Not a fan of crates...

• 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.