What Do You Guys Think About Dog Crating?

[saleri]

I really wanted a dog all my life, but shortly after graduating from college, I decided I wanted cats, and completely lost any desire to have a dog.

Recently I learned that Dog Crating was a thing. I understand the argument dog's natural instincts is to be a den animal. So they'll be able to find comfort and solitude there when you're not at home. Apparently it's normal in the US to crate them up to 8 hours at a time. And usually locked. Seems most people stop crating the dogs at some point when they are ready and the dogs still like their crates except they're no longer locked.

 

[denice]

It's a good training tool for puppies but past that I don't like the idea of a dog being routinely crated for hours on end. Tying dogs up is a really bad idea under any circumstances, it's actually illegal in some places as it should be. I could see confining a young dog to one room when no one is home but that is it. If a dog gets enough exercise and mental stimulation then they should be okay left with full run of the home when no one is home.

 

[saleri]

It's a good training tool for puppies but past that I don't like the idea of a dog being routinely crated for hours on end. Tying dogs up is a really bad idea under any circumstances, it's actually illegal in some places as it should be. I could see confining a young dog to one room when no one is home but that is it. If a dog gets enough exercise and mental stimulation then they should be okay left with full run of the home when no one is home.

Yeah it's illegal in Sweden I believe, though not really sure how that's enforced. Honestly from the little I've read, getting a puppy seems like a nightmare, and not something I would consider unless I work at home.

Yeah I would do a room, but the idea of a tiny crate just seems somewhat cruel.

I've read all the arguments but it just seems so boring for the dogs.

 

[surya]

I've never had a dog, but it seems mean to me.

 

[saleri]

I've never had a dog, but it seems mean to me.

I get the argument of giving them a safe space, but my cats go to their carriers to sleep and hide without them being ever locked in there.

Obviously comparing apples and oranges with cats and dogs, but it still seems cruel.

 

[Columbine]

I crate train all my dogs, and they've all loved their crates. With puppies, I put them to bed in their crate at night (in the same room as one of us humans), then get them up as soon as I get up in the mornings. Crating overnight means puppy can't get into anything (s)he shouldn't, and gives a safe, secure place for them to sleep. We tend to have an upstairs crate for night time, and a downstairs crate (that is eventually phased out and replaced with a big, comfy dog bed) for during the day.

Crates are NEVER used as punishments, but are just safe places the dog can own. We always feed meals in their downstairs crate, so it has positive associations right from the start, and will give a mini bedtime snack when they get put to bed at night.

The longest period we've ever crated in the daytime is 4 hours, and that's very rare indeed (an hour or two whilst we run errands is more usual). I don't think it's fair to crate any longer than that at a time, and certainly don't agree with all-day crating when the owners are out. It's not fair on the dog, and is pretty much asking for behavioural problems. (Night time is different, not least because someone is in the same room as the dog, and my dogs all know that nighttime is for sleeping). Once the dogs are adults (and we fully trust them around the cats), their bedtime cage will stay out, we'll put them to bed at night (bedtime is one of Leah's favourite times of day!), but we don't shut them in. It's more for the routine, so they settle and sleep when we do.

All my dogs have absolutely adored their crates, and will spend a fair amount of time in them by choice - usually when they want some peace and quiet for a nap! Done right, crating is fantastic, but way too many people overuse or misuse them imo.

 

[saleri]

I crate train all my dogs, and they've all loved their crates. With puppies, I put them to bed in their crate at night (in the same room as one of us humans), then get them up as soon as I get up in the mornings. Crating overnight means puppy can't get into anything (s)he shouldn't, and gives a safe, secure place for them to sleep. We tend to have an upstairs crate for night time, and a downstairs crate (that is eventually phased out and replaced with a big, comfy dog bed) for during the day.

Crates are NEVER used as punishments, but are just safe places the dog can own. We always feed meals in their downstairs crate, so it has positive associations right from the start, and will give a mini bedtime snack when they get put to bed at night.

The longest period we've ever crated in the daytime is 4 hours, and that's very rare indeed (an hour or two whilst we run errands is more usual). I don't think it's fair to crate any longer than that at a time, and certainly don't agree with all-day crating when the owners are out. It's not fair on the dog, and is pretty much asking for behavioural problems. (Night time is different, not least because someone is in the same room as the dog, and my dogs all know that nighttime is for sleeping). Once the dogs are adults (and we fully trust them around the cats), their bedtime cage will stay out, we'll put them to bed at night (bedtime is one of Leah's favourite times of day!), but we don't shut them in. It's more for the routine, so they settle and sleep when we do.

