Why has everyone gone crate-tastic?

[Purplecatshopaholic]

I just don’t get it. Never had a dog in a crate when I was a kid - numerous dogs. Would not dream of crating my dog now. Apart from people who sell crates, what on Earth is the attraction??

It's a safe place where kids people know to leave the dog alone, and the dog knows it can get a bit of piece.

I'd love one for myself.

Our dog uses his crate as a safe place. If he is shattered and ready for bed, he goes in and settles himself. It is never used as a punishment.

Managed 4 dpuppies over the past 10 years and never had one!
Wish they had been the craze when ds was a toddler...

For me I saw it as a safe place for her to be at night and when I had to go out.

She loved her crate/den and took herself there every time she wanted to sleep. I kept three sides and the top covered so it was like a little cave.

After I realised that she wasn't going to chew things and hurt herself the door was never closed. She stopped using it at about six months.

I tried it with my pup for a bit but never felt totally comfortable. She was fine but she’d go to her bed just as easily and slept on the older dc’s beds from the first night so I stopped using it pretty soon. I think it’s helpful for people with hyper dogs, or dogs that need a physical containment to feel safe or be kept out of the way, or to sleep not in beds!

Just like lots of other dog related stuff wasn't a 'thing' when I was younger.

E.g. harnesses, training classes, socialisation, dna tests of puppies parents, kongs.... I could go on and on.

Btw the crate for BiteyDog was great whilst he was a puppy as it kept him safe but still with us when we couldn't continuously watch him.

We put it away when he was 1 years old as he was old enough to be safe in any part of the house and didn't eat random household stuff.

I just see this as the same thing some parents use when they want their toddler or baby safe for a bit.

I don’t get it either!

*She loved her crate/den and took herself there every time she wanted to sleep. I kept three sides and the top covered so it was like a little cave.

After I realised that she wasn't going to chew things and hurt herself the door was never closed. She stopped using it at about six months.*

My experience was pretty similar and since then I've realised that it was also good practice for vet trips. Battendog has had a few procedures and having been used to a crate, I suspect might have made being put in one at the vets a bit easier for him.

Ditto muzzle training which we did as a bit of a challenge to "train a behaviour in your dog using only a clicker and not showing them or indicating in any way what you want them to do". It was a bit of fun to train him to voluntarily pop his nose in a muzzle and keep it there. He's currently being treated for a persistent and sore ear infaction which has involved the vet looking down his ear multiple times. He hates it and whilst he has never shown any sign of aggression to humans, he is visible distressed and the vet has preferred to muzzle to be on the safe side. The muzzle itself has been easy because he is already used to one and has previously associated it wih nice things.

Well they like it, it gives them somewhere to retreat to if they need it (especially around children)

It’s useful to keep them from chewing dangerous things while they’re still young.

It’s good for when they have to be confined in one for vets visits as it’s not an extra stress then.

And they’re quite handy if you’ve other pets, or visitors you don’t want them round.

I mean they’re not an absolute essential and you could totally do without one for most dogs... but they have some big pros and as long as they’re introduced and used properly then no cons... so...

I don’t use a crate and wouldn’t however I can see where they would be useful however my concern is that for everyone who uses it appropriately there is someone who abuses it by having a pup/ dog and leaving it in a cage for hours whilst they work etc plus overnight and basically the poor dogs spend more hours in a cage than out .

We always intended to move to a traditional dog bed when our girl grew out of the can’t-be-left-alone-for-10-minutes phase, but she liked it so much it just became her bed. Well, apart from my chair, which is also her bed.
Very handy when we rent holiday cottages too. She would totally sneak up on the furniture or bin-surf at night. The crate folds flat, comes with us and is a familiar place where she can sleep.

“there is someone who abuses it by having a pup/ dog and leaving it in a cage for hours whilst they work etc”

See I don’t think the crate is the issue in that scenario leaving a dog alone all that time with a room to lie in instead isn’t exactly a massive improvement...

