How long do you leave dog in crate?

[basily]

I'm thinking of returning to work but worry about leaving the dog for to long in his crate. He's a 8 month old cocker spaniel. Crate trained and toilet trained.

How long do you leave yours?

“I don’t fall for this nonsense about it being their ‘safe place’ trope either. If they like it being their safe space so much then they don’t need locking in.“

I lock it for very specific reasons - dogs (usually puppies) who will chew things you can’t move out of the way and so aren’t safe to be left... because I don’t leave Dog’s for long periods of time, but there are places you need to go that they’re not welcome. Dogs who have issues with visitors, it’s less stressful for everyone if someone needs to come in who there’s no point getting them ok with - workmen for instance or meter readers, or dogs on crate rest for medical reasons.

The rest of the time it’s open and they choose to use it.

Mine is in his crate for 4/5 hours twice a week. He sleeps, the same as he would of I was there. He's calm & relaxed.

If I leave him out, he cries & paces for the entire time & will not settle. IMO leaving him out & stressed is far more cruel than leaving him in.

He goes to daycare for 2 days currently but it wasn't an option when he was younger as it was overstinulating for him.

You know your dog, do what's safe and best for them. I'd never suggest working full time & leaving the dog in all day but crates aren't the devils work.

I do wonder if all those people stating cages are no place for animals are all vegan & never frequent zoos?

I have two large rescued dogs who spent their days locked in a crate while their owner worked, plus many evenings when their owner went out, plus overnight. I can say that it has damaged them, they stress in confined spaces and had terrible separation anxiety. I've managed to have dogs for over 50 years without crating. They are a useful tool for some I daresay, but most often are used incorrectly.

Wtf does being vegan and visiting zoos have to do with anything? Zoos also provide enrichment nowadays, although I don't visit them, and plenty of meat isn't produced in cages

I don’t fall for this nonsense about it being their ‘safe place’ trope either. If they like it being their safe space so much then they don’t need locking in.

Nonsense.

If you have a dog that is distressed out of the crate but calm once in and "locked" inside - why on earth would you decide to leave them to become distressed?

I don't crate my own dog because he hated it, but as a dog walker I see many dogs who love their crates and who will actively pull the doors shut behind them.

If you don't want to use them that's fine, but there's no need to come on a thread and lambast people who do choose to use them.

@Stickytreacle

Wtf does being vegan and visiting zoos have to do with anything? Zoos also provide enrichment nowadays, although I don't visit them, and plenty of meat isn't produced in cages

Because everyone is harping on that crating a dog for a couple of hours is cruel but can't see that a lion in a cage it's entire life might also be cruel?

If people are going to chime in about animal welfare it's all animals.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

I don’t fall for this nonsense about it being their ‘safe place’ trope either. If they like it being their safe space so much then they don’t need locking in.

Nonsense.

If you have a dog that is distressed out of the crate but calm once in and "locked" inside - why on earth would you decide to leave them to become distressed?

I don't crate my own dog because he hated it, but as a dog walker I see many dogs who love their crates and who will actively pull the doors shut behind them.

If you don't want to use them that's fine, but there's no need to come on a thread and lambast people who do choose to use them.

This is exactly my dog. Calm, asleep and relaxed in his crate. An anxious crying mess outside.

I'd love to give him free roam of the house but he doesn't want it.

Doggy day care

@TheBodyPiercer I absolutely agree - unless everyone getting outraged at the crates on here only buys their eggs and meat from a local, organic and free range farm (and never eats meat or eggs from eg a restaurant where they use catering standard produce which is almost always battery produced to reduce costs) then they are massively hypocritical.
Zoos are also extremely cruel - you can’t provide stimulation for a lion that makes up for it being stuck in a small space for years when it would usually roam miles every day.

@Foolingaround

I am considering very part time hours. I'm not happy leaving my dog alone for long hours caged/crated or otherwise. But I don't judge people who have to

I do, it’s not as if the dogs have any say in it or can stick up for themselves. No one ‘has’ to leave a sentient animal locked in a cage for hours.

I don’t fall for this nonsense about it being their ‘safe place’ trope either. If they like it being their safe space so much then they don’t need locking in.

My dogs have access to them open during the day, they go on there, and are only shut in when we are out, at night time they take themselves in there and have the door open.

When my two year old is getting too much they take themselves off to their beds (crates) and my child knows not to follow as it's their bed and their safe space for a bit

Yes there are a lot of people who do it incorrectly but it does work when done right

Our cocker puppy is in there overnight. And maybe for up to an hour in the day if no one can be with him or if he is causing chaos.
We have a dogwalker but if/when I go back to the office the dogs will go to day care. Have a look into it it's not horribly expensive.

