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Old 03-26-2007, 03:22 AM
 
Location: in the southwest
13,396 posts, read 44,936,096 times
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When we were much younger, we got our first puppy as a couple.
We thought crating her would be cruel and we never did it.
Looking back, I realize now that so many problems that we had (housetraining, chewing) with her would have been avoided if we had simply crated her.
Things turned out fine, she chased tennis balls until she was almost 15, but after that, we learned to crate. We have crated every puppy since then.
I do not consider crating cruel at all, but of course no dog should be in there all day or all night. A dog that gets enough exercise, training and attention has no problem with a crate.
A crate should be large enough for the puppy to turn around in (we had to buy the biggest kind) yet it should not be too big--or else they'll pee in it.
We kept our dog in there when we were out of the house, for approximately the first 18 months of its life. It was their den, they'd go in there on their own for a snooze. When our dogs were closing in on age 2, their berserko puppy days were over and the crate was so humungous we dismantled it.
Another breed, perhaps a Lab, might benefit a bit longer from the crate.
Or perhaps the crate would *always* be used just as a dog bed.
Crate Training A Dog
What about y'all? Have you used crates?
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Old 03-26-2007, 03:38 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,804,104 times
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I think crating is a good tool, when the dog needs it. I thought about crating mine, but decided against it when he proved to be "trustworthy"... I leave him the run of the house every day (up to 8-10 hours), and he's never destroyed anything or gone potty inside! He also has a dog-door to the yard, but even if I lock it up, he'll never have an accident. Guess I just got lucky, though I totally understand that some dogs should be crated... my best friend confines her malte-poos in a small laundry room, since they're too small & crazy to be alone in the house. So for her it works to keep them locked up, but my Rudy just doesn't require it. I think he sleeps all day anyway, probably on my bed, or outside when it's sunny. And that's my two cents on the issue.
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Old 03-26-2007, 04:57 AM
 
661 posts, read 2,890,076 times
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I use a crate for puppy training until the dog is ready to have the run of the house. Usually that's around 5-6 months more or less, depending on the dog.

I've tried leaving it set up in case they want to use it for a cave, but so far no one has.

I never had much use for them until we got our Golden pup. He was amazingly creative. I've never had a dog rip up vinyl flooring or chew into sheetrock. He went in the crate any time I had to go out. He caught on quicker than any dog I've had - he was four months when he started getting run of the house and completely reliable at six months. I was sold on crating for training.

I think puppies need a crate to get away from noise and stimulation. They love their crate when they're little, but as they come into the house they show less interest in it. Especially after they discover beds and couches.
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Old 03-26-2007, 09:08 AM
 
Location: Tejas
7,599 posts, read 18,371,967 times
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I think crates are good. My dog spends the night in the crate and hes slowly crapping less if at all in the crate, he runs out the door first thing. We got a $100 crate so its big enough for a puppy by far, when he stopps doing the deed in the house he can sleep in the living room at night. Im all for it.
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Old 03-26-2007, 04:59 PM
 
7,079 posts, read 37,880,627 times
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Crating is wonderful. But many don't realize that crate training is a PROCESS, that you can't just put the puppy in a crate and shut the door.

These are EXCELLENT threads for those who want to crate train:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/crate_training.html (broken link)

And

http://www.finchester.org/dogs/dog_d...-training.html
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Old 03-26-2007, 05:08 PM
 
389 posts, read 3,534,795 times
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Crating is one of those things that's totally up to the owner. I never crated my dogs, but when we got our second one as a puppy, I used a baby gate to confine him to a large bathroom at first and gradaully, he gained more and more access until he had the whole house. Now they both roam free throughout the house. I just never saw the need to crate them...it just wasn't necessary for us. I have several friends who do crate their dogs mainly because of behavioral things. I don't see anything wrong with the crate as long as it is used as a training tool and NEVER as punishment. The crate should be the dogs safe place (like your bedroom when you were a kid) and if the crate training is done correctly, and it is never used to punish a dog like a time out, I think most people find that their dogs will go in and nap or get away from certain things (one of my friends dogs knows he's safe from all the little kids in the house poking and proding him, so when he gets tired if he just goes to his crate)

If done correctly and humanely, crating can be a very helpful thing.
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Old 03-26-2007, 05:39 PM
 
262 posts, read 1,230,394 times
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We crated our lab when she was a pup and found that when we put the crate "away", she found it and used it voluntarily. Now she's 4 years old and I still find her in it occassionally. Last time she used it, she was sick. I think it was comforting for her.
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