All my dogs have absolutely adored their crates, and will spend a fair amount of time in them by choice - usually when they want some peace and quiet for a nap! Done right, crating is fantastic, but way too many people overuse or misuse them imo.

Hello,

Yes that sounds fairly reasonable, but I just randomly asked my co-worker and he says he crates his 3 year old dog between 8-12 hours? And I feel like for some people 8 hours is perfectly normal.

But how popular is crate training though? Like would you say 50% of dog owners have crate trained their dogs at some point?

 

[Willowy]

Hmm. I have mixed feelings on the subject, but at the same time I do crate my youngest dog while I'm at work or otherwise gone. I do come home for lunch most days, but that's still a lot of hours out of the day. I guess I don't see any other alternative. If I leave him out he'll chew something, and I don't quite trust the dogs not to get into a pack mentality if the cats fight while I'm gone.

Now, he does have a huge crate, because I just guessed at the size when I ordered it, so he's hardly cramped. It does seem boring, but my older dog who isn't crated doesn't do anything while I'm gone either.

Modern life, man. It is what it is.

 

[Columbine]

I don't know how popular crate training is generally here (in the uk), but when I went to dog training it seemed like most dogs were crate trained, BUT they weren't overused. Indeed, a lot of people seemed to crate train because they have a crate set up in the trunk of their car, and dogs are crated during car rides for that extra bit of safety and security.

A friend of mine is a dogwalker, and I've done the rounds of walks with him in the past. I don't remember any dog he walked being crated in the home, though a couple were confined to one room.

I suspect people who crate for 8hrs or so don't give their dogs enough exercise or mental stimulation, so crate them to stop them doing damage to the home out of boredom or frustration. Any properly trained dog who is given appropriate exercise and stimulation won't cause problems by being loose in the house (though the exception MAY be when they're teething).

In my case, the one we crated longest (in terms of number of weeks) was my greyhound. This was partly due to an injury which mean he had to be confined (he'd totally shattered his front leg), and partly because we had to train him to be safe and reliable around the cats,so he had to be crated when we were all out. He was far happier in a crate in the sitting room, with my other dog and cats around him, than shut away in a bedroom all by himself.

 

[Willowy]

Any properly trained dog who is given appropriate exercise and stimulation won't cause problems by being loose in the house

Hmm. My middle dog (age 7) is extremely well-trained but has always been a counter surfer. Her previous home kept her crated when they weren't around, but I've decided to give her the run of the house, since she doesn't chew furniture, and just put everything where she can't get it. However, there have been failures of that system (she can jump 5 feet :/), and since I've had her, she's eaten several loaves of bread, I can't count how many packs of cookies, countless bags of chips, a few jars of peanut butter, and once, a full 2-pound container of hot cocoa mix (I had to make her vomit that time, because there was enough cocoa to be dangerous). Training, exercise, and stimulation doesn't prevent that; she just really likes food. So. I dispute that claim. Although most dogs probably aren't that driven to get food.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Crate training is pretty much mandatory here. Puppies chew stuff and eat stuff and get into too much stuff that leaving them roaming in the house when we're gone is asking for an injured or dead puppy. Not to mention house breaking can be a nightmare without it.
Crate abusing, no. Cruel. Don't crate a dog for 10 hours a day while you're at work and then crate them for 8 hours a night.
Show dogs, field dogs, working dogs of all sorts ride in cars crated for safety. Loose dogs in a car = a flying missile if you have to slam on the brakes of make a bad judgement. If they go out the window, they're either killed on the road or run away terrified.
People with multiple dogs often crate their dogs on a rotational basis if some of the dogs hate each other.
Crating dogs is like the indoor cat vs. outdoor cat thing. Both things can be done (indoor cats can be extremely enriched, outdoor cats can live a good life, yet indoor cats can be ignored and teased, outdoor cats can be left intact and allowed to roam/fight, etc.), but it takes thinking on our part and as much management as possible.
A dog that's crated for a few hours a day to prevent potentially naughty or life threatening behaviors (not to mention allowing the house cat to sleep if the pup is a little to "intent" on chasing) is not going to hurt them like crating for 20 hours a day will. If you crate, make sure the pup gets lots of exercise, play, training, and love so they're READY for a nap.
I began crating an adult dog when they took an unhealthy interest in staring at my cats. The cats became unnerved and he would chase. I didn't like this and didn't fully trust his intentions, so rather than forcing the cats into a room having done nothing wrong, dogger was crated while we were out which wasn't very much =)
We had a dog with an agility injury a year or so ago. Crate rest for a month. The dog was comfortable in a crate. I don't even want to think of a month with an injured dog in confinement that they're not used to, anxious, barking, clawing, and trying to break out. They needed rest, not amped up.

