Are cages for dogs a form of cruelty? (breeder, ears, home)
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And I don't need reps to tell me that killing a dog because it will be alone for a little is a terrible, terrible thing.
I never said that it was ok. Frankly, I'm one of the last people you should be directing that comment to. You have no idea what I have done, how much time I have spent, or how much money I have spent to support no-kill rescue efforts. Putting that aside, let me just ask you a question.
Do you think it is right for a dog to be in a cage all day long because someone simply refuses to train it properly so that it can safely be home alone while the owner is at work?
Please just answer the question directly. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Stockholm Syndrome is by now a well known disorder in humans. It appears that other animals are also susceptible to it.
Those of you who say your dog loves the crate should look that one up.
Also, the owners of dogs who beg to be crated, why not let the crate door open all the time and the dog can still just come and go as it pleases without feeling psychologically diminished?
reps to jifwittle and goldengrain!!! site won't let me give you more reps.
I belong to a breed specific dog site and a subject that comes up all the time is about dogs
escaping from their crates and how to keep them locked in there securely!
or dogs crying all nite in their crates!
as far as locking dogs up in their crates at nite, why? if they are harmless during the day they will certaintly be harmless loose in the house at nite.
a crate is not cruel if used correctly as a tool to house train a pup or adult dog that is new to the rules of indoor living. the goal should always be to fade the crate away asap.
I never said that it was ok. Frankly, I'm one of the last people you should be directing that comment to. You have no idea what I have done, how much time I have spent, or how much money I have spent to support no-kill rescue efforts. Putting that aside, let me just ask you a question.
Do you think it is right for a dog to be in a cage all day long because someone simply refuses to train it properly so that it can safely be home alone while the owner is at work?
Please just answer the question directly. Nothing more, nothing less.
No, it is not right, but a better alternative is not to kill the animal.
Now answer this question, and answer it directly. Do you think a better alternative is to kill that dog?
I looked up Stockholm Syndrome since I am one of those owners that finds crate training a great tool. Here is what I found:
Stockholm Syndrome is a well-documented paradoxical phenomenon in which (human) hostages come to express empathy for their captors, and may even support them after release. There are a variety of psychological explanations for this, most of which revolve around a dependency for the captor that develops in the hostage some time after capture. Most dogs are undoubtedly psychologically dependent on their owners, but there, I think, the similarity ends. First of all, only about a quarter of human hostages exhibit signs of the Syndrome – the rest continue to express the negative feelings toward their captors that the rest of us would think of as logical. Second, being taken hostage is a highly traumatic and stressful experience, and it is thought that any reduction in this acute stress as the hostage situation progresses is an important trigger for the subsequent dependency. If dogs were prone to Stockholm Syndrome, then we might see hyper-dependency developing in dogs that are rehomed when adult – my research has shown that many dogs’ stress hormones go temporarily sky-high during rescue and rehoming. However (and contrary to some reports) there is no evidence that rehomed dogs, once they have settled in their new households, are any more likely to become over-dependent than dogs that stay with the same family all their lives.
Also, the owners of dogs who beg to be crated, why not let the crate door open all the time and the dog can still just come and go as it pleases without feeling psychologically diminished?
When left out all night ( which she is at times), our dog seems to stay "on duty" or "on alert". She does a lot of pacing and does her rounds frequently and lets us know when the deer or bear are in the area. My take on her behavior is that at just 1 year old, the nights sounds and visitors keep her from truly relaxing if she considers herself "on duty"to protect her home and us. Her crate is in the finished basement which is much quieter then the other floors and once there, she considers herself done for the day and sleeps soundly, snoring frequently.
I understand why it a crate does not work for every dog but it does work for mine. I see no evil in it if used correctly. The OP was less about crate training and more about just using a cage. There was not mention about the length of time. I don't think there is one answer...I think it depends on the situation and the specific dog. I think we can all agree that keeping a dog kenneled for an extended time is not the ideal situation. I have had dogs that would have gone bananas if left in a crate for 9 hours and I have had dogs that I swear did not move a muscle while I was at work so sleeping in a crate would have been much the same as sleeping on the couch. All dogs are not the same.
^^^Perfect answer. I think you covered everything.
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