Never. It's a cage. Calling it a crate is just a euphemism. And I've had dogs all my adult life.

@basily I think you've got the right plan going forward. Meanwhile I'd be looking around for a good walker and investigating local day care settings now, ready for when you need them. All our established local day care providers are now full up (one of the best decided to retire last year) so the only spaces available in this area are with the new start ups, who may or may not prove to be any good.

@MrsKeats

Never. It's a cage. Calling it a crate is just a euphemism. And I've had dogs all my adult life.

Okay, my dogs happier in his cage than he is out.

Surely if you've had plenty of dogs you know they're all different.

My current rescue would be dead by now if he didn't use his "cage" we're his 5th & longest owners. When left unattended he is extremely distressed & eats things he shouldn't. Please tell me how it would be better to let him free roam, cry, get distressed etc.

Sleep is as important for dog and puppies as exercise and roaming around.

A crate used correctly to indicate to the dog that now is chill out time is a great tool.

If the dog has been fed, exercised and mentally stimulated their biggest requirement is then sleep. Sleep in a quiet area where they are undisturbed is vital. A crate can be used for this. So for rest times in the day a crate for puppies ensures deep sleep and relaxation.

If you have a working breed they are a clear indiciation for the dog to chill out.

So answer to the OP is not necessarily how long they can be in the crate but how long in one period they can be left in the crate and in the daytime that may not be long enough to get to work and be at work.

Having a crate/den/bed as his safe place is fine

The minute you close a door on them they're caged. No animal should be caged in my view except in exceptional circumstance such as at the vet.

On top of this, what chance does your caged pup have in the event of a break in, or, God forbid a fire.

Our eggs and meat are home produced, from non caged animals, and I disagree that because someone doesn't agree with crating then they can't be allowed to eat meat or eggs ever. I happen to agree that zoos are cruel, but they also try to conserve species and improve welfare. You couldn't just let lions wander round Clapham common. It all boils down to being compassionate to animals in your care, all this whatabouttery is just a distraction to justify what people want to do, nothing improves or changes until you improve what is going on under your own roof first.

@DareIask

Having a crate/den/bed as his safe place is fine

The minute you close a door on them they're caged. No animal should be caged in my view except in exceptional circumstance such as at the vet.

On top of this, what chance does your caged pup have in the event of a break in, or, God forbid a fire.

Does your dog have his own set of keys and know how to unlock the door? Otherwise leaving them in the kitchen isn't going to help much in the event of a fire.

The minute you close a door on them they're caged. No animal should be caged in my view except in exceptional circumstance such as at the vet.

Okay, and what if when they're not 'caged' they mess on the floor, eat things they shouldn't, and become so distressed they cause themselves serious injury?

I mean, you're entitled to your view, but some dogs put themselves in real danger if they're left out of their crates. I've known dogs that will chew electric cables, leap over baby gates, try and eat doors - but when they're shut in their crates, they curl up and fall asleep.

On top of this, what chance does your caged pup have in the event of a break in, or, God forbid a fire.

Both of those circumstances are vanishingly unlikely and not a reason to leave a dog to be distressed out of a crate. If your dog CAN be left loose, then obviously that's great and the best solution, but not all dogs can be left like that.

Does your dog have his own set of keys and know how to unlock the door? Otherwise leaving them in the kitchen isn't going to help much in the event of a fire.

I've had dogs for 20 years, never needed to put any of them in a cage.

@DareIask

Having a crate/den/bed as his safe place is fine

The minute you close a door on them they're caged. No animal should be caged in my view except in exceptional circumstance such as at the vet.

On top of this, what chance does your caged pup have in the event of a break in, or, God forbid a fire.

So when a dog needs to be caged for medical emergencies or after an operation and they’re already stressed... you’d rather add in something new?

Also I’ve been broken into with a dog who had a crate there, he went in and stayed there, out of their way - now he could have come out in that situation but the reason he had a crate was because he was reactive to strangers and would leap at them barking and snarling, so funnily enough I was really glad the crate training paid off as I dread to think what they’d have done if he “attacked” them.

@Blondiney

I've had dogs for 20 years, never needed to put any of them in a cage.

That means nothing. All dogs are different. My current is my 6th rescue dog, and the only one that's needed a crate. Trust me when I say he wouldn't have made it to 1 if he didn't.

@Blondiney

I've had dogs for 20 years, never needed to put any of them in a cage.

I don't see the point in comments like this.

I mean, that's great for you, but it doesn't mean that other dogs DON'T benefit from the use of a crate.

I wasn't aware all house fires ended up with the house burning down 🙄

Never had a dog who didn't learn over time how to behave or be left.