Crating a Dog

[Flyippity123]

Wanted to ask if you crate trained your dog or not? So my AIBU is...

Is it unreasonable to crate a dog!?

So much controversy around it and I'm really undecided on what to do, just like every area of his training

No crate here.
My dog never needed one.. chilled from a puppy and never destructive.
I can understand that it's useful for if they ever need surgery but otherwise, no.
It's a cage and I don't like cages.
My girl sleeps in her bed at the foot of ours and has free rein in the house.

What if you've got a dog that chews though? I dog sit for a husky, she is crated if I go out to the supermarket or something
She will literally chew kitchen doors, shoes, wires, anything if left loose and has had to be taken to the vet before for operations to remove items

She's not always crated at home as she has an outdoor area (garden plus furniture plus heated kennel) but if she's inside...

I don't think they should ever be used as punishment but it's a great safe space if you have children and a rule of don't disturb the dog in their pen/crate. The dog can get away somewhere safe if frustrated or tired and isn't as likely to snap because they can't get away from the thing that's annoying them

At night I dont during the day.

This is the thing, you see a crate as a cage whereas a dog sees it as a comfortable, place of safety. Anthropomorphism is when we attribute human reactions and feelings to animals and I believe that’s what happens when someone talks about “putting dogs in cages”.

I think it’s cruel. It will feel the same as it would be to us being put in a cage

That sounds so lovely!

Not at all, it's like having their own safe and secure bedroom. Not cruel in the slightest.

I absolutely disagree. They are shut in an enclosed space with little room that they cannot get out of. We can choose to leave a bedroom at any time. Cages are prisons.

I think I have more empathy since experiencing being in a police cell

With the door open, maybe. With it shut, it is trapped in a cage. Actually potentially terrifying for it and alien to any animal.

Why are you assuming it's locked?

I've never shut a crate door. It's a great little den for dogs, especially anxious ones. I've looked after dogs for decades and rehabilitated hundreds of foster dogs. Some dogs suit having a crate, others don't. Their choice.

Trained to be a great place from being a puppy is a great idea as it's a safe space.

So you're daft to assume a crate is a 'prison'.

I don't like them personally and never used them. Let's be honest now it might be called a crate but in reality it's a cage and dogs don't belong in cages.

To make people who use them feel better about them.

Crating CAN be great, but you need to approach it in the right way.

Do t use the crate as a punishment/time-out for bad behaviour.

Don't expect your puppy/dog to take to it straight away. Read up on positive crate training.

If possible, especially to begin with, site the crate within a room that you can also close off if needed (utility, etc).

On recommendation from a dog behaviourist, I enclosed my girl’s crate. I bought a couple of packs of blackout lining from The Range and used them to cover all sides apart from the entry side. This was so that, when in there, she wasn’t distracted/alerted by activity going on outside the window etc. No distractions meant that she didn’t feel the need to bark at passers-by etc - she had a calming safe space.

She had the run of downstairs, but would happily toddle off to her crate when she felt like it. I was “lucky” that it was in a room that I could gate off, but she was ok with that. I never actually shut the door of the crate, but k ew she was still “contained”.

There will be lots of info online re crate training. The most basic is to build it up slowly re time in the crate. Another is to reward your pup/dog for going in. Always make sure they have a high level treat/chew/toy when going in. Do not lavish them with praise/affection when they come out. They need to associate their reward/treat with being in there, not with being let out. Have a look at (age appropriate) antler bones - they don’t rot, last ages and alleviate boredom as something pretty non-destructive to chew.

Also, make sure you get the right size of crate. They need to be able to comfortably standup, turn around etc. my girl was a giant breed, had to ensure that she felt comfortable within it.

If you have a pup and are considering crating in line with toilet training, I’d say don’t - or research very carefully how you do so. You can’t expect to shut a pup in overnight hoping that it won’t soil itself. They have no control over their bodily function until they start to mature a bit. So, for toilet training, you need to research toilet training methods and bear with them - a crate is not the answer for that.

