Crate training - enlighten me

What is the difference between using a lead when walking a dog beside a road, and a crate when they are unsupervised? Both are restraints used in order to keep them safe.

So presumably, those who like their dogs to have their freedom don't use leads when walking along the road...?

Otherwise the argument would be completely illogical and anthropomorphic, and surely that would never happen....:rolleyes:
 
SusieT said:
Yes they do keep the dog safe. They would keep children safe too.
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Which is exactly why we use cots for babies and toddlers! A crate for a puppy should be used in a similar way to a cot for a baby. Somewhere that pup or baby can sleep whilst unsupervised without having to worry that they will get into mischief or danger if they wake unexpectedly!

To the OP, Cayla's suggestions are very sensible and practical as always! I would also suggest you check puppy's worming situation if you haven't already. Our puppy messed her crate overnight to start with, but ceased as soon as she was wormed.
 
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Using a crate would have prevented my dog from eating an entire packet of raisin cereal while I was gone for just fifteen minutes, with the resultant expensive and unpleasant vet's visit to hurl it all back up again. God only knows what would have happened if I was gone for two hours and she'd eaten enough to be poisoned. :(

I have also never 'shoved' her in there, and resent the implication that we are all caging our dogs for fashion or entertainment purposes. :confused:

Use of a crate has meant that a dog with absolutely astonishing separation anxiety (this is the dog that peed and pooed herself when I closed the bathroom door between us to shower, when she first came home, and subsequently tried to get in the shower with me if I left the door open - you should have heard the noise if I actually dared leave the house!) can now be left alone for short periods, completely happy.
 
Jsr, I assume you mean "drivel" as in crate training and the resons for it and accidents?
I don't need to just believe, I live it, in the form of dealing with hundreds of dogs on a monthly basis, not pet dogs spanned over 40 years (Im a bit young for that:p, of course I will share more scenarios, dealing with rescues on a mass scale and working in a vets, Im just thankful not everyone shares a narrow minded opinion of crates, otherwise alot more dogs would be dead or a rescue statistic, Im off to bed shortly and will be putting my 2 rescue terrorists in their crates with lots of goodies to keep them safe and allow the other dogs to have some peace and quiet:p
The car scenario is a bit full on, as suggested you would not let you dog run loose near traffic, so indeed the lead acts like the crate, a good safety aid:rolleyes:
Maybe we sould also allow our dogs to run along side our cars on journeys, its a freedom breaker shutting them in the boot or making them sit on the back seat whislt we get to our destination when they could be freely running alongside it:rolleyes::D or even in the house, it's unnatural, they should be roaming free, after all this is what we saw more of 20 years ago when there was no crates, more latch key dogs, if they pished, shat or chewed they where hoyed out:rolleyes: I think also we work longer hours now and the lady of the house works whereby 20 year back they where more housewives and someone would have been at hoem alot more.


I take it if you have horses they also live out and have no stable?
 
As with most things on this forum, the phrase 'horses for courses' springs to mind.

Fair enough if you do not agree with crates but accusing or intimating that people who use them properly are evil dog abusers who like locking their dogs away, won't help anybody.
 
I've never used a crate (had 3 from pups) and have regretted it - house took a battering and Paddington in particular, probably got many unneccesary tellings off for trashing things :(
In future, I would use one and think this quote explains why perfectly :)


TGM said:
Which is exactly why we use cots for babies and toddlers! A crate for a puppy should be used in a similar way to a cot for a baby. Somewhere that pup or baby can sleep whilst unsupervised without having to worry that they will get into mischief or danger if they wake unexpectedly!
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jsr said:
Ahhh Oh so it was dogs 'supervised' by humans that were allowed to kill a dog then? Nothing to do with a dog in it's home being squashed while it slept with it's pack members? That makes shoving my dogs in a cage even more sensible?? :rolleyes:

And won't get very far where exactly?? :confused:

Obviously I'm a very bad owner and very lucky that my many dogs over the last 40 odd years have never squashed/eaten/ripped apart/sat on/shat on/played to death or mauled the teeny tiny precious ickle poopies. FFS they are DOGS they have lived for many many years without being locked away in cages. Go to the zoo if you want to see an animal locked away. Bloody fashion and human convience has ALOT to answer to.

We can all sprout stories of dogs injured. HEY OMG a dog I once knew got run over by a car....STOP TAKING YOUR DOGS FOR WALKS THEY MIGHT GET RUN OVER!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

End of subject as far as I'm concerned cos quiet frankly anyone moronic enough to believe all the drivel isn't worth the effort.
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WHoooo you wonderful fantastic owner we should all bow down to you!

