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We have crate trained our dog from the moment we brought him home. We always had a blanket on the bottom of the crate, and we cover him at night so he doesn't get any unnecessary light going into his cage. When he is tired, he will actually go to his crate and bury his head in the blanket, so I think it became his preference. When we do have him in the bed with us, he buries himself in the sheets and gives himself a small amount of space.
If a dog lived full time in a small cage and never got out, that would be unkind. But that is not how a dog crate is used and that's not how crate training is done. The people who make the effort to learn how to use a crate tend to be the best kind of dog parents. They care about their dogs behavior and about their dogs safety and they are willing to invest their time and effort to learn.
Dog crates save lives. In the car, they are the dog's seat belt and can save the dog's life in a crash.
They save lives in the home, too. I worked a job where my office was inside a huge humane society. A hundred dog runs, 3-4 dogs in a run, and dead dog bodies filling 6-8 55 gallon barrels hauled out twice a week. Every day I walked through the kennels looking for dogs I knew, dogs I could place, dogs that a rescue would take. I read all the paperwork. Almost without exception, owner surrendered dogs were not house trained. They piddled and once they grew past the cute puppy stage and entered the wild and destructive teenage stage, they were dumped at the pound.
Once they came through the doors, they were a dead dog walking. All the animal controll officers, all the volunters, all the humane society employees worked their butts off trying to find homes, and still thousands of good dogs died.
If the owners who gave those dogs up had learned how to use a crate to teach their dog, the dog wouldn't have fouled the house, stolen off the counters, or ripped up the sofa. The dog wouldn't have been surrendered to the pound, and the dog wouldn't have been put to sleep.
We have a crate - with the door removed - that one of our dogs hangs out in all the time. The opening faces the rest of the room and has a nice thick bed in there. That's where he naps throughout the day and evening, and he is able to see the whole open area from that spot.
Our other dog HATES crates (and chewed his way out of one), so we don't crate him. However, he can be destructive due to separation anxiety, so we have to keep him tethered. He has a 10 foot line in the same room as the other dogs crate, so that he can see everything and walk around, but he's not able to go more than 10 feet. We have to remember to clear off the coffee table in that room because if we don't we'll come home to find something destroyed. A remote control, a magazine, an in-progress 1000-piece puzzle with a few dozen pieces now missing, a shoe that we didn't see under the table...
But no, I do not believe crates - when used properly - are cruel.
Continued: I would speak to people with problem dogs. Often the owner was at his wits end and ready to give the dog up. I'd explain how to crate train the dog and how to train the bad behavior away. Checking back a month later the owner would be so proud of their good dog, not believing that they almost gave up on the dog. Another life saved.
Our peke readily goes to his kennel if he sees we are getting ready to go out....(we are retired and he's never
left in his kennel for a long time)...he goes to bed in his kennel and gets antsy if it's past eleven and neither of us
is going to bed yet, his kennel is in our bedroom. Our last peke could be left to roam the house, day or night,
but this guy will look for something to chew, and swallow, if he's not put in the kennel while we aren't home.
Juno loves her crate. It's never, EVER used for punishment. That's her room. It's full of pillows and toys, and has a nice thick blanket over everything but the front, so she has a nice little den. She puts herself to bed in it. I never close the door, and if I have to for some reason, she's cool with it because that's her spot.
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