, but I have a feeling that Loki will be doing fine in that area in the coming months,
and I don't wanna have to crate him when I go to the grocery store and the like.So, what do you all think? WHE N I GOT MY OES we tried crating him when we went to bed and during the day he hated being crated so we stopped and he has been fine never goes in house at all always tells me when he needs to go or he goes throught dog door had large 1 installed to back garden the cat door was getting to small for him he was sqeezing through it was quite funny to watch he usually sleeps inside recentlet he wants to stay on deck in backyard and sleep he can come in when he wants to through dog door hes 1 year now just had birthday last month and 85ibs and still growing hes a good dog loves to meet everyone usually after they are about 6 months they catch on quick if they are trained right |
Kristina wrote: I feel very sorry for all the dogs that has to be in a crate so often.
My dog have not been in a crate since she was 10 months. And i wont buy a crate for my next puppy, and no one of my earlier dogs needed to be in a crate. Its all about obdience and what we learn our dogs!! If your dog is chewing on things, its your fault. I do not agree with you at all. Properly used a crate become a "home" for the dog, a place that is pleasant for them to be. A crate is not a punishment, it becomes a quiet place for the dog to stay "their room". Certainly not to be used all the time but the safest place for a dog to be is a properly sized crate. Both my dogs have their own crate, they can stand up turn around and lay full out in their crates. When we are home the crates are open and they come and go at will. Both dogs will often spend time in their crates willingly. In the morning when it is time to go to work they both know when we start to get our coats on that it is time to head to their crates, it is rare to have to tell them to go. I am sure there are people who do not use a crate properly but when used correctly the crate is an important and valuable tool for the life of the dog. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|