Whatever
I don't care that you don't crate your dogs, that's your choice. Just like its my choice to crate my dogs. That's fine by me. What i do mind is that you absolutely fail to see past the end of your nose.

The fact is your are incredibly rude and judgmental and we like people on here who can accept that not everyone does everything their way. If you plan to just be judgmental of everyone you can feck off.
 
quirky said:
So, are you saying I should put my alarm on to get him up and put him out before he has the opportunity to soil?
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Unfortunately you might have to. I've only ever had to do this once, but I did have to do it! Despite all other precautions with crate, food, etc. Jakey could only hold it in for about 5/6 for the first six months, so I would wake up every 5 hours and take him out. Not the most pleasant six months of my life, but hey ho!
 
Do try and let him sleep with you -- I am 100% sure he will be able to hold it then :)

Daphne soils her bed if left in the kitchen overnight but can hold it for over 8 hours if in bed with us.

I understand some people do not like their dogs to sleep with them but I do think it depends on the breed. I do think Italian greyhounds are a totally unique breed, more like Devon Rex cats than dogs -- they really *need* physical contact and I have never seen anything like it in any other breed of dog I've known. Not just with humans but with other larger dogs too, mine are always sitting on top of my golden retriever.
 
I have managed one night where he has stayed in his crate. Again, we had to have a major cleaning session of both him and his crate in the morning :eek:.

Last night, I popped him in, went upstairs to change and wash teeth etc and went down as he was crying. Sure enough, he'd wee'd and pooped, even though he had done both before I put him in. It's almost as if he does it as a protest.

Anyway, due to sleep deprivation (both from pup and poorly kids), last night I decided to have him in bed with me as OH was away (:p). Lo and behold, he slept from 10pm until 6:45am without a peep :).

Even more perversely, I leave his crate open in the day and not only is he happy to go and sleep in there, it is his preferred place for a pee, right on his blanket/towel :eek:.

He's an odd little thing :).
 
Told you so :p they really are different dogs!! The way mine pile up on Peanuts or on each other is just unbelievable, has to be seen to be believed (we have actually had several strangers take photos of them!!!!!)
 
quirky said:
Even more perversely, I leave his crate open in the day and not only is he happy to go and sleep in there, it is his preferred place for a pee, right on his blanket/towel :eek:.
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Mine did this and it drove me mad, I ended up taking the crate away for several weeks. The solution is to keep them in the same room as you always so they don't have the opportunity to do it but as we were battling separation anxiety I was also trying to enforce time in a different room from me, argh!

For what it's worth I reintroduced the crate at about ten months and she didn't ever wee in it again. :)

If he settles in bed with you I'd put him in the crate but right next to your bed then gradually move it to the corner of the bedroom, then out on the landing, then wherever you want him downstairs.
 
It sounds more like a seperation anxiety thing than the actual crate, I would crate him in the room beside the bed for a week so you can shush him when he stirs and he knows you are still there, then cover the crate after a week then gradually put him downstairs.

What we have to remember is yes its fine to have them in the bed if we can or with us all the time but when it comes to them having to stay away from home, ie with family, in kennels then this routine will cease and they will become stressed beyond belief, which will result in weight loss, not eating, depression and barking and screaming themselves voiceless, so it's worth bearing in mind that routines may have to change, this is why I like my dogs to be crated trained first and then they can lounge on beds and be with me, my whips sometimes sleep on my bed, sometimes on the settee and other times in the crate, this way when they go to stay at my mams or have to stay in the vets, they do not stress at all.

I had a basset hound in to board recently and it howled, barked and was distraught when I left it in the kitchen or even went to the bog, I could not leave the house, when the owners came back I informed them and the lady said "oh I know, I never go out and he sleeps in my room" I said"well he aint sleeping in mine and I do actually appreciate being able to go out of my house every once in a while" thye are now distraught because I have refused to take him for their main holiday, as he came out of the kennels ill and in a state, so basically they made a rod for their own back and the dog is suffering for it.
 
Have always crated ours since 1 pup ate through a pipe in the kitchen many many moons ago and flooded the house and caused £2000 of damage!!!!


I have never had a problem with any of ours, they have to fit into our busy day and I like to know that they are safe when we are not around.
 
Cayla - I know you are spot on in what you say about having him sleeping in the bed. It really isn't the way I want to go.

I really am going to have to try harder as it will be awful for him if he has to be kennelled.

I actually have somebody in to care for the dogs when we are away as our GSP's don't cope with kennels at all. They come back hoarse from all their barking. I'm not sure why they take to it so badly as they are kennelled together, as at home. But, as you say, they won't necessarily want him in their bed and I'm sure they won't want to be cleaning poop off him in the dead of night :(.

Thank you again for that puppy guide, I have peeked at it more than once to see how you would sort issues.
 
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