To consider using a crate for puppy

[Barnybrown]

We are buying a miniature golden doodle puppy who will join our family in March. We lost our much loved 16 year old dog just after Christmas and never used a crate for him - he was just given the run of the house. A few people have recommended using a crate with the puppy but I feel reluctant- I don’t like the idea of putting him in a cage. Can you share your experience of using a crate - was it good for the puppy ?

We've got a crate, which our puppy uses as his safe space. He goes on there whilst we eat dinner, takes himself off there for naps during the day and sleeps in there through choice during the night (the door is open overnight but he seems to like it in there)

Might be worth moving this thread over to the doghouse section.

Ooh I didn’t know there was a doghouse section - thank you!

You will get lots of replies from both sides on here. We have a 5mth old poodle x. I had forgotten how tiring and full on a pup can be! We tried a crate early on, and clearly either didn't do it correctly or enforce it enough. She would cry, jump up in it and scratch the sides to get out. She would get so frantic and hysterical.

We are managing well without, but she doesn't have the run of the place! That would be a disaster. Even the area she can go in- we have to ensure absolutely everything is put away or too high for her. I do wish sometimes we had pursued crate training, but she sleeps 8hrs at night which is amazing and doesn't stir if she can see/hear us.

We use a crate for nighttime and when we go out. Meant that when she was toilet training she would wake us up as wouldn’t want to go in her crate, (as before when we didn’t have crate she would just poo or wee on the floor) and when we go out we know she won’t potter round chewing/destroying things she shouldn’t.

I was against the idea of a crate with our pup but eventually had to put him in one at about 4 months as he started acting up then, severe separation anxiety and would chew everything. Was SO good the first couple months then reverted.
It was the best thing for him and he loved it. I had a dog camera so that when I was out the house I could check in on him and it allowed me to hear and speak to him also.

Eventually he didn't need it, he doesn't have one now and I think it was about 6 months max maybe he was in it.

And like @Hairyfriend ours doesn’t have the run of the place because she eats and destroys things she shouldn’t! We have a stairgate stopping her from going upstairs, so we can relax up there with kids toys, stray socks etc whereas downstairs everything has to be well out of reach.

I thoroughly recommend a crate. When they get over tired they get bitey and naughty. It gives them a safe space to sleep and calm down. It's not cruel unless they are put in in it all day

I was a bit wary when we first started using crates, but when they're trained to use the crate from puppies, they really don't mind at all. (I've never tried to crate-train a dog in adulthood, so can't speak to that.)

Our dogs are adults, now, and we still use the crates for specific times (meals, bedtime, when we're away for an hour or two). They're happy enough, even eager sometimes, to jump into their crates. We reward them with treats, so they associate the crates with something pleasant, but as soon as the treat is eaten, they're satisfied to settle down and have a nap. No complaints, as long as they're not left in for too long.

I think the crate has its place to help with training, keeping them calm etc until around a year old when they may decide themselves to be outside the crate

I am positive to the idea of crates, but I get annoyed when I see people say that they lock the dog in the crate when they go out. I don’t think this is correct use of a crate, the dog needs to be able to get out of the crate or at least have somebody to tell when they want to get out. You could go out, get delayed and the dogs ends up stuck in a crate for a lot longer than intended and the crate will become a prison not the safe space it is supposed to be.

I have used crates for both my two dogs, the second one was more agreeable to the crate than the first one was, but it did it’s purpose of assisting with toilet training. It was quite rare for either of them to voluntarily go into the crate during the day but the second dog happily went into the crate every night until he was nearly 18 months old, then we just stopped and let him have the run of the house all the time.

*incorrect use of a crate

Have a crate as a safe space if it's useful but please take the door off, else it is indeed a cage.

I had a crate with a pen attached around it so the door was open to the crate and he had a patio area out the front! So he was still contained but not shut in the small crate space. It took up half my living room but well worth it! I had that set up until he was about two and then I could trust him to roam free in the house. Still have the crate and he pops in there for a nap every now and then. I couldn’t have been comfortable putting him
Just in
The crate without having the door open and the pen around it

I used an old playpen when we got our second dog to give it a bit of peace & quiet away from DDog 1. That worked well the first few weeks. Like with the babies it was a safe place to lay them in when you couldn't be around for whatever reason.

Like most here, we used the crate until the puppy stage was passed. For a few months, we didn't have to close the door anymore, she used it as her den. Eventually she preferred her pillow we kept by the side of the bed, so gave up the crate.

So I think crating is like sleep training babies people feel really strongly about it
In our house, we are half and half and a bit middle of the road.
I do think that caging dogs for wrong and not crating.

