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

I did but it was just used as somewhere safe for them overnight while they were wee.

The crate was right next to my bed then slowly moved to the other side of my bedroom once they slept through reliably.

At about either months old, I started to leave the door open and they slowly moved out by themselves. I then got rid of the crate.

It wasn't used in the day time. There was a crate downstairs with a constant open door but it wasn't used to contain.

We used the crate until about 11 months with our first puppy, he was happy to go in and it was a huge crate but then a dog trainer told us to stop and he was absolutely fine and never chewed a thing.
Our second puppy didn't like the crate and we got rid of it when she was about four months and she slept better at night without it.

I never crated my dog and never felt the need to. He's been absolutely fine when he's had to be crated at the vets or in other people's vehicles.

Imo, lots of people seem to over emphasize the importance of crate training for things like vet visits etc. My non crate trained dog has had no issues with being in a crate at the vets (she loves the vets!) or in the dog walkers van. We have doors/baby gates in the house if she needs to be separated from visitors/workmen.

And I'd say the vast majority of people I know, use a crate for containment purposes. They're not leaving distressed dogs in them crying, but the dogs haven't got free choice to get out.

I have had dogs since I was a child,used my first crate 25 years ago. They were called "indoor kennels" then. Had 2 dogs, quarter acre garden,plus very long walks,lived rurally. One dog,left about 2 hours a week while we were shopping,chewed the (new wooden,) kitchen cabinets,then started on the plaster. Had a friend who bred dogs, she recommended the crate,we left the door open at first, she was adult,and fine with it. Had a Phalane (PTS January at almost 18) he loved his crate,he was tiny,"where is Leo",oh tucked up in his crate in the living room. We crated the dog we have now, now she lays under the dining table in the day, safe space with the wall behind her. Of course it never used to be a "thing",but they have to be contained in a car,30 years ago my DH mid size dog,used to jump from the back seat and get on his lap! I had a seat belt harness originally for Leo,it was very snug,and you never saw him get out of it! One day I had to do an emergency stop,he hit the dashboard. That's when I got the crate,at first he was like Garfield,all 4 pews on the entrance,no way I'm going in there lady,then he realised,ah, going out in the car!

Our last dog was an incredibly chilled Labrador and it would have never occurred to us to have a crate. Then we got a Romanian rescue and realised quickly she needed a safe dark space to hide in sometimes at first. We still didn’t get a crate but built her a nest with boxes, until she got used to us and decided she liked being near us all the time. Then she broke her leg! And we had to get a crate for her safety while she recovered. It’s honestly been brilliant, we had to spend a long time making it positive for her and keeping her calm in it by necessity and now it’s kept in the kitchen and is her den where she can go and chill if she wants to. She still sleeps upstairs with us on a dog bed. We do put her in it for short periods if we go out, she just goes to sleep because she sees it as a safe place. And when she’s being hyper it calms her down really well. Frankly can’t think how we’d have managed without it for this particular dog. All dogs are different!

No. I think it's ridiculous and shows unwillingness to properly train a dog.

I had a crate as a safe space as a puppy. Rarely shut the door. Dog doesn’t choose to go in it now but will happily get in a crate in the car. She’d much rather follow stick with me/ whoever is home and snooze next to them. I think crates are fine as a den etc but not to shut dogs in for hours.

We crated our pug from the first night he came home. Whether the black wire looked the same as his pen he was raised with I’m not sure, but he took to it instantly. It was a godsend and we knew he was safe every night. Never heard a peep or whinge out of him. We’d regularly find piles of toys he’d taken back in to his little ‘bedroom’! He’s nearly two now and not slept in it for at least 8 months, but last week he went to stay with my mum who had the crate and he still got straight in at bedtime with no persuasion!

Mine are crate trained. Their crates have covers and warm fluffy beds on top of memory foam pads. They are never left in them if distressed (we have a baby monitor to.make sure we wake if they need us). Also they are both young whippets who wrestle and play constantly, and they sometimes need a break from each other.. one will harass the other when they want to rest and sometimes the play gets too rough.. thats fine when we are in and can supervise but I wouldn't trust them when we are out... also they work together in naughtiness and destruction and play tug of war with inappropriate items. If they calm down as they get older, I may reveiw things... but at the moment they love their crates and always take themselves off into them when they need down time.. if really tired they bark.at me to shut them in so they can totally switch off 🤷‍♀️

My old boy had a crate. He loved it. Was never locked in but would regularly take himself off to chill in there.

We tried with my girl but she hated it so we never pushed it. She has just had to spend 6 weeks crated/penned and she’s hated every second so I kind of wish we had pursued it when younger and she may have been a bit more used to it/chill about it.

My dog is crate trained. She used to go in it a lot through choice, it was her teenage bedroom, and if anything went missing, it usually turned up in the crate 🤣

She doesn't go in it so much now, but if I need to shut her away for her own benefit, she isn't bothered.

If it's used as a safe space for short periods, it's a useful addition. I don't agree with leaving a dog crated for hours. And get the biggest one you can.

She lives with another dog, her owner runs with her 10k most days, she has endless stuff to do and she's taken to a secure dog field for off lead as well as swimming which she loves

She was rehomed to him (from rescue) partially because of the behaviour
So she's either PTS, left at risk of eating something or while he/I am out the house for an hour, she sleeps in her bed in a crate. She's never left in there for hours on end

I know happy dogs don't snap, I'm saying that if a dog is in an environment possibly with a toddler say that's allowed to pester them, it's good to have a space they can put themselves in which might prevent an accident
(Yes ideally the toddler wouldn't be allowed but not every dog has a perfect home)

Exactly!!!

This is everything that's wrong with people crating dogs allegedly "for their comfort". They lock them in and leave the house. The dog hs no option to leave the crate for hours. It's just cruel. I've never crated any of my dogs and they just sleep on the sofa whilst I'm out, but they can get up, wander around a bit, have a drink, change places where they sleep etc.

Both mine are crate trained. It keeps them safe when young and in my opinion is super useful should they ever need to go to kennels or stay overnight at vets. They’re 7 and 2 now and have free range of the house, the younger one sleeps on our bed, older one prefers the sofa. Both happily stay in kennels when we go away and crate if ever needed (little one has an injury where he needed to be kept crates for a while)

id always crate train if I could.

Maybe the owners who use such practices should be forced to sit in them for long periods of time, see how enriching they are. They are nothing more than mini prisons, good for lazy dog owners but form of torture for dogs. Dogs are meant to run wild and free, not be shackled up, then we wonder why do many dogs have issues.

So many dogs

We've never crated because I don't see the point. But I'm probably on the lax side. My dog goes where she likes (including upstairs) and sleeps on my bed. She doesn't pee in the house.

We had a large playpen for her when she was a puppy, which we left her in with toys/ treats etc when we went out, just so she couldn't find/ chew up anything which might hurt her. When she stopped the chewing phase she was free to go wherever she likes. She's used to being left for a couple of hours and is fine with that.

When she gets a bit scared (just Firework night), or she's a bit cold in Winter, she goes under the duvet!

Totally disingenuous. Obviously a cage with a door OPEN is a safe cosy den. It's basically a covered dog bed. Of course I'm referring to closed ones.🙄