Luckily things progress so we move on from what we used to do in the old day (although crates have been used in dog training for 40 odd years)

Crating a dog is a life skill:_

It gives them a place to chill and relax.
It teaches them to relax and to wind down
It helps them to learn impulse control
It helps them to be safe in new environment
All dogs at some time in their life will be crated at the vets this will add relaxation in a stressful situation
Dogs can travel safely in cars whilst crated
It helps them to feel secure in a variety of situations

I’ve had dogs all my life and never used a crate. My dog has free run of all our house. He has his bed, his spot on the sofa, his corners of the house he sleeps in. I’m not sure what the crate is supposed to be for. In my head it’s a cage that the dog gets shut in when the owners are out to stop them roaming about the house.

Crate users - Do you shut the door when the dog is in it? If not then why have one instead of a dog bed?

We crate trained our puppy when they were little and they went in at night and on the rare occasions we needed to leave them for half an hour to go to the shops.

Now it's their safe space that's theirs, when they're tired they take themselves there for a nap, if they want some peace and quiet then they go there.

They can be left alone now with some freedom and it's still fairly likely they return to their crate for time when we are out.

Having a crate isn't an issue. Leaving a puppy alone for extended time frames that's unfair for their age and breed is unfair. That would be true whether it was left alone in a crate or not.

tabulahrasa I’m particularly talking about people who have a dog walker in at lunchtime and think it’s ok for a dog to be in a cage either side of that . Personally I’d be less concerned if a dog had free run of a house so he can wander about , look out of the window / door etc .

When you say left alone, is the dog left alone shut in the crate?

My dog takes himself off to his bed when he is tired, it’s his space. I struggle with the thought of shutting him in.

It's a safe place literally for a couple puppy to not get into trouble but it's also an important life skill. I have seen adult dogs who have never been crate trained and then become injured later in life where crate rest is essential then really struggle and literally bust out of the crate and injure themselves more

I only use when they are puppies and gradually reduce it but both of mine will happily be crated anywhere if needed without being upset

Our dogs sleep in their crate and we put them in them when there’s a need to hit there’s very rarely any need to during the day.

They also have their own purpose built log cabin and are only allowed in the kitchen, not the rest of the house!

I’m not sure what the crate is supposed to be for.

I used ours more for when I was in the house as he went to daycare when I was out for long periods of time.

It was a large crate and I used it when I needed to be sure he was safe when I couldn't supervise. It meant we could have all the doors open in the house if we needed to but he didn't need to be shut behind a door. It meant as a biting chewing puppy we could be sure he wasn't eating something he shouldn't if I couldn't watch him. It gave him an area to calm down and sleep in when he was over tired.

We no longer crate him because there is no need to anymore but I am glad I did at the beginning and would use one again.

“I’m particularly talking about people who have a dog walker in at lunchtime”

Yeah - personally I don’t think long days broken up by a dog walker are ok, whether they’ve access to the rest of the room or not... so...

I still don’t think the crate is the issue.

I've only used them for puppies/young dogs for reasons already stated. Now my dog is older and trustworthy, I will shut her in a room out of the way on the few occasions she needs to be contained. I was very pleased to fold the crate up and put it away. No one could describe them as attractive and they take up a lot of room.
Sadly, I think they are misused by some people, who seem to equate keeping a dog with keeping a rabbit or guinea pig.

tabulahrasa
I agree. My puppy was crate trained at night and for brief outings (now they have partial run around if we aren't in). During the day they are with a dog sitter and other dogs and are well socialised.

Them going for a snooze in the crate for an hour whilst I did the shop was absolutely fine and I from what I've seen and heard from the dog sitter, they're a much more sociable and calm dog than those who've had the freedom of the house but were left alone for long stretches.

The crate isn't an issue any more than a whistle or clicker or treats is an issue. They're resources and equipment that can be used well or not.

We crate trained at night. Pup never uses it through the day. We had a lab previously who we didn't crate train and woke up one morning to find he had chewed up half the kitchen.

I also felt more able to relax at night knowing he was safe and couldn't get into mischief.
Now pup is over a year I see no sign of us stopping using the crate. Pup knows it's where he sleeps and happily takes himself there when it's bed time. If we feel he no longer likes the crate we will stop using it but as of yet he has given no indication that this is the case.