A crate really can be a great, safe space for a dog - one that it takes itself off to willingly when it wants to. But you need to put the time and effort into making it this way - you can’t just pop them in there and expect them to be ok with it.

@Bonfire23
A happy contented dog with a good life won't snap at people. The reason why the Husky you dog sit for is chewing and tearing things up is because it's bored to the point of insanity.
Huskies need a pack, they cannot be happily raised alone, they also need atleast 3 hours of off lead running and exploring. They shouldn't ever be locked up in a cage.

I’m the soppiest animal lover ever. I hate seeing animals in cages etc.

I think part of the problem is that a) people obviously love their pets and b) they associate crating with some of the awful images you see of dogs kept in actual cages in puppy mills etc.

There is NO WAY I would want a pet of mine caged. To feel like they’re trapped etc. But establishing a crate set-up that makes them feel safe, is their own space they can head to when they want - I would definitely do it again if I had another dog.

There is a HUGE difference between sensible crating and caging. It’s worlds apart if you do it right.

I am in favour of crate training for puppies but going out and leaving your dog shut in a crate is shocking cruelty to me and that is not what the crate is for, that is just laziness on your part. Your dog needs to be free to leave the crate when he / she wants to, that is, you should be present when they are in the crate.

There are loads of lovely Kennel type dog beds out there. There's no need for a lockable door if it's for 'comfort'

Crate training can be a really good thing, but only when done properly.

That doesn’t mean just shoving a puppy in it though, which is what most people seem to think it is.

This isn't true.

We have an Akita, a Chihuahua and a Romanian rescue mutt. They all have their own crates primarily for feeding safety - the two bigger ones can be very possessive when it comes to food. However, they all go to their crates when they need to take a break from us or each other...yet we've never "properly" crate-trained them. They just choose to be in there; we suspect that the Akita has essentially trained the other two in that regard.

It's important for dogs (particularly primitive breeds) to have the option of a quiet, dark, safe place they can go to get away when they need some alone time.

Mine still uses his crate overnight, I hate it referred to as a cage, it really isn't, it's his safe, cosy den, with a blanket over the top to cut out the light so he doesn't wake up early.
We do shut the door but don't lock it so he can come out if he wants. He never settles unless he's in his crate and sits waiting, just staring at us until we shut his door, he knows what he likes.

I firmly believe (and teach/advise) that all dogs be crate trained so that if they need to be crated - recovery from injury, time spent in the vets, travel, visitors/visiting - they can be without distress.

However crate training means: habituating and positively reinforcing the behaviour of staying in the crate, relaxing in the crate, with time in there gradually built up, with zero desire on the dogs part to come out or frustration that they cannot.

This takes months to achieve for any reasonable duration where you can actually leave the dog crated and do something. It is the gold standard training approach, used by zoo behaviourists to allow for transport of unsedated animals of all sorts of species.

I find a lot of the controversy and outrage over crates is 1/ people say 'crate train' and they mean 'shut the dog in and ignore the dog crying/scrabbling/hurting itself' (and in some cases punishing the dog until it stops doing those things)... and 2/ it means leaving dogs locked in small crates for many hours on end or even all day.

It should never mean those things, ever. Unfortunately in every working day I must spend a good hour or two explaining to multiple people that it does not mean those things and they must not leave their dog crying or howling or barking in their crates (or pens, or behind baby gates or locked in utility rooms or in basements or backyards).

A crate is only a "safe apace" or a "bedroom" if the door is open ans the dog is free to leave. If the door is shut - it's a cage whatever positive spin people put on it.

"safe space"*

I know a lot of people who leave their dogs crated for an hour or two. I wouldn't do it for longer than that. We've used a camera to check and he just sleeps until we return. He's only left after a walk and when fed, toileted etc.. If he was left to roam around even one room he would be chewing all sorts and maybe injure himself. He free roams if people are in the house and we only leave him if we have to - once a month or less. I get that you think it's cruel and won't change your mind but I've not known a dog be distressed by it and it seems safer to me than having him loose in the house.