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Earlier this week our dog had eaten the wrong food and got sick. My wife went to quick run an errand and put the dog in his cage. While she was gone, instead of having an accident in his cage, he managed to fold in the front part of his cage to get out. Last night we went out got back and he got out again, mostly my fault I didn't lock in the tabs on the top. Here's where I'm conflicted, one one hand I want him to stay in his cage when we are gone, but on the other hand i wonder if there was a real emergency, and now he can't get out.
A crate is designed to keep them contained. You either need to get a new one if this one is "folding"? or keep him contained in a designated room in your house. He could get trapped in the folding part and it could either hurt him or kill him.
If there is an emergency, you know where he is. You can grab the crate and run out of your house.
BTW, never leave a collar on a dog when you crate them. My friend's puppy hung himself on the door mechanism. She was devastated.
was he in some kind of soft crate? Get him a hard-sided crate (no wire) so he can feel like he's in a den. My kelpie HATES that kind of crate, but my Catahoula was only comfortable in that kind of crate. Wire crates made him feel exposed.
The idea is to keep them in the crate. If they get sick, hopefully you're not leaving them so long they'll be sitting in the mess for that long.
Does your dog do damage or potty in the house while you are out? If not why the crate when you go out? My dogs are crate trained but as soon as I can trust them when I am out they have full run of the house.
was he in some kind of soft crate? Get him a hard-sided crate (no wire) so he can feel like he's in a den. My kelpie HATES that kind of crate, but my Catahoula was only comfortable in that kind of crate. Wire crates made him feel exposed.
The idea is to keep them in the crate. If they get sick, hopefully you're not leaving them so long they'll be sitting in the mess for that long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dashdog
Does your dog do damage or potty in the house while you are out? If not why the crate when you go out? My dogs are crate trained but as soon as I can trust them when I am out they have full run of the house.
He is in a wire cage with a blanket on top. We didn't keep him in to long when he was sick. The two times it happened my wife wasn't gone much more than an hour.
He doesn't potty or damage, other than getting into some food, and the garbage every once and a while.
It's too hard to give advice without knowing a lot more information. My first thought was perhaps too harsh, because I don't know everything. But, I had to wonder why you got a dog if you don't have time to be with the dog, or take the dog with you.
I wonder how much exercise the dog is getting, and if you just put the dog in a cage whenever you want to go out, without making sure the dog has gotten lots of attention or exercise, etc.
I believe in crate training, but I also don't believe in keeping a dog around, if 99 percent of the time you expect that dog to be fine being alone and in a crate.
So, without knowing a lot more info, I can't give advice.
He is in a wire cage with a blanket on top. We didn't keep him in to long when he was sick. The two times it happened my wife wasn't gone much more than an hour.
He doesn't potty or damage, other than getting into some food, and the garbage every once and a while.
This is all my dog did and hopefully it's as easy for you as it was for me. She only went after high-value things in the trash. So, I didn't put those in the trash. This dog considers way more to be high-value. Even a napkin with a trace of food smell. So everything like that goes into a can she cannot reach and she leaves regular trash alone.
If she got into all trash, for me, it is better to make all trash inaccessible so she can have the run of the house. I abhor crates. I buckled for a baby puppy, as I feared that she would put God knows what into her mouth unsupervised, but to me that is the only function of a crate. A puppy. For an adult dog I seek any alternative, including my bedroom as a giant crate.
I'm a little confused about the situation, or the question?
If your dog was able to get out of a metal crate, it should be thrown away, and the same type of crate should never be used again. Even if it was your fault for not closing properly, I am guessing the dog will still try to get out.
I have heard stories over the past few years about find their dogs dead, or dying after making their way out of metal crates. I've never had the problem, but if I did out they would go.
If there was a real emergency you do not want him to get out. That must be where I am confused. Trying to imagine what type of emergency would there be, that you really wanted him to get out of the crate?
If he is old enough, and it wouldn't freak him out I might transition him to the laundry room or a bathroom in short situations, instead of the crate, especially if you think he might be sick.
Nothing much worse for everyone than a dog who has been sick and sitting in it in the crate. Cleaning the crate AND the dog, yuck.
Earlier this week our dog had eaten the wrong food and got sick. My wife went to quick run an errand and put the dog in his cage. While she was gone, instead of having an accident in his cage, he managed to fold in the front part of his cage to get out. Last night we went out got back and he got out again, mostly my fault I didn't lock in the tabs on the top. Here's where I'm conflicted, one one hand I want him to stay in his cage when we are gone, but on the other hand i wonder if there was a real emergency, and now he can't get out.
I don't believe in crates, except in emergencies or for very short periods of time. I crated my dog years ago a couple of times for a special reason, and I regretted it. She permanently damaged a tooth trying to get out.
Is your dog not house trained? Do you have carpet? Is it a puppy? Does he chew things up? If your dog is trained, esp if you don't have carpet, it should be safe to keep your dog in a room w/the door closed. I let mine usually have the run of the house. If you close him in a doggie proof room, that will give him a sense of space and freedom, making for a contented dog. Leave the radio on for him. This distracts from outside noises & the voices give him company.
Now that my one dog is getting old, I close her in the large bathroom, if I leave for more than a few minutes. Just in case she gets diarrhea or something. She's very well trained, but senior dogs can have accidents & they don't have as much control as when they're young.
But mine didn't chew things up, once they passed the puppy stage.
Some people crate their dogs at night, so they don't roam and have accidents or get in trouble. I've always let my dogs sleep anywhere they want (they usu. choose to sleep in my bed). But now that my remaining dog is old, she still sleeps in my room (anywhere she wants...she has her own bed, or she can sleep w/me....she also has a small bed in my master bath). But I now close my bedroom door, so she doesn't have an accident outside of my room. When she gets older, I'll probably start closing her up in the master bath at night. She hates crates but likes the bathroom. And she can hear the tv going in the bedroom (I leave it on all night), so she'll know she's not alone. The bathroom is large & doggie proof.
Sounds as if your pup isn't fully crate trained and doesn't like being in there. Escape during an emergency sounds like a good idea, for people. Your pup should not be allowed to escape because he's not capable of deciding what is a true emergency.
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