Does anybody crate their dogs at night?
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Just my personal opinion: crating is a good thing at night with a young sheepdog who can't hold it and may be prone to eating things that will kill him... 
If I have to crate, and this goes for fosters/recue dogs whose reliability is as yet unknown, it's always in the bedroom with me and the rest of the dogs so they feel like they're part of the pack. In my experience it's a lot less stressful for them and the crate becomes a secure sleeping space pretty quickly. Some people don't want any dogs sleeping in the bedroom for a number of reasons, which is fine, but requires somewhat different logistics, obviously, with perhaps different experiences, so it's good to hear from people with a variety of experiences. Kristine |
| I have an almost 10 month old sheepie. My husband had decided a few months ago that it was time to let him have full run of the upstairs at night. Before that he slept in a crate in our bedroom. Everytime we moved he woke up and wouldn't settle for awhile. I'm a light sleeper and would have a hard time getting back to sleep.
It lasted about 2 weeks, and he started having accidents in the kitchen when we were asleep. Frankie is back in his crate which is in the family room on the same level as our bedroom. He goes to sleep in there around 10 and gets up when I do if its 6 am or 8 am. no fussing or anything. He's very content in his crate. I agree it's a personal preference. Whatever works for you and your pet. Lisa and Frankie |
| I think it's a great idea. Ours stays crated. He just can't be trusted and I don't want to stress at night whether or not he's eating the legs to the dining table, eating the walls (yes many have been known to do this), or peeing and then rubbing their dirty body over everything. Once they're mature enough to be trusted, they can be left in a large area or choose to sleep upstairs with us. Our downstairs is also tile, so the pup is not even allowed to go upstairs unless he's getting a bath.
Our older dog was just gated in the kitchen. That worked for her, but this dog would have eaten the cabinets and everything in them!!! So each dog is different.  |
| My dogs LOVE their crat at night! We keep the crates in our bedroom with us. The younger one, one and a half, sleeps in her crate all night and loves it. The older one, three, goes in and we leave the door open for him. He eventually comes out but usually sleeps in there a few hours. We keep the younger one's door closed and she is sound asleep in there all night long. In fact, that is the only place she really seems to relax! The crates are with us in our bedroom. |
| Our two yoNewf is crated at night (HUGE crate) Marley soetimes wants to be crated at night - we leave hers in our room as well for when she feels the need. Our other two haven't been crated since they were two. But they all get crated when they are young. |
| We let Dutch free to sleep where she wanted to at about 6 months, she picked to sleep in my room . for the first 5 min. she would be on the bed then it's either on a rug or on the bare floor, the door is always left open but she will not leave me even if others are up and walking around. See someone loves me |
None of ours are crated at night, but they are all in our bedroom on their tuffets, so, I guess in a way , it is just like a giant crate!!!!!!  |
| Bailee is now 16 months old and we have given him "free roam" at night since the beginning of the year. So far he has been great. Strange thing is he will spend a few hours at night in his crate on his own. Guess he just likes it, feels secure there and comes into the bedroom and sleeps on his pillow bed also. He sleeps upstairs and spends some time downstairs in the family room too. In a couple more months we will be giving him his daytime freedom also. |
| All three of mine are crated. There are two in the bedroom with us and one in the dining room. They upstairs dogs also have crates on the lower level and are always crated when we go out .We also have a vacation place and we have crates there too ! |
| None of ours are in our bedroom. The rest of the house is all part of the dog zone, however.
We have 8 dogs here (only 6 ours) 
Tazz is an 11 yr old Min Pin and is crated at night. Always - or he pees. Thankfully like most little nesty breeds, he LOVES his crate and spends a lot of time in there w/ the door open during the day as well. His crate is in the livingroom, next to a heat vent :0) Riley is a 4 yr old rat terrier (large though - feist sized) and he sleeps gated on the porch - its part of the house, has a swinging gate in the doorway that we latch at night. He has a cozy bed in the garden window out there. He spends most of the days lying in the sun out there and being the alert watchdog (it's on the driveway side of the house) that rat terriers love to be! He never has chewed anything, not even as a puppy. he is not above the occasional pee in the house at night though, so this is the compromise. Harley is our 11 yr old foster basset. he sleeps crated. He came with his crate and blankie and he loves them both. He also LOVES to nap and spend time in his crate w/ the door open. I have his blankie wrapped around a cushy nesty dog bed, so he gets spoiled. Maggie is a 4 yr old rescue coonhound, and she came to us at about 1.5 yrs old and had never been in a house before. She sleeps in her crate and loves it. If she gets caught conter surfing (her only remaining bad habit) she flies to her safe spot - her crate! She also sleeps in. She won't get up until about 9am - even if we open the door and bribe her w/treats. Funny girl. Harley and Maggie are in covered wire crates next to each other, in the multi purpose room next to our bedroom. Simon is my 10 yr old basset. He sleeps free in the house - although the loveseat in the living room is his bed. He settles in by 8:45pm (his own personal internal clock) and stays there until he hears me breathe/move in the morning. Then he is whining at the bedroom door...
