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??

I don’t know when you were a kid but I got my first crate for my dogs in the mid-90s, so hardly a crazy, new fad. Plenty of information on the benefits of crating and how to introduce one, online.

I wish I crate trained my 2 yr old dog. She would never cope with kennels or staying at someone else's now.
She likes to have the run of the downstairs and sleep on the sofa.
Sleepless nights of her crying to go sleep on the sofa and I gave in.
She's happy
We're happy
Could never put her in a crate overnight if needed as she would cry all night so there is a downside

I’ve tried a crate with two of my dogs over the years. One freaked out at the idea of even going near it whereas my current puppy has been happy in it from day one.

He only goes in it at night but goes in voluntarily when he’s ready for bed. I do shut the door for overnight, mainly because my older dog was a bit unsure of him in the early days and would get a bit snappy so didn’t want them together unsupervised. They get on fine now but I still shut the door to stop him getting into mischief overnight. He now has free run of the house with the other dog when I go to work etc in the day although he can’t be trusted completely with shoes and cardboard! He’s 10 mths.

I anticipate moving from the crate over the next few months - mainly because it is quite bulky in a smallish house.

We crate trained when he was a puppy. Knew he was safe and couldn't chew stuff overnight. He would choose to go in during the day for a kip. Now we only use it if he has had surgery and needs to be kept contained for his own health.

Dogs just used to be let out to roam the street when I was younger and if they bit anyone then 🤷‍♀️.

Crates make life easier for all concerned. I'd always use one.

I tend to agree with the OP - generations of family dogs have been raised without a crate.

I can see the logic of a dog liking a den - but then people have doors on crates and turn them into cages to be used for long stretches.

I tried making my dog a den out of a big cardboard box, and put his bed in it. He immediately pulled his bed out and wouldn't go inside even to retrieve a treat. The box swiftly ended up in the recycling.

Dogs just used to be let out to roam the street when I was younger and if they bit anyone then 🤷‍♀️.
😀
I love the "back in my day..." claims

I can see the value of crating, and ours are crated in the car, but we've never bothered in the house. Tried a pen with the current young'un and she hated it, so we ditched it.

A few dogs did still roam the streets when I was a kid, but the only noted local biter was behind a big metal mesh gate. You stuck your hand through that at your peril...

I agree with the OP. I've had several dogs from pups, never felt the need to crate them & I never will. IMO dogs do not belong in cages - which is effectively what they are. My DC were brought up with dogs & were taught not to touch them when they were sleeping, and we have a large utility room we could confine pups in when they were at the chewing stage, filled with lovely comfy beds & chew toys. Once past the chewing stage our dogs have never been shut in anywhere, and they sleep where they like. The very idea of crating a family dog really bothers me & I just couldn't do it.

It helped us housetrain Maggie as they wont wee and poo in there. As others have mentioned, it's a safe place that can go from place to place.

To me, it's like cots, playpens and stairgates, a way of keeping and making them secure.

We bought one in good faith but he utterly hated it. Howled the place down and got so worked up he was sick - we got rid after 4-6 weeks and he's been absolutely fine.

He has his "bed" (his favourite blanket) to cuddle up in if he's tired!

No, I don't agree with 'crates'. At all. Firstly lets call them what they are; cages. Dogs are pack animals. They need to be with their litter or their human family. Without a cage. I have two dogs, one of whom I got at 14 weeks the other at 9 weeks. Neither were ever caged. Both arrived into our home to a comfortable and secure bed with high sides, a blanket and a few soft toys stuffed around the edges. Putting soft toys into their bed really helps them settle in quickly if they came from a relatively large litter. Makes them feel secure. I did the whole toilet training the old fashioned way. Very regular trips to the garden with newspapers near the back door to help throughout the process. I would set my alarm to take them outside in the middle of the night in the early days. Kept it very consistent and rewarded with lots of praise. As a result both dogs toilet trained very quickly. Literally in no time they were at the back door either giving a gentle bark or tapping the cat flap to get our attention. Both dogs were given plenty of chew toys and as a result they didn't have the desire to chew anything else! It's not complicated as long as you invest the time and effort. I have a passionate dislike of cages. I think they're the lazy way of dog training and quite often lead to pent up frustration and an overly active dog when they're 'set free'. I find it interesting the posters who have said their dogs took themselves off to feel safe and secure. They are almost certainly heading off to the bed inside. That's the secure element!! The owner has decided that the bed should be in a cage. 🙏

