does removing night crate might impact day crate
Mao will be one year old in less than a month. He has never slept outside of his crate yet. However this weekend at the cottage, I let him sleep with the kids in their room (with the door closed) and it worked out just great. I am wondering if, since we keep our room door closed at night, his crate could just be our room, or any room with another human being sleeping in it for that matter. Why I have not done it yet it because I fear that if we remove the night crate upstairs, then he will be even less inclined to get in his day crate (downstairs) when we leave for a few hours or most of day on some weekdays. What I should tell you is that lately he is doing all he can NOT to go in his crate during the day. At night all goes well. Most of the time, on weekdays, I am not the last one to leave and therefore my wife or one of the kids has to put him in his crate, and lately he has given them a hard time, he even tried to bite my daughter. that night when I got home, I have issued the "cage" command and worked with him on getting him to go in his crate by himself. after a few days of practice, he seems to get the message and has been good with the kids when they crated him going to school in the morning. Altough he goes in like walking to the gaz chamber..... Saw that in another post and I just has to use it...... So basicaly I fear that removing the crate at night would be interpreted by Mao that crates are a thing of the past, which he is not ready for yet, at least during the day. Did anyone go through this situation or have advice for me. thanks in advance Mao's dad. Terry |
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| My advise would be "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Maybe continue like you have, sleeping at night in the crate and do whatever you do during the day, they do well on a schedule so what is expected. Maybe try in a few more months having him sleep out of his crate, as he matures things change. Don't feel bad about the dog being in the crate at night, at least you know he's not getting into anything that could hurt him and everyone gets their rest. |
| We stopped crating Mady at night when she was about 6 months old. We still crated her when she was home alone until she was 2 years old. We moved the crate several times and she had no problem. We could have stopped crating her much earlier, and probably would have if we did it again. and... We ARE doing it again! Now with Gracie who's only 3 months, she'll be crated at night and when we're out for a while yet, and like Mady, I am sure we'll leave her uncrated at night around 6 months, and we'll look at leaving her uncrated during the day by 1 year. |
| Funny that you ask this now. Caitlyn turned 8 mos. a week or two ago. For the last couple weeks, Jen and I have been discussing not putting her in her crate at night. Saturday was the first she was free. Providing your definition of free means fenced of in our bed room with access to only the hallway of closed doors. She did better than me. Every time she stirred, I woke up expecting the worst. Thankfully, we found no surprises. So Sunday night we continued this new arrangement with again, no issues. Today, Jen put her in her crate before leaving for work without any problems. I even noticed that today when I got home, she was SITTING and quietly waiting to be let out. Maybe she is growing up a bit. So, I'd say that you should be able to day crate without issues as well. Keep us posted with how it goes. Vance |
| Thanks everyone for the input. We decided to follow up on the cottage experience and do without the crate in the house in the city in our bedroom at night. Mao sleeps like a baby, and does not seem to mind, altough I am 100% certain he appreciates not being confined to his crate at night. In fact he is not sleeping where his crate used to be, but rather right under the window where it is a little cooler. This makes me think we could hire sheepdogs to replace the Hydro guys who charge 150$ or so to tell you where your house is loosing it's heat. Just follow the sheepdog and you will find the cold spots  Anyway, I was not worried that the night routine was gonna go bad, but rather that the removal of the night crate would make the day crate even less attractive. Well, after 6 nights and days, I would say that the day crate routine has not gotten worse. Mao still goes in like he was walking to the gaz chamber, but not more or less than before. So I would say that this is a success. thanks again thierry |
ter4646 wrote: In fact he is not sleeping where his crate used to be, but rather right under the window where it is a little cooler. This makes me think we could hire sheepdogs to replace the Hydro guys who charge 150$ or so to tell you where your house is loosing it's heat. Just follow the sheepdog and you will find the cold spots  |
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