Those of you with dogs.

[Reba 2]

We got George as a pup, and got her a crate as soon as we could. I'd never crate trained a dog before, but felt it would be the best thing for us at the time, and boy am I glad we did! She's 4+ years old now, and her crate is her bed. She goes there to sleep, (as well as teh bed in the spare room, the couch upstairs in the living room, the couch downstairs in the den, or my bed...) She goes in there to munch on her treats if she doesn't want Bruno to get them, and she goes in there when she's not feeling well and wants to feel comfy and safe. A crate should be a haven, and den like to a dog, and never used as punishment. If you need to get the dog out of the way when company comes to visit, you should be able to just say "Crate" and dog should go. And close the gate on her way in if she's trained right!

Bruno on the other hand we got when he was about 9 months old and had been a free roamer for most of that short life. We tried to crate train him and he hated it, and he Houdini'd his way out one day and scared the #### out of me! I dunno how he did it, but he got out without opening the latches and withotu completely magling the metal bars. And we bought pretty much The Top Of the Line crate for these guys, considering their size. He was 120 pounds or so at the time, I still haven't figured out how he got out! After that we'd have to put extra latches on his crate until he could be trusted to have free roam of the house when we left. George was already fine to be left alone without having to lock her crate, but Bruno used to hae parties!

After the dog is crate trained and you can trust him/her to be alone in the house without inviting all their friends over for a raukus party and tearing the place apart, THEN you can leave them alone and not have to lock them in. Just leave the gate open on the crate, and chances are that's where you'll find them when you get home, sleeping happily just waiting for you to get in and let them out to pee!

Bruno still has a crate but we don't use it. George's is in the upstairs living room and she uses it all the time. Bruno sticks his head in now and again and then snorts and goes to sleep on the couch

Whenever we get another dog, it will most certainly be crate trained as well as we can. If we happen to get another roamer like Bruno, we'll have to compromise like we did with him. Luckily with Bruno though, he KNEW that the only place he was supposed to pee was outside, because that's all he'd ever known. This inside thing was completely new to him, he didn't like it much at first.

We also have a fenced back yard, with a 6 foot privacy fence. No more roaming.

[MissStacey 1]

There has been so many great responses and for that I thank you all!!

It is still a decision I will think over more. If we do get one it will be kept in our room for him to sleep in. During the day if I have to run errands- the hallway is ideal for him- I move his little bed and toys in there and there is nothing for him to get into.

He starts his puppy training class this week. I will also talk to the trainer there and other puppy owners and get their input.

[wishbone 0]

Crate training is so much helpful, especially to protect your dog from doing things like chewing or something that may hurt himself. But it must not permanent or too much, dog needs exercise.

[rebeccajo 14]

I'd like to add a bit to my doggie's story....

The problems we've had with him are explained to us (by the vet and other 'expert' friends) as being caused by separation anxiety. If you'll remember I wrote how he would normally only pee on the floor if we left him alone. Our vet explained to us that if an animal suffers from this, they literally have no control over what they will do when left alone because they sort of have a 'meltdown'. That is why some animals will become destructive, urinate or deficate when left alone. Their emotions take over their body (brain disengages). Supposedly the behavior happens within 20 minutes of the owner leaving the home.

I really don't know how you can tell if your puppy might have this 'disorder'. I can only guess that our Jasper is this way because his first owner ignored him and kept him outdoors. But if a dog is crate trained from the get-go you never have to worry about it.

Edited March 13, 2008 by rebeccajo

[nin 1]

I'd like to chime in that crate training isn't just for housebreaking and confinement and definately not as a substitute for being with the family.

To train a dog to relax in a crate is useful wether you plan to avoid as many nightly housebreaking accidents as possible during the first few weeks or just plan to use a crate to safely transport your dog in a car, on an airplane or even to bring a relaxing zone with you to a dog trial.

Our dogs aren't cage animals by any means, but they DO know how to behave if crated, just as they know how to behave on leash even if they spend 99.9% of their time without using the skill

[rebeccajo 14]

I'd like to chime in that crate training isn't just for housebreaking and confinement and definately not as a substitute for being with the family.

To train a dog to relax in a crate is useful wether you plan to avoid as many nightly housebreaking accidents as possible during the first few weeks or just plan to use a crate to safely transport your dog in a car, on an airplane or even to bring a relaxing zone with you to a dog trial.

Our dogs aren't cage animals by any means, but they DO know how to behave if crated, just as they know how to behave on leash even if they spend 99.9% of their time without using the skill

Perfect!