No, I don't agree with 'crates'. At all. Firstly lets call them what they are; cages. Dogs are pack animals. They need to be with their litter or their human family. Without a cage. I have two dogs, one of whom I got at 14 weeks the other at 9 weeks. Neither were ever caged. Both arrived into our home to a comfortable and secure bed with high sides, a blanket and a few soft toys stuffed around the edges. Putting soft toys into their bed really helps them settle in quickly if they came from a relatively large litter. Makes them feel secure. I did the whole toilet training the old fashioned way. Very regular trips to the garden with newspapers near the back door to help throughout the process. I would set my alarm to take them outside in the middle of the night in the early days. Kept it very consistent and rewarded with lots of praise. As a result both dogs toilet trained very quickly. Literally in no time they were at the back door either giving a gentle bark or tapping the cat flap to get our attention. Both dogs were given plenty of chew toys and as a result they didn't have the desire to chew anything else! It's not complicated as long as you invest the time and effort. I have a passionate dislike of cages. I think they're the lazy way of dog training and quite often lead to pent up frustration and an overly active dog when they're 'set free'. I find it interesting the posters who have said their dogs took themselves off to feel safe and secure. They are almost certainly heading off to the bed inside. That's the secure element!! The owner has decided that the bed should be in a cage. 🙏

No, I don't agree with 'crates'. At all. Firstly lets call them what they are; cages. Dogs are pack animals. They need to be with their litter or their human family. Without a cage. I have two dogs, one of whom I got at 14 weeks the other at 9 weeks. Neither were ever caged. Both arrived into our home to a comfortable and secure bed with high sides, a blanket and a few soft toys stuffed around the edges. Putting soft toys into their bed really helps them settle in quickly if they came from a relatively large litter. Makes them feel secure. I did the whole toilet training the old fashioned way. Very regular trips to the garden with newspapers near the back door to help throughout the process. I would set my alarm to take them outside in the middle of the night in the early days. Kept it very consistent and rewarded with lots of praise. As a result both dogs toilet trained very quickly. Literally in no time they were at the back door either giving a gentle bark or tapping the cat flap to get our attention. Both dogs were given plenty of chew toys and as a result they didn't have the desire to chew anything else! It's not complicated as long as you invest the time and effort. I have a passionate dislike of cages. I think they're the lazy way of dog training and quite often lead to pent up frustration and an overly active dog when they're 'set free'. I find it interesting the posters who have said their dogs took themselves off to feel safe and secure. They are almost certainly heading off to the bed inside. That's the secure element!! The owner has decided that the bed should be in a cage. 🙏

No, I don't agree with 'crates'. At all. Firstly lets call them what they are; cages. Dogs are pack animals. They need to be with their litter or their human family. Without a cage. I have two dogs, one of whom I got at 14 weeks the other at 9 weeks. Neither were ever caged. Both arrived into our home to a comfortable and secure bed with high sides, a blanket and a few soft toys stuffed around the edges. Putting soft toys into their bed really helps them settle in quickly if they came from a relatively large litter. Makes them feel secure. I did the whole toilet training the old fashioned way. Very regular trips to the garden with newspapers near the back door to help throughout the process. I would set my alarm to take them outside in the middle of the night in the early days. Kept it very consistent and rewarded with lots of praise. As a result both dogs toilet trained very quickly. Literally in no time they were at the back door either giving a gentle bark or tapping the cat flap to get our attention. Both dogs were given plenty of chew toys and as a result they didn't have the desire to chew anything else! It's not complicated as long as you invest the time and effort. I have a passionate dislike of cages. I think they're the lazy way of dog training and quite often lead to pent up frustration and an overly active dog when they're 'set free'. I find it interesting the posters who have said their dogs took themselves off to feel safe and secure. They are almost certainly heading off to the bed inside. That's the secure element!! The owner has decided that the bed should be in a cage. 🙏

Apologies for the multiple posts. Kept getting a failed to post msg.

Completely agree @DramaAlpaca. 🙏

Crates recreate the den bitches would generally chose to give birth and raise the puppies in. As such crates are much more natural environments for dogs than dog beds or utility rooms.

They are indeed a cage, what is the problem with that? Puppies like enclosed areas, don’t judge by your personal standards on how you would feel in a cage. If you had a pet mole would you be disturbed by his underground house because he must feel claustrophobic?!

Like any tool, they can be misused. A bad owner can use a collar/harness and lead to drag a dog and even hang them in the air with their feet off the ground - this doesn’t make collars/harnesses and leads inappropriate for dogs. It takes time to crate train a dog, usually a few weeks. Some dogs will never take to a crate, because all dogs are individuals. If an owner just shuts a puppy in a crate for six hours, that’s a bad owner, not a problem with crates - he could do the sameness with a utility room.

Once crate trained it is easier to toilet train a puppy as they tend to have fewer accidents in the crate and less likely that they will chew around the house. A crate trained dog is safer when left alone, when visitors come, when he is eating. He is also more settled during scary times, when traveling, on holiday and when moving house. You can get some of these advantages from a utility room, but a crate is portable, you can take it to a friend’s house, the kennels, your new house, an agility competition, a holiday cottage, the boot of your car, etc.

Also crate training doesn't mean not doing decent toilet training either.
DH and I slept downstairs on rotation next to try crate, set our alarm to take them out in the middle of the night, generally just being there, then moved us upstairs but still got up to let them out. Toilet training was done like namaste said.

If someone misuses a crate, choses one that's too small for dog, leaves them alone for ages and so on then that's an owner issue, not a crate issue.

Never had one, but we have a secure utility room

People have always found ways to confine dogs and particularly puppies over the years. I remember my mother using an old play pen for this purpose many years ago. If you are lucky enough to have a safe puppy-proof area in the house such as a utility room then great, but if not a crate can be a good option and particularly useful if you have an open-plan house. I've crate-trained both my pups with great success. I was dubious when the breeder first suggested it, but looked into it more and realised it was a good idea. I've always used it like you use a cot for a baby, for sleeping in overnight and for short naps during the day. I've never understood why people think that using a crate means a dog is not with the family? When my pups were very little I used one of the plastic carry travel crates so I could put it in whichever room I was in at the time. They then graduated to the large crate and always opted to go in there for preference when grown up, even though they had the option of a traditional dog bed alongside it. I have a folding crate as well that is great for travelling and when we stay away somewhere. Both pups have grown up to be very well-adjusted, easy-going pets and certainly not over-active or frustrated. They were both totally house-trained within a fortnight - crate-training doesn't get you out of regular toilet trips into the garden with the pup, but it does mean that if they wake up from a nap whilst you are are otherwise distracted (perhaps on the phone or cooking dinner) they can't sneak off for a crafty wee on the floor before you notice they are awake!

“I did the whole toilet training the old fashioned way.”

Crates don’t make toilet training any different, I am aware there are people who advocate locking a puppy up in a crate to toilet train them... that to me is a misuse of them.

“Both dogs were given plenty of chew toys and as a result they didn't have the desire to chew anything else!”

Rofl, sorry, but seriously? You think other people’s dogs chew things because they don’t have enough toys?... like people are sat there going, he really seems to like chewing stuff but I think I’ll buy a crate rather than things he can chew...

“They are almost certainly heading off to the bed inside. That's the secure element!! “

You’d assume so, but actually when you’ve got a folded up crate because you’re going away or are swapping for a bigger size because the dog grew - they’ll try to get in a folded crate rather than lie on the bed.

It’s also a much easier area to police with small children than a bed.

“Howled the place down and got so worked up he was sick”

To be fair, that wouldn’t have happened if you’d introduced it properly.

I think they're the lazy way of dog training and quite often lead to pent up frustration and an overly active dog when they're 'set free'

How can you possibly assert this when you've never crate trained? I've crate trained four dogs and this has never happened. Overly active dogs are ones who don't get enough exercise. Crate training, done properly is very effective and practical. You're making it an emotional thing and assigning feelings to your dog that are not there. A well fed, well exercised dog who receives plenty of human interaction and who is properly crate trained is not going to be gazing sadly through the bars and bursting out and charging about the second he is "set free". They seem to mainly relate it to going to sleep ime . If a dog is stressed by being in a crate and desperate to get out then you've not crate trained properly or are using the crate incorrectly.

A well fed, well exercised dog who receives plenty of human interaction and who is properly crate trained is not going to be gazing sadly through the bars and bursting out and charging about the second he is "set free".
I agree!
Our dog was crate trained on an evening. During the day they had loads on interaction, dog sitters, family, loads of walks and interaction and stimulation.
They were toilet trained properly and sensibly. They've been well trained on recall and are excellent off lead.

They're a loving dog with secure attachments and are great around new people and new situations.

In fact, out dog sitter has said our dog is one of the easiest to take out and settled really quickly (compared to some dogs who've had a dog walker but were left for 4 hours at a time in the utility room/kitchen for example).

Just because someone does something different, doesn't mean it's wrong.

This thread seeks to be suffering from "I didn't crate train and don't like it so I will invent some whole narrative of people who cage their dogs all day and don't see them as part of the family".

We use a crate for DDog and he is 5. He seems to feel more secure in there when on his own, rather than roaming the house.

We use it at night and when we go out. He willingly goes in when recognising the signs eg bedtime, school run.

He will also ask to go in after breakfast if he thinks it’s too early in the morning! He gets a few bits of kibble before going in, so will stand by the crate looking at us, and if we ignore him he will keep coming up and nudging us.