Is crating necessary?

[vivivienne]

We have a lab puppy joining us next Saturday and we’re all beyond excited! We have a small room behind our kitchen with a sofa and the dog bed and have put a puppy gate up between kitchen and the room. I thought this would be enough but have noticed that most people here have crates and am wondering whether you experienced dog owners think they’re necessary?

[GobblersKnob]

No, but they can be useful. your puppy may or may not be happy about being so far from the rest of the family. A crate means they are in the same room and so may be more relaxed or may be more disturbed and unable to relax.

[ScarletPower]

We have never crated our lab (we tried as a pup but he hated it and cried all the time), and he is fine in the house, but now I am looking for a pet boarder so we can go away, the ones I have tried won't have him if he isn't crate trained as they put them in crates at night so it probably is worth getting your pup used to it.

[harrypotterfan1604]

Every dog is different I didn’t crate train my puppy but we got a rescue dog who came to us crate trained and he really needed it. He was very nervous and it was his safe place. If your going to crate train I do advise doing it from the very beginning ideally

[AlpacaLypse]

The great thing about getting a pup used to a crate from the beginning is that there will be times in the next 12-15 years when the dog being happy to go in a crate will be a godsend. Moving house. Travelling. Going to vet. Having visitors or tradesmen around who are not dog-friendly. Recovering from illness (and unless you've got a cracker and intend to breed) there will be a neutering operation in a year or two. The closed-off space you're creating will fulfil some of these functions of course.

[BrownOwlknowsbest]

No, I don't think they are necessary although many people do find them a convenient place to put their dog. I've had 4 dogs over the last 50 years and never owned a crate. As long as your room is warm enough for the new puppy it should be fine.

[dudsville]

We've nevee crated, but everyone in the house needs to understand when diffs need their own space. Ours have what we call "caves", spaces under tables, coffee tables, behind chairs, in corners, and we know to leave them be when they go there. Our home isn't open plan so we can also shut them out of rooms we don't want them in (for us that's only when its useful for keeping them safe, otherwise they roam the house with us!).

[BiteyShark]

I used a crate up to the age of 1. It allowed me to be sure he was safe so he couldn't chew things he shouldn't or hurt himself. I used it when we had workmen in and needed all the doors open so he could still be with us and watch. However, the crate was the largest I could buy as I wanted it as a safe area rather than being 'just big enough' for toilet training etc.

Some people don't like crates. Don't use one if you don't want to but don't automatically discount some of their benefits.

[Tumbleweed101]

It depends on how much space you have too. They could take up a fair bit of room.

I’ve not really used them and never found it a problem. I have used puppy pens during the first couple months though for night time and when going out to ensure pup was safe and house wasn’t going to too trashed!

[CarolDanvers]

For me it is, yes. All my dogs have been reliably house trained by 2-3 weeks using crate training so yes, I would always use it.

[vivivienne]

And a second question- did you all get up regularly during the night to let your puppy out to pee?

[CarolDanvers]

I did at first but he just wouldn’t go and just dicked around in the garden . So back in the crate and then he’d hold it till the morning. I was lucky though, I do realise that. The key is getting them used to it ASAP. So introduce them to the crate the first night. My breeder had already used one so it worked well for us.

[Ginger153]

My dog wasn't crate trained until he had major surgery last year. Two months rest was needed and he had to adjust quickly. It only took a few days. Now if I'm travelling with him - e.g. rented house or similar - the crate comes with us and it's his home from home. Also prevents him lifting his leg in a new place and on other people's stuff. It's not a bad thing to get a pup used to it from the start. I'd just make sure you have one that's big enough for him to grow into.

[missbattenburg]

Battendog liked to chew electrical cables so the crate kept him safe from doing so when I wasn't looking.

A few weeks ago I found an extension cable tucked behind the sideboard that he'd taken a chomp out of when his teeth were like needles. He'd broken through the outer casing and it was sat back there with a load of dust and dog hair. God knows how and when he did it, but I hate to think how close we've been to a house fire all these months

[vivivienne]

Ah I feel as if I should go down the crate training route now- just very frustrating as I acted too hastily and have already got a dog bed

[vivivienne]

missbattenburg bet battendog has a multitiude of chew toys as well why are they such lovable nuisances?

