Crates are simply a housebreaking tool that becomes the

• I need advice for crate training 10 week old puppy. Help! - Lori
  • Here is what I did and it worked. - SM
  • Is the problem indoor accidents, or sleeping at night ? - Misha
    • It is indoor accidents. (m) - Lori
      • I haven't done it in a while, but here is a site - Misha
        • Thanks Misha for the website and the words of encouragement! - Lori
  • search archives - there was some really good info about this a month or two ago. nm - LMT
  • Train the puppy to behave OUTSIDE a crate!--sm - nn
    • So true! - srmr
    • Me2 - I never could understand how people could use crates. - txmt
  • Not a fan of crates... - MT in MT
    • I never have used a crate in the 20 yrs of pet owning. Seemed like jail. - SM
    • Crates are simply a housebreaking tool that becomes the - dog's den or bed. nm
      • I agree; a great housebreaking tool, and - Misha
      • still not a fan. - MT in MT
        • Poor animals! - rvl
          • I USED to feel the same way about crates... - Hayseed
            • every prisoner becomes *conditioned* to his cell in time--sm - nn
              • Dogs are denning animals. THey see crate as their den, - not a cell. Dogs are not furry people. nm
                • dogs are better than people in most - iam
                • I don't believe this. Dogs are not *wild*--sm - nn
                  • Disagree! Love crates...sm - GLF
                    • some of the items you mentioned for a child--sm - nn
                      • Wow! So judgemental. And so wrong... sm - GLF
                        • yes..we can agree to disagree...sm - nn
                          • No matter how responsible you are - TM
              • Yes, very good point on crating! - yes

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that they were cages and it was cruel to keep an animal locked in one.  Then we got a little dog who just refused, no matter how hard we tried, to learn to go to the bathroom outside.  He was ruining our entire carpet and we had to do something.  We talked to our vet who whole-heartedly recommended crate training.  We were so hesitant but figured if the doctor recommended it, we had better give it a try. 

It was miserable at first.  We kept him locked in the crate at night, in our bedroom, and he would just cry and cry.  That lasted a good 3 or 4 nights...not that long, but it seems like an eternity when you can't sleep!  During the day, we moved the crate to our living room/kitchen area so he could see everything, and only locked him in for 1/2 hour at a time.  When he went outside to potty, and he did it, he came in and got a treat, playtime, and then went back in the crate with the door shut and his favorite toys and a blankie for a couple of hours to sleep. 

We did that for a couple of weeks, gradually increasing the locked-up time to a couple of hours.  I only worked down the street, so during the work day, I could come home on breaks and let him out for pee/play time and put him back in. 

It was the best thing we ever did and IT WORKED!  He still has his little "hut" and goes in it almost all the time...especially when he snags a treat.  He goes into it "butt out" so the kitty can't get his treat.  We no longer lock him in and it is his "safe place" to go whenever he gets scared or uncomfortable, like if there is company.  When we travel, we bring his little "hut" with us and he feels like he's never left home.  He is almost 14 years old now and still has the same crate/hut and we will be burying him in it...that's how much he loves it!

It certainly can't hurt to give it a shot   

You Wrote:  *You would not treat your child this way, so why treat a pet this way?*

Actually, we DO 'treat' children this way - we use cribs, bassinets, playpens, baby gates, etc. to keep babies and toddlers restricted to a smaller, more manageable area until they're little older  - and no one thinks for a second that those things are cruel, right?  (Though they could be, if misused.)  A crate for a dog, *when used responsibly* is no different, IMO. 

I certainly don't agree with someone keeping a dog in a crate for 9-10 hours a day while they're at work or whatever, coming home and letting the dog out only to relieve itself, eat, run around a little, then right back into the crate all night.  That *would* be terribly cruel and more like a prison cell. 

But what about a puppy or adolescent dog that isn't fully housebroken or trustworthy unsupervised in the house when you have to leave for an hour to run an errand, or at night while everyone is asleep? 

