Changing from crate to bed

[bowbear]

Looking for some wisdom on how to de crate. Our 9mth old pup is crate trained but usually chooses to sleep anywhere but the crate during the day - the nearer to me the better usually. I bought him a bed yesterday and he loves it, he climbed in as soon as it arrived and barely moved all eve. It was the first night he didn't sleep in his crate and everything was fine.

I'm wondering whether to lose the crate completely but it will mean him roaming free when he is left for short periods - our house is small but open plan so can't easily confine him to one room. How did you manage the transition from crate to bed?

I started leaving the crate open when I went out to see what my dog would get up to with unsupervised freedom. I think 9 months might be a bit risky as they are still quite inquisitive at that age and he might get up to destructive mischief. It does depend on his character of course and if you decide to give freedom a try you could start by closing certain doors so he has access to limited areas.
One of my dogs was 3 before I stopped using a crate and the other was just 9 months but she had canine company so was not truly alone.

Thanks Moving, it does feel like a leap of faith and I don't want to give him the opportunity to acquire any bad habits, he's not averse to a bit of chewing at times and I'm worried this might develop given the opportunity! Unfortunately there aren't any doors to close so it would be a case of buying more stairgates which I'd rather not do as the space feels small and cluttered enough as it is. May have to just try leaving him out for short periods like the school run and see how we go....

If he is s chewer he will chew when left alone without being in a crate - is it worth the worry?

Can he have the new bed in the crate and have the best of both worlds?

Ours started being unhappy with his crate at about the same age, so we tried him a night and he never went back in.
He wasn't a chewer , and generally slept at the bottom of the stairs from then on.

9months sounds a bit risky if he is a chewer given likely electrical cords, soft furnishings. Ours was crated for a few years and had his favourite bed in there - but it was also the place he chose to go for downtime so there was never any dilema for us. Fast forward a decade and at the age of 13 he splits his time between a bed in the open and one under the dining room table that we think he equates to the security of a crate (we no longer have space for the crate)

I'd risk it and see how you get on , we didn't crate ( had a pen for a week ) then used it as a barrier to a small space until house trained and then just left free downstairs and we only ever had one small bit of chewing which was on a bit of a wood on the stairs . Just make sure you have picked up all the tempting chewable things that you can move like shoes/ slippers/ toys / specs and leave him with a filled Kong / bionic ( my dog doesn't like kongs) .I think if you have a rampant chewer they will do it even when you are in so you would probably know by now , my mum had a mastiff / ridgeback mix and he used to eat the oven housing whilst you were in the house ( he wasn't shut in the kitchen) and he never grew out of it .

Thank you for the words of experience. I think you're right that the crate gives us all that peace of mind. He nibbled through some christmas lights over the holidays - thank fully not plugged in! So wires are definitely something we'd have to be very careful about. I think I'll keep the bed for when I'm here with him (it would be a bit of a squash to put it in the crate) and continue with the crate overnight and while I'm out for the time being.
Cheers x