[Donna A 4]

i baught a crate for our puppy. we put her in only at night. she really was a good puppy. only chewed her bones..slept on shoes. never chewed the furniture so we got rid of the crate pretty quickly. even it looks ugly in the house so was another good reason to get rid of it. i really dont believe in them but my oldest sister talked me into it. she crates all 3 of her dogs and she feels they enjoy it. like a home inside a home. she said they still will go to their crates for alone time away from the other dogs.

[yogib37 3]

i never have thought much of it. isn't that what a back yard is for?

Thats my thought, i always thought crate training was cruel and sad. My sister does that, the poor puppy is even put in the crate at night so he doesnt pee on the floor. I always thought thats why you let the dog out before you go to bed so he can do his business, and then lay some paper down just incase of an accident. but nooooo....i just dont agree with locking a pet up in anything, a pet needs freedom. i always liked the water bottle spraying as a good training method let them do something wrong, spray them in the face with water, it will get annoying and they will stop peeing on that floor.

well my parents dog is older but if you get out the hose, she gets exicted. I always when I go their spray her with the hose, with a nozzle. she goes crazy

likes to jump up and try to catch the water. :lol: she likes the water.

My parents other dog avoids water. we have to give her a dry bath cause when my father gives her a bath and it happen a few times, she get siezures. I dont know why but we cant do the water with her

[MissStacey 1]

I went and got one this morning. Right now he is sleeping in it. I have it in the living room with his blanket and some of his toys in it. Tonight I will move it to our room- I haven't had him in there with the door shut yet so we will see what happens tonight.

[rebeccajo 14]

I went and got one this morning. Right now he is sleeping in it. I have it in the living room with his blanket and some of his toys in it. Tonight I will move it to our room- I haven't had him in there with the door shut yet so we will see what happens tonight.

He's in there without the door shut? That's really excellent. Sounds like he won't mind it.

I've been told if it's introduced to them as a pup, they think of it as a house or safe place. Other folks have said the same in this thread.

Good luck little puppy dog!

[wizardfitz 13]

I crate trained my bullies. the crate sits in my room right now unused, except when they wan to go in and sleep. i have a fenced in yard i let them out when i am home. they stay out about 15 minutes each time and bark to come back in. i haven't used the crate in years, i just leave it there because it is their "personal place" as it were

[MissStacey 1]

Last night was his first night in it with the door closed. I put him in and he caused quite a fuss for a few minutes and then stopped. I thought "it couldn't be this easy." I looked down and he was out and chewing on Mel's shoe. I didn't close it properly.

I put him back in and closed it- he barked and howled for a while. It was breaking my heart, a few times I considered taking it back to the store. But he did settle down and go to sleep. He was actually so quiet during the night I woke up several times and got worried- until I heard him breathing or shifting and I knew he was ok.

Mel got up at the crack of dawn (as always) took him outside and played with him and put him back in when he left for work. He cried for a few minutes and went to sleep again. I got up before 7 and opened the door- he actually stayed in there for a few more minutes until I left the room and he followed me.

Edited March 14, 2008 by MissStacey

[Flames9_RN 358]

lot of good info on dog training, but one point that i do recall reading from a book, is that the crate should not be too big! Big enough for the dog to stand and turn around,and of course lay down in!! To obig of a crate makes them feel insecure as well they will pee/poo in it!!

[Mark&Steph 0]

Last night was his first night in it with the door closed. I put him in and he caused quite a fuss for a few minutes and then stopped. I thought "it couldn't be this easy." I looked down and he was out and chewing on Mel's shoe. I didn't close it properly.

I put him back in and closed it- he barked and howled for a while. It was breaking my heart, a few times I considered taking it back to the store. But he did settle down and go to sleep. He was actually so quiet during the night I woke up several times and got worried- until I heard him breathing or shifting and I knew he was ok.

Mel got up at the crack of dawn (as always) took him outside and played with him and put him back in when he left for work. He cried for a few minutes and went to sleep again. I got up before 7 and opened the door- he actually stayed in there for a few more minutes until I left the room and he followed me.

Glad he was ok with it. Ours also tend to go back into the crate after they've been let out in the morning. I guess they're not quite ready to wake up yet

One other thing we've done is cover the crate on the top and on three sides. They seem to like it better that way. It's more like a little den for them.

You can get covers designed for the crates, but we just use a bed sheet.

[mawilson 2,133]

Crate Train: