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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

How to keep dog in crate at night cool??

35 replies

Wonderingwhyme · 25/06/2020 02:02

Ddog sleeps in the crate at night no problems. Trouble is she woke me around midnight due to her breathing (she snores so nothing new being woken by her!!) but she sounded a bit odd and I was worried about her over heating, I got her out and she was panting. Took her downstairs and she’s had a drink and back to sleep on her day bed. I now can’t go back to sleep.

She has a cotton sheet over the crate. I took this off. She isn’t keen on fans but I had one on full pelt in the bedroom, should I put one in the direct path of her crate on the floor tomorrow night? She has a cooling mat and isn’t interested in that so that doesn’t help.

We have tomorrow night just as hot as tonight..: what else can I do? She’s small and short hair so no cost to add to her issues thankfully...

OP posts:

BiteyShark · 25/06/2020 05:29

Our has always struggled at night in these temperatures. He used to ask to go out into the garden for a mooch about where it was cooler.

We ended up getting air conditioning for him

Original poster

Wonderingwhyme · 25/06/2020 05:51

Oh how i wish I could have air con!! I live in rented so not even an option sadly.

OP posts:

Sostenueto · 25/06/2020 05:54

Stop using a crate for a start!

BiteyShark · 25/06/2020 05:56

It's actually a portable unit which you just use a pipe out of the window. We just stow it away in the winter.

I am so tempted to replace it with a permanent solution but for now it means all of us can sleep at night comfortably.

Original poster

Wonderingwhyme · 25/06/2020 05:57

I had one of those many many years ago but it was massive and very very heavy! Do they make any decent smaller ones these days??

OP posts:

BiteyShark · 25/06/2020 06:02

Hmmm it probably is the same. I can't lift it, you have to wheel it and it is very noisy but I do get used to it and we have more sleep with than without.

Original poster

Wonderingwhyme · 25/06/2020 06:06

I know the kids would end up with it and then I’d have to fork out for 3 of them and they are expensive the one I had about 15 years ago was brilliant, the bedroom ended up freezing!

OP posts:

midnightstar66 · 25/06/2020 06:16

The crate will be warm especially with a sheet over. Just let them sleep downstairs where it's usually cooler anyway?! Alternatively pets at home have a range of cooling pads and jackets

Chaotic45 · 25/06/2020 06:17

I can see why it's tempting to use a fan or air con unit but if your dog is uncomfortable about them, at the same time as being effectively trapped in her crate then you do have a potential problem. Dogs make very simple associations and she could very easily become afraid of her crate if she has been trapped in there with the 'nasty fan' too close.

It's really hard on dogs atm. They are just rubbish at cooling themselves down. The crate is not ideal, I accept it's hot everywhere but it takes away her choices, and again if she has an uncomfortable night in there she may form a bad association.

I'd allow her to sleep outside the crate until it cools down. Maybe don't do this in the bedroom as once she's climbed onto your bed she may decide she has to sleep there every night.

So maybe let her sleep downstairs out of her crate, with you close by on the sofa if needed. I know it's not ideal, but it's not for long and I think it's probably the compromise that will cause the least issues in the future.

Medievalist · 25/06/2020 06:29

What on earth is the point of the sheet? It will just trap the heat in. Please don't shut her in a cage. If she's free she can hunt out places where she feels most cool.

missmouse101 · 25/06/2020 06:39

I can't bear the idea of trapping an animal in a small cage. Please don't do this. Our dogs have never needed these and were free to choose their sleeping places downstairs.

ALWwoods · 25/06/2020 06:41

How about a cooling mat in the bottom of the crate? We use one in our dogs bed. It was £5 from b&m.

vanillandhoney · 25/06/2020 07:33

Oh, ignore all the anti-craters - some dogs are happier in a crate and will actively choose to sleep there. It's not cruelty to let your dog sleep where he or she feels the most comfortable.

Have you tried a fan with a frozen bottle of water in front of it? That helps ours but he really struggled last night even though he had free range of our room - he was up and down, wanted to go out...though when my alarm went off to take him for a walk before it got too hot he was curled up under the duvet

midnightstar66 · 25/06/2020 07:41

No one is saying don't allow the dog in the crate if that's where they choose to go, just that in this heat it would be better to allow the option of seeking somewhere cooler. OP has already said her dog dislikes fans so enclosing then in a crate with a fan would not be kind!

Medievalist · 25/06/2020 07:44

Oh, ignore all the anti-craters - some dogs are happier in a crate and will actively choose to sleep there. It's not cruelty to let your dog sleep where he or she feels the most comfortable.

Yes, I am entirely against shutting dogs in cages. Especially when, as seems to be the case here, the dog is unable to seek out somewhere cooler? My dogs move around from time to time during the night to find places where the temperature suits them better. I rather think that makes for a "happier" dog than being confined to one small space.

BiteyShark · 25/06/2020 07:51

I do agree that in this heat it is better to let your dog try and find a cooler place to sleep. However when we didn't have the air con that typically meant ours liked outside which isn't safe .

I wouldn't place the fan directly at the crate though. I know when we tried fans in the bedroom our dog didn't like being directly in the draft and would tuck himself behind us (yes he sleeps on the bed).

Do you have enough room in the crate for a cooling mat as well as his usual bed so she can choose? Equally leaving the crate open with a cooling mat just outside it might mean she chooses that place anyway over anywhere else.

It's awful isn't it as I find it too hot so it must be uncomfortable being a dog.

vanillandhoney · 25/06/2020 08:13

Not all dogs are safe outside of their crates, though. Lots of young dogs especially will become destructive if given too much free reign, or will bark or whine.

If OP's dog is crated overnight on a regular basis then changing the routine for the sake of a few nights a year may be confusing and she may have problems getting the dog to go back in the crate in the future.

You may disagree with crates but posts telling the OP it's cruel don't really help here.

gutentag1 · 25/06/2020 08:20

vanillaandhoney that isn't what's happening though, if you read the OP. The dog is locked in the crate and is uncomfortable. Just because "some dogs" like it doesn't mean they all do.

vanillandhoney · 25/06/2020 08:29

Yes - uncomfortable because of the heat, not because they're crated.

My dog was uncomfortable last night too and he had full range to wander. I don't think the crate is the problem here.

BigChocFrenzy · 25/06/2020 08:35

"posts telling the OP it's cruel don't really help here."

The crate certainly isn't helping the dog

Locking dogs into a cage at night and for hours when when their owner goes out is entirely for the owners benefit

This custom didn't exist when I last had a dog many years ago - a dog always had their safe place in a basket, which they could leave whenever they wanted.
Destructive dogs were trained out of being so at the puppy stage
Crates are for selfish, lazy owners who cba to train

BigChocFrenzy · 25/06/2020 08:36

or who want to leave the dog alone for more hours than it can cope with

midnightstar66 · 25/06/2020 08:40

It doesn't really matter what the reason for the dog being uncomfortable is. The bottom line is if it's uncomfortable in the crate then it's not kind to lock it in there. If a dog is destructive outside of the crate then that needs addressed with training but it sounds like OP's dog was happy once he found cooler spot and went back to sleep. I'm not against using crates if the dog does wish to be in there but not to keep it there uncomfortably just to save yourself some hassle.

Whynow88 · 25/06/2020 08:42

My dog was happily created until last summer when in similar heat he wanted to lie on the wooden floor. He hasn’t used a crate since. Usually sleeps in his bed in my room but had the freedom to lie on floor to cool if he needs to

vanillandhoney · 25/06/2020 08:44

Locking dogs into a cage at night and for hours when when their owner goes out is entirely for the owners benefit

I don't want to turn this thread into a crating argument, but that's definitely not always the case. I've never crated my dog as it's never been necessary to but I know lots of dogs who will destroy the house if they are left with too much freedom.

My dog is more than happy to be left with comfortable sofa to lie on when I leave him but other dogs will pace, whine, mess the house and become destructive if they're not left in their crates.

Each to their own.

GetUpAgain · 25/06/2020 08:45

How old is your dog? We used crates for our puppy, didnt want him chewing electric cables or other dangerous things. In the past fortnight we introduced him to a basket. Now he has free reign to wander round downstairs. We discovered he can and will steal from the kitchen top so we are now much tidier!! He is 9 months old. He wakes up much later in the morning in the basket than he did in the crate, I do think it is more comfortable especially in the heat

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