Crating - Do we crate too much?? Not enough??

[MXVIT]

Firstly let me say I'm not at all anti-crating.

It was never really for us as when my little boy came home he went hysterical in his crate (throwing himself against it) so we never really bothered with it because I'm a soft arse.

As he got older (he's 15 months now) I'd leave it open by my desk for him to go in and out if he wanted but he was never that fussed.

I recently got a dog trainer in who said it needs resurrecting so we've been using it more. He'll sleep in there in the day with the door open. He's in there at the moment with the door shut because I'm working and he needs a nap (he was getting tinkerish from overtired) and not a bit put out, bar the odd indignant noise and sideye, nothing a treat cant fix.

He doesnt go in there when home alone, (he's not actually home alone much which is another story)

Its always just seemed a bit odd to me that we crate our dogs - I remember reading its illegal in some countries which is so strange to me given how other countries are evangelical about it!

Again I'm not overly pro or anti, just interested. I'm really not trying to start a debate either. We're all here because we love our dogs dearly.

Do you crate? Did you? What do you think of it.

I don’t crate at all, never seen a requirement for it.

Ive also never had a dog require an enforced nap…and I’ve had everything from border collies, GSDS, terriers and all things inbetween. Dogs choose for themselves when and where to sleep surely?

To be fair I rarely use leads either.
My dogs were adopted at 1 year and 11 years old. My most recent was only adopted 4 months ago and was an on lead dog, they say old dogs can't learn new tricks but he walks to heel and has an amazing recall due to the training I've done on him. We leave the house and go for a walk and I forget to bring a lead hes that good. With the right training anything is possible.

I accept that these people were probably the exception and lots of people go for xl cages even for smaller dogs but this was likely sold to them as the correct size for a small dog . I doubt they are the only people that own a small cage as many houses wouldn’t be able to house a very large one

Yes, I see people with labs on Instagram with large cages but even those aren't large enough for a lab to fully stretch out. Our not particularly big lab was probably already 5ft long when fully stretched out at 6 months old (often her preferred sleeping position overnight). Not many people are going to have crates that are big enough for that but will still crate for 8 hours overnight

Do you mean those cages?
No. Never.

I don’t crate - did when he was a pup because we’re first time dog owners and thought that’s what you needed to do. He used to sleep in it or go in it for very short periods of time (we’re talking minutes, not hours) but after a while he started to get very distressed going into it and do we stopped. He just has the run of the downstairs (minus the living room because he sits of the sofa and barks at other dogs, birds, the neighbour’s cat and the postie and it’s a pita) and upstairs landing if we’re out, and sleeps on our bed. Everyone is happy - it works for us. I can’t comprehend leaving a dog crated for hours on end.

Some dogs are like toddlers in that they aren't necessarily capable of realising they need a nap. Especially during puppy-hood and adolescence.

My beagle's behaviour used to be awful when he was over-tired - given the chance he would play parkour around the living room, jump all over everyone, bark constantly, terrorise the cats and bite/nip.

We didn't crate but we did use a lead to keep him tethered and it worked amazingly to get him to just stop - and once he stopped he seemed to realise he was exhausted and would crash out. We don't need to do it now but it was a great technique while he was younger.

Re dogs and enforced naps - get a wcs They just get faster and faster when they get tired.

I guess they do collapse when they are exhausted but I prefer to stop them having to feel that bad first.

I do worry about how some people use crates. They should never be used for toilet training behavioural issues or punishments.

Some puppies more than others do need to have restriction on where they can go for their own safety when on their own. However that should never be hours on end.

I am totally happy in how we use crates All my dogs will always travel in crash tested crates in vehicles.

At home my dogs do not need crates as they have areas they can chill and have learnt to relax at home. However all dogs that come into my house as a foster or a stayer will be crate trained as a basic life skill. They love it and when the crate comes out all the other dogs rush to be the first one in it.

When out working the dogs need to have an area that always means relaxation to them. Until I can afford a trailer like at film sets they will have to use their crates. We do have a large work van and they have more room than the human passengers. Air conditioned (even when no engine running) and sound proofed so they can really chill. I do not feel that is a hardship for them

I’m fairly pro crate training... but I’ve realised after seeing many many posts on here, that most people think crate training is just putting a puppy in a crate and leaving them to it 😐