He wears a pee band at night now, as he will be 11 in a couple months and has a little incontinence at night. If he wants to sleep on my furniture - that's the way it has to be! He does well, and doesn't like crates (I got him as a rescue at 6 yrs old - I think he wasn't crated much). He did OK crated at shows (he has 3 rally titles), but other than that he doesn't like them much. Biscuit is Todd's 9 month old lab puppy. He never stays out at night. He would chew anything he could at this stage. He is crated in a large plastic crate at night. His crate is in the entry porch. He eats there too - so he sleeps fine in it. We are working through sleep issues still. He came to us at 6 months, never was in the house. He still wakes and howls LOUDLY by 5am every morning..... 
Chewie is almost 4 and has been uncrated for years. He does sleep gated on the porch w/ Riley. Not because he needs it - he just wants the cold cement floor! He hates carpet, beds, furniture - too hot. He is always out there after he checks out where I am. If I am sitting at the computer - he lays by me on the carpet for a bit, but them needs to go lay on the cement to cool off. Martha is Chewie's sister and belongs to my daughter LeAnne - she and family are living w/ us. Martha sleeps upstairs w/ them on her bed next to their bed. She is not hot like her brother - she occasionally sleeps on their bed too. Wow, that was long! |
Does it take that long to get them all in their beds at night??  |
| I crated Sophie at night for the first 3 years and she has slowly made her way out. She has been sleeping on my bedroom floor on her blankie for about 6 months now and (knock on wood) there have been no accidents. She normally goes out right before I go to bed (around midnight) each night and then doesn't want out until around 8am.
There has been a time or two when she has woken me up and I asked if she had to go potty and she wiggled her bottom (the tell-tale sign at our house) and I put her out, she went and came back in and was back to sleep before me. Mollie is only 5 months old. She goes out usually at 10pm (at midnight with Sophie if she is awake) and has been whining to go out around 7am. A month ago, I was having to get up around 4am to let her out, so I am really happy that she is waiting until 7 now!! I have had wonderful luck with crate training. I hope that when Mollie is older and knows not to get in the trash or potty in the house, that she can sleep with Sophie or even in our boys room. Sophie is a terrific dog. She doesn't nose in the trash (although it would be hard, it is enclosed) and she doesn't get into things. She is very happy to sit with us wherever we are and nap or chew a rawhide. She loves them. She doesn't seem to like any other type of toys. Mollie has a long stuffed weenie dog that squeeks and she loves chewing it in her crate if she is bored and having difficulty going to sleep. But for the most part, she is asleep around 10pm and up around 7am. I think the crate is good. Most dogs like them. It's their own space. I read that most dogs do not like being given free reign, they like their own little space. |
Mim wrote: Does it take that long to get them all in their beds at night??
no, thank goodness
Especially if I get the treat container down at bedtime - they all fly to their respective spots! They all eat in their sleep spots too - except Riley. he has a crate in the kitchen - he is a food thief otherwise. Oh - Simon eats in the kitchen - not the couch! |
| I am queen of the baby gates. Patch came to me at just under 1 year and, knock on wood, has never had a problem chewing (until 2 years ago when she went after the window pane dividers with a vengence) - I still close off a few rooms in the house when I leave but she has a lot of room to travel all day. I loved the gates when she was young - she had plenty of room to roam but was still kept confined. Maybe with my next dog I'll need a crate, but I love the gates. |
| Sammy was crated at night until she was housebroken and could be trusted to last through the night...around 4 or 5 months old. Then she joined Max on our bed. Shortly after that, we traded our queen bed for a king! |
Yes ours is crated at night. She likes it and feels secure there with her "blankie" and her "friends" - Buddha Buddy and Weasel Boy. If we left her out all night she'd eat the walls.......  |
| I crated my 8 week old when he came home to me. It was tough for the first week. Make sure you get him used to the crate when he comes home right away. Bentley hated it the first week. He is better now and sleeps all night. I use treats to get him to go in by himself. I also bought a heart beat pillow for at night. During the day I give him a kong filled with treats that they sell for them so he can play with that. He's only in there during the day for about an hour.
It is much better for them to be ssfe. I started in the bedroom but had to move him to the kitchen since at 12 weeks he was too heavy to bring down stairs and would pee if I let him walk down the stairs. Good luck! |
| Hudson was crated at night at first, but since we work and he had to be crated during the day, my goal was to get him trustworthy overnight as soon as possible. That took several months, but the crate was in the bedroom, so he started thinking of it as "den" right away. We then moved to having him in the bedroom at night with the door closed. He did fine.
He didn't get to be out of his crate during the day until much later. He's a crazy chewer (and swallower) so it wasn't worth the risk. Since I am a light sleeper I'd hear the very first nibble at night so I could intervene immediately. Now Hudson sleeps in the bedroom, free, and is contained in there during the days while we are at work. He loves watching out the window while we're gone. No accidents and no damage now. Rudy spent his first night in his crate, but it is SO HUGE that I wasn't enjoying having it in the bedroom. Also, he'd get snarly when he was crated and Hudson would come by so I didn't want that continuing. Now his crate is in the livingroom, where he has a whole wall of windows looking out to the backyard. Rudy's only crated while we are out or at work. Hudson still stays free in the bedroom. Rudy's been doing well overnight "free" in the bedroom. If I wake up and he does too I'll just take him out. In the last six days there's been one accident at night. (Three if you count the two times Sir Rudy the Klutz stepped in his water bowl in the dark and sent it flying.) |
| i hope thats the case that rudy stepped in it.
i discovered nico dumping his after thinking the same. he wanted fresh so he'd dump it. we had a discussion about this. |
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