I think it's far more humane to crate them for a bit while you're gone than to leave them loose to ruin your carpet, chew up your furniture, get into the trash and eat something that will require a vet visit, chew on an electrical cord, etc. 

I've done it both ways, with a crate and w/o, and I think the crate is by far the better choice, for the person and the puppy.  I would no more leave a puppy loose and unsupervised in my house than I would leave a toddler that way.  Way too dangerous. 

Those of you who don't believe in crates, what do you do when you have to leave a puppy unsupervised?  My guess is, you put up a baby gate, or put them in an uncarpeted room like the bathroom or whatever, which is just a little bigger version of a crate!  You still have to confine them somehow.  If you don't and you leave them loose and unsupervised, you risk damage to your belongings and their safety.  Or do you put them outside, where they can also get into trouble, get hurt, get out of the yard and get lost, get stolen...? 

I'm just not understanding the aversion to crates that some people have. 

Hello,

I saw a commercial for the Instyler hair straightener/curler.  Has anyone tried it?  Like it?  I have woah-frizzy hair, straight in some places, curly in others, and can't do a thing with it.  Hoping this could be what I've been looking for.

I am not denying access to my house...my son is not banned from my house....I just do not see the need for anyone who is not living fulltime in a residence.....my house, your house, sister's house or whatever....People on here keep saying I'm yelling and screaming because I capitalized a couple of words.....

One in seven people believe it is acceptable in some circumstances for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend if she is dressed in “sexy or revealing clothes in public”, according to the findings of a survey released today.

A similar number believed that it was all right for a man to slap his wife or girlfriend if she is “nagging or constantly moaning at him”.

The findings of the poll, conducted for the Home Office, also disclosed about a quarter of people believe that wearing sexy or revealing clothing should lead to a woman being held partly responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted.

Although a majority of 1,065 people over 18 questioned last month believe that it is never acceptable to hit or slap a woman, the poll found that those aged 25-39 were more likely to consider that there were circumstances in which it was acceptable to hit or slap a woman.

Men and women over 65 and those in the lower social class groups D and E are more likely to believe that woman should be held partly responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted, Ipsos Mori telephone poll found.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said: “Violence against women and girls is unacceptable in any form no matter what the circumstances are.”

Ms Smith said that more needed to be done to challenge attitudes that condoned violence against women and girls.

She was speaking as she launched a police lead review of whether new laws are needed to tackle serial domestic violence abuses and whether there is a link between the early sexualisation of young girls and violent abuse.

One idea being considered is to allow women to ask police if a new partner has a record of domestic violence. A pilot scheme that allows women to request information on whether a new partner has a history of child sex abuse is currently underway in four police force areas of England and Wales.

But MS Smith was confronted at a working breakfast at which she launched the campaign by a veteran domestic violence campaigner.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, accused Ms Smith over breakfast at the Cinnamon Club in Westminster of using “gimmicks” and “spin”.

She said that government action so far had been “piecemeal” and condemned plans for a database of serial domestic abusers.

Ms Horley said: “We have had enough talking – we need action. As for the perpetrators’ register, it is a gimmick and doesn’t address the root problem.

“The majority of violent men don’t come to the attention of police and it won’t keep women safe.

“Police can’t be expected to monitor relationships and love lives of offenders.”

She went on: ”The Government is hoping to get away with useless initiatives like this register and it is hypocritical to sound tough and do little.”

She said that the cases of Sabina Akhtar and Katie Summers showed that not enough was being done.

Ms Smith tried to interrupt the tirade but was shouted down before Vera Baird, the solicitor general, stepped in to argue the Government’s case.

skin tags off without local, as the injections caused just as much pain, if not more, than the quick snip.  These were small skin tags though and the scissors were super sharp surgical scissors, not like the kind found in a kitchen junk drawer ;-)

Depends on your pain threshold and how squeamish you are about things like these I guess.  Couldn't hurt to numb the area with ice or even Anbesol first.    

Drizzled over the fruit that browns will keep it from browning...or at least I think anyway.  Never take cooking advice someone who messes up hard boiled eggs.