Crate Training For Dummies

[qball80]

Feb 21, 2011 11:48:09 GMT -5 tjamison2001 said:

Having a good chuckle reading over the post. So glad the training went well for you! This is how the hubby got Oreo to go in the crate:

My wife said that is a good place to keep your husbands...
Can anyone tell me, why put your dog in a crate..??
They look very claustrophobic.

[sugar]

I think most dogs like more of a 'den' environment. A smallish space that is not open on all sides can help some dogs feel safe, plus it is there own personal space for when they want to be alone (I know, some dogs actually want to be alone!lol).
Not to mention some dogs can be a danger to themselves or your home if they aren't some restricted (eating dangerous objects or runing all of your furniture). Not everyone has an extra room for exclusive dog use so crating can be a wonderful thing.

[michele5611]

To expand upon what Sugar said...a lot of people could not maintain a multi dog household with out using crate and rotate.

Also, I happen to own one of those dogs that Sugar mentioned above who if left uncrated is a danger to herself.

[qball80]

It sounds sensible when you put it that way..I suppose I am humanising the situation I do not
like small spaces ergo
my dog does not like small spaces ..To crate and rotate sounds like an nightmare.
I would find it hard to manage two dogs.

[michele5611]

qball for what it is worth I do not like having to crate my girl...nor does she like being crated...but she also can not handle being left alone unsupervised. We have tried giving her the run of the house and we have also tried gating her in one room to no avail. Many a times my husband and I would pull in the driveway and I would say "I see movement" only to go thru the door to see Houdini Harley had escaped the family room and gone on a rampage!

[qball80]

I like that " Houdini Harley " I know it would not be nice to have to crate
your pet. I was saying I am humanising how I would feel crated.
But as explained I can now see the value of crating..& am going to try
Kai with a box to see if he likes a small area he can sneek in to with his chew sticks..
I have read all your posts and you are the last person who would like
to crate if there was another option...
I was asking about crating as it seemed to be a normal practice on the forum. sorry if I made you feel bad in any way it was not my intention.
Your care of your dogs are beyond reproach.

Another point that was pointed out to me was the fact that it is also
a good way to get them to the vets as they are already use to their crates..something Kai would have benefited from last week.

[michele5611]

You did not make me feel bad at all...no worries I humanize things all time with regards to dogs...LOL

Yes def. think it is good at least to get Kai comfortable in a crate....just in case of an emergency or for some other need that may arise. I do know a lot of dog owners who say that their dogs go in the crate just for the heck of it...to take a snooze or have a bone or something. Also can come in handy with company give the dog a safe quiet place to go. Not that Harley applies to any of the above as she wants no part of the crate and never steps foot in it unless she has to!!

[Amanda Joy]

I had no option but the crate Buddy. Originally he was given free range of the house. After leaving the house to go to the post office for all of 5 minutes, I came home to 2 chewed lamp cords and a dancing mickey with the batteried gone. We then tried to put him a room to himself and he ate 2 blinds and my floor a/c vent. We were literally had no other choice. It still bothers me to put him in it but I know if we didnt, he would have eventually hurt himself seriously. He only goes into the crate when we arent home and at night. I wake up about every 2 hours during the night to check on him and even put a shirt that has my perfume in the crate with him. He sleeps on it and it seems to help the whining. When we are home I leave the crate door open and he usually walks in a some point during the day and takes a nap.

[loverocksalot]

It should not bother anyone to crate a dog while gone. Rocky was crated for the first 2 years of his life. He earned free roam. I still have a crate set up. He has gone in on his own during wind storms and sometimes he just goes in there to relax. It is where he goes if having a marrow bone cause I dont want the mess all over the house. When he was regularly crated he did go in on his own to take naps and at night to go to bed. I actually regret not keeping up with Crating for daily naps. Reason being now that he is doing therapy and I have been starting to do presentations and bringing him, I am sure he will spend the time whining. This is why I have brought a crate back out and set it up. Trying to get him use to it again. So he thinks going in there means getting something good like marrow or bully stick. He use to love his crate and I think he will again. Plus they feel safe and can keep out of trouble because I am sure it is worse for them when you come home angry that they did something or worse they get injured eating things.

[qball80]

So I am at my butchers buying Kais chicken drumsticks & we always swap stories about our dogs...
It was a shocker his dog had got in the kitchen & ate a small glass jar containing beef pate..There was lots of blood & he rushed him to the
vets..lucky after a drenching he came home the next day with lots of cuts to his mouth..
Apparently the dog had chewed the glass jar well enough not to cause internal damage..Makes the mind boggle what could have happened..

Another reason to crate your pet...I think

[loverocksalot]

Yes it is the main reason to crate your pet.

[michele5611]

Some dogs however unfortunate just can not be left alone without being crated. My prior two dogs had no problems having the run of the house.

[Amanda Joy]

The deal sealer for Buddy was concrete. I have a 150 lb concrete bulldog that I have had for 12 years. It sits in my living room and has a concrete base. He has his own sweaters and football jersey. My daughter had a really bad allergic reaction to febreeze and we ended up in the ER. About 4 hours later we came home to Buddy laying in the floor obviously not feeling well (he usually meets me at the door wagging his whole body) We then found the culprit. He had chewed the concrete base. There was a HUGE chunk missing but it wasnt in the floor or bed. We figured he had eaten it so we had to take him to the Animal ER. He eventually passed it but he scared us so bad that we had to do something.
But I am stoked to report that since we got the crate and I started this thread, he has learned to crate like a pro. We throw in his treat, he goes in, and the door gets closed. The first few times I thought he would act like someone was killing him. I stood on the porch to listen for him and he never made a squeak. He is happy, I am happy, and most of all he is safe! He is the first dog I have crated and I can say that I will never have another dog that isnt crated.

[michele5611]

Yeah for Buddy! As much as I hate to put Harley in the crate and she hates it as well it is nice to know that when I come home she will be safe. I used to stress out about going home because I never knew what I was coming home to....if she was ok...was the house ok! My husband and I used to "fight" about who was going to be home first...neither one of us wanted to be the first one home...LOL

[qball80]

I like the look of this crate...Quite easy to convert an old set of draws yourself

[Amanda Joy]

Thats neat! My husband's grandfather lives with us and he is retired carpenter. I wonder if he could do something like this? Granted his mind isnt what it was 20 years ago. I could show him this picture and he would end up building a crate that is 180 degrees from this!

[loverocksalot]

I just saw actual furniture like this somewhere. I don't remember where but it was end tables and coffee tables with crates built in and even a bed with crates built in under it. They were nice.