 

[Columbine]

Hmm. My middle dog (age 7) is extremely well-trained but has always been a counter surfer. Her previous home kept her crated when they weren't around, but I've decided to give her the run of the house, since she doesn't chew furniture, and just put everything where she can't get it. However, there have been failures of that system (she can jump 5 feet :/), and since I've had her, she's eaten several loaves of bread, I can't count how many packs of cookies, countless bags of chips, a few jars of peanut butter, and once, a full 2-pound container of hot cocoa mix (I had to make her vomit that time, because there was enough cocoa to be dangerous). Training, exercise, and stimulation doesn't prevent that; she just really likes food. So. I dispute that claim. Although most dogs probably aren't that driven to get food.

I was thinking more in terms of behavioural issues like chewing/destructive behaviour etc. Also, we always keep out kitchen door shut (part of our system of keeping two doors between the cats and outside), so I tend to forget about counter surfing type issues

I know my girl, despite extensive training, will steal any cat food she can reach if she thinks she'll get away with it! (if there's no cats around....she does have SOME manners ) I guess that's equivalent to counter surfing. It's just been over a decade since any of my animals have unsupervised kitchen access!

 

[1 bruce 1]

I was thinking more in terms of behavioural issues like chewing/destructive behaviour etc. Also, we always keep out kitchen door shut (part of our system of keeping two doors between the cats and outside), so I tend to forget about counter surfing type issues

I know my girl, despite extensive training, will steal any cat food she can reach if she thinks she'll get away with it! (if there's no cats around....she does have SOME manners ) I guess that's equivalent to counter surfing. It's just been over a decade since any of my animals have unsupervised kitchen access!

I have a counter surfer. A cat.
I left butter out once, he cleaned it up, then he once stole a loaf of bread and ran off with it. He grabs spoons from the sink and carries them off and 6 months later we find a nest of spoons and forks tucked under the sofa. He has also attempted to "pre wash" any dirty skillets. What a little piggy

 

[1 bruce 1]

Stuff like this offers confinement with a bit more room, but it has no cover so no good for climbers or escapees!
This is really good for small quiet puppies or dogs, enough room for a bed, water, food, a toy or something and even a pee pad or a small pet litter box if that's the route you're going.

 

[Willowy]

I always say that a door on the kitchen is one of the things I'll insist on if I ever get to build a new house. Most houses here have these blasted open floor plans. . .

 

[1 bruce 1]

I always say that a door on the kitchen is one of the things I'll insist on if I ever get to build a new house. Most houses here have these blasted open floor plans. . .

We opted to make the cat flap to the catio big enough so dogs can fit if they want a breath of fresh air. Very nice for the dogs and cats...and nice to see them sunning together! The area isn't huge but they do seem to enjoy this, and only a few times has a dog peed in there (one lifted leg, other was I think an "it's an emergency" thing.)

 

[Columbine]

Not so many UK houses have open floor plans, unless the owners have knocked through walls. Flats/apartments are another matter though. I suspect we'd have an obese Labrador if it weren't for the door My Skywalker friend popped in with a few if his canine clients a while back, and they found the big sack of kitty kibble in the entrance hall...I don't think I need to elaborate...

 

[denice]

But how popular is crate training though? Like would you say 50% of dog owners have crate trained their dogs at some point?

I think using a crate while housebreaking a puppy is very popular. That was the main thing I used it for. The puppy would be out when I could keep a close eye on them, I could usually tell when they were looking for a place to do their business and I would take them outside. When I couldn't keep a close eye on them then I would put them in a small crate.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I think using a crate while housebreaking a puppy is very popular. That was the main thing I used it for. The puppy would be out when I could keep a close eye on them, I could usually tell when they were looking for a place to do their business and I would take them outside. When I couldn't keep a close eye on them then I would put them in a small crate.

They also make crates that are for large adult dogs but can be bought for large puppies, they have a partition that's easy to move so the crate essentially "grows" with the pupper.

 

[Columbine]

They also make crates that are for large adult dogs but can be bought for large puppies, they have a partition that's easy to move so the crate essentially "grows" with the pupper.

I've always just bought a crate that will be plenty big enough for the full grown dog. It gives the puppy more space when its little, but means that you'll never be caught out if it's needed in later life.