We did get one and took the door off to use for our Ddog. We were fairly easy breezy but our girl was clear she HATED it.

we did some training with food but she didn't wnt to be in it and no ount of snuggly blankets enticed her.
We moved it to the side and made a sort of den using a dog bed for her in our pantry and another dog bed in a nook under the stairs (this is the centre of the house so she can snoop on everything from the comfort of bed!)
She made it clear she MUCH preferred these
Over time we have also added dog beds in both our offices with fleecy blankets and she potters about between them as she pleases.

I think it's always a good idea to crate train a dog - if they ever need to go to the vet or to kennels in an emergency then they will more than likely be put in a crate and it can be distressing for a dog if they aren't used to it - when my parents dog had to go to the vet for surgery and was then kept in a crate while she came round and stayed there for a day or two as she had to have IV antibiotics before she came home she was fine with it; when my brothers dog (who isn't crate trained) had to go to the vet for surgery she was super distressed because she wasn't used to being in a confined space. Additionally it's good for if you ever have to have tradesmen or other workers in your house to have somewhere secure you can keep your dog, that they are comfortable with - especially if they're going to be coming and going and there's a risk they may accidentally let the dog out.

My parents dog is 10 and she has a crate in thr utility room that is her safe space. She is never locked in the crate now but she sleeps in there at night and will often take herself off there during the day if there's a lot of activity or she just feels like it (She does have a bed in the living room too to nap on, but sometimes takes herself off to her crate to nap too)

My parents got her as a rescue - she had been dumped at a rescue centre and then adopted out and returned as her new owners couldn't cope with her (she is a border collie cross and in a decade you can take her for a 4 hr hike and she will still bring you a ball to play fetch with when you get home) so she had serious separation anxiety and behaviour issues when my parents got her.

The rescue centre recommended a crate so that when we went out we didn't have to worry about her destroying things in the early days (before we could start working on obedience training) as well as having a safe place for her to be at night, also it meant we could put a piece of clothing in there with our scent on wrapped in a hot water bottle when we went out to try and ease the anxiety and she very quickly realised that when she went into her crate we would be gone for a bit but we would be back soon and half the time when we came back she would be curled up asleep on the hot water bottle/jumper.

As she got older and realised the crate was her safe place we stopped needing to shut the cage at night, instead she could have the run of the utility room but even now when we come down in the morning she's usually still flat out in her bed in her crate.

I have a miniature golden doodle and believed a crate was what you had to use. He hated it and we had various problems until we ditched it at around 5 months. Taking the door off might have helped but honestly he just wanted to be with us.

I’ve never allowed him to sleep with us unless he’s I’ll but he has free reign of the house and doesn’t have a set place to sleep. I depends on your views and lifestyle but works for us. I always thought my dog would never be allowed upstairs. That was before I had a dog that cried when I was away from him.

Try to allow yourself to think flexibly about the whole puppy thing. It’s a lot like having a baby. You can’t really know what you are getting.

Enjoy.😊

We use a crate but our dog has dementia and was struggling at night getting distressed, being locked in the crate has actually stopped this as I think he now feels safe.
They definitely have a place and can help keep your dog and belongs safe

I've never crate trained my dog and he's four now. He has the run of downstairs while we're out and he's never once been destructive.

I suspect it's down to the original dog as much as anything else.

We have one. It’s covered. The dog sleeps in there and goes in there when we eat. We never lock it.

Mine are in separate crates, otherwise they’d be playfighting constantly and chewing through cables. They’re puppies, it’s what they do. The place is puppy proofed, but then they start chewing the corner of the tv cabinet.

It’s a nice safe dark place to pop them in for an hour for a nap. They’re in overnight. It keeps them safe, plus gives the older dog a break. Due to m6 DH’s shifts, they’re rarely in there during the day unless he needs to pop out to the shops. They’re happy to go in, they scamper into the correct crate when I ask them, smart boys.

I've got a 9 month old German Shepherd cross and he's never been caged. It's a pretty new phenomenon and I'm really not sure why it's almost as much as a must have as a collar and lead!!

There's a lot of talk of dogs needing a "safe place" etc but my son put it perfectly when he said, their home with their family is their safe place, why would they need a safe place within their safe place. Makes sense to me!! 😄

Both my dogs are crate trained and it gives them a safe space where they can retreat to. The nearly 2 year old collie has his closed at night as he can’t be trusted with the cat but he is calm and happy, and loves his bed!
The 8 y/o JRT sleeps in hers without the door being closed although it has been closed at night in the past.
At one point we had a crate in the living room for the collie so that he could learn to chill out but that is partly due to the breed - he had to be taught how to be calm and chill.
Crate training can be really positive for your dog and your family - it’s not just a case of locking the dog away

Dogs don’t see a crate as a cage, they see it as their bed and place of safety. We’ve trained three puppies with a crate and we thoroughly recommend them.