[BiteyShark]

Mine had a bed both inside and outside his crate. Buying a dog bed was not a waste.

[missbattenburg]

bet battendog has a multitiude of chew toys as well

His toy box is over flowing. He is known in the wider family as "Dudders" because he has 38 toys and wants 39!

[WineNotTea]

I would crate train if I were you, our dog had TPLO surgery recently and is on 10 weeks crate rest, she’s more than happy in her crate but she was crate trained as a young pup, albeit once she was used to the crate and fully housetrained she hasn’t actually used it, until now.

[Babygrey7]

We never used a cage (crate) for our dog

Hate seeing animals in cages....

[adaline]

We never crate trained ours and he's one next month. We took him out during the night to pee when he was young and woke us if he needed to go. He was dry in the house at four months and at night by five.

[WineNotTea]

Just to add that the bed may not be a waste of money, we bought our pups beds and they then go inside the crate, the bed takes up 50% of the floor space of the crate.
Good luck with the new pup, no wonder you are excited, pups are adorable (and a right pain the arras as well )

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Generations of family dogs here were raised without crates. DDog came as an adult rescue and almost totally untrained. We've never used a crate but following the idea that they like a dark crate I found a big cardboard box, cut a dog sized hole in it and put his bed inside. He immediately dragged his bed out and never went inside it again.

The downside to this is that I doubt he will cope if / when he has to have vet treatment in future. I suspect he will end up needing to be partially sedated or something just so that he's out of it.

Crates work for some people and dogs, but I think they become very problematic when the dog is shut inside for more than occasional brief periods. I suspect there are more dogs than people realise who are shut inside a crate all day while owners are out at work; it becomes a crutch to make up for other deficiencies and avoid having to actually sort the problem out. In those circumstances, it's just a dog cage - and my hamster has a bigger cage than many of the dog crates on sale.

[Pringle89]

Our pup is 14 weeks and the crate has been a life saver (although I appreciate not all dogs like them) we slept with him in his bed next to us on the sofa for a couple of nights, then put the bed in the crate but with the door open, then a couple of nights with door shut and then we left him downstairs. To begin with we let him to the toilet out when he stirred, then when we were upstairs we set an alarm for a while to let him out and now at 14 weeks he sleeps 10-6 in his crate.

I do think it helps teach them to hold it as they instinctively don’t want to mess their bed - my friends puppy who isn’t crate trained but 2 months older still wees/poops on the floor downstairs all night.

He now loves his crate and goes in to sleep during the day - going in awake when I need him too thought is not going so well 😂

[Snugglepiggy]

Of course crates shouldn't be used as a substitute for training,and no dog should be left in them for hours.But if ever there was a reason for keeping a dog safe this is one.This week one of my customers went out for a short while and their lovely but exuberant 10 month old puppy jumped up -he is a biggish breed and often when I collect him he has had his paws up and grabbed something from the side- and knocked the gas on and the hob had ignited.He had also knocked something left on the side which caught light.They returned to a house full of smoke,wooden worktop alight and the terrified dog fled as they opened the door and when found 2 hours later needed sedating.The whole house would have burnt down ,dog included if they had returned any later.
On a separate occadion I've walked into a room full of gas as hob knocked on.And a flooded kitchen as a dog had been on the tops and knocked a tap on and the plug was in.
Of course these are extremes.All our family dogs have been crate trained .We don't use them now day to day as our dogs are older but certainly for younger dogs they can be a danger to themselves,and it's amazing what they can find to eat or get up to mischief with.

[vivivienne]

snugglepiggy that sounds terrible, so frightening! But I don’t think a crate would help me for those types of situations as I wouldn’t be putting puppy in it apart from in the night- of course it would be open and available if she wanted to go into it throughout the day
However, crate training is something relatively new (it wasn’t as mainstream before I mean) and just don’t know- lots of dogs have been perfectly well trained without it