Crateing dogs......need opinions/advice

[Catsnclay]

Hi there, I am usually over at the Cat Talk, but I do have a question about dogs and crateing them.

Both my step mother in law, sister in law and now my niece are all creating their dogs. To me this is horrible!

Can someone please tell me the purpose of doing this?? When I asked my MIL she said it was to keep her house cleaner. When I asked my niece she said that when she wanted to play with the dogs, she would take them out, when she was done, she would put them away...... Since when did pets become "as needed"????

My cats have the full run of my house, and if I were to have a dogs they too would have the house to themselves. Maybe I'm wrong, but this sure confuses me. If you don't want the mess or you only want to play with them on your schedule, them please don't have them!!

Am I over reacting??

[aly]

No you're not overreacting! Crating is fine if you do it the right way and don't leave the dog in the crate for too long. It sounds like your family is using it in a totally wrong way though

Crating is a very useful tool for housetraining. It also helps if you have a destructive dog or a dog with seperation anxiety who chews on furniture, rips up carpet, etc. If you have your dog crated while you're away, the dog should definately be out of the crate at night and as much as possible while you are home. Extra care should be given to exercising dogs that get crated during the work day.

It is cruel to keep a dog in a crate and only take him/her out when you want to

[robinh]

I have 5 dogs and I only crate 2 while I'm at work. If I'm going to be gone for short trips, I don't crate them. When it's time for me to leave in the morning, I say "Kennel up" and they both run to their kennels. They have no fear of them. I've even caught them laying down in them in the evening.

I do it for safety reasons. If left alone for long periods of time, Kirby will harass the others until they snap back at him. Muffin is small enough that I worry about her falling off something or running under one of the others and getting trampled.

As soon as I feel they will be OK all day while I'm at work I'll leave them all out. Each of our dogs was crated when they first came into the house. Mine have large enough crates to be comfortable, toys to play with and blankets to lay on. They never mess in their crates and when I get home I let them out to play. I spend a lot of time with them interacting with them evenings and weekends.

[Logan]

I never crated any of my dogs, even as puppies, and for a long time, I was very against it. Pet Talk and other sites have taught me that responsible crating can be a good thing for the dog and the owners. Can't tell you how many things were destroyed by my puppies in my absence, although I did gate them in the kitchen when I wasn't at home or available (they chewed my kitchen cabinets, the door frames, etc). I loved them anyway!

[chocolatepuppy]

My dogs are only crated/confined when we are not home. When we are home they are part of the family.

[Aspen and Misty]

I have a dog with Sepration anxiety. And omg, if I didn't have crates I would not have her. I could never keep her without the crate. I would have no funiture or anything. Crateing, helps her not to be so crated when I leave. I also have a 6 month old puppy who is kenneled, but that is only because he still chews apart things. We are working on it and hopefully soon he will never have to be crated.

I think your Niece has the VERY wrong idea. Your MIL, does she only crate when she isn't home??

Ash

[Cookiebaker]

I totally agree with Aly. Crating can be done very humanely if done in the right way. When we first got Malone (yellow lab mix) I was TOTALLY against crating.

But, I was being driven bananas. He was a totally nawtee puppy, and if I didn't watch him 24/7, he would eat things that were bad for him, chew things up, get into garbage cans, the whole 9 yards. So I broke down, did some research, and got a crate.

I crate both my boys during the day while we are at work. They always get a treat when they go in there, and they sleep most of the day. Even tho' Mark works from home, he can't have them in the same room as he is always on the phone with important people. The other time I use it is when they need a forced nap. They are just like kids, and when they get overtired, they won't lay down and sleep; but get naughty out of boredom.

I have totally changed my mind, and am 100% for crating. But I also am totally against using the crate as a tool to not spend time with your pup. It makes me really sad to hear that someone would do that.

[cali]

many dogs LOVE there crates, but they are not meant to be used in the way you describe, a crate is a Den, dogs consider it a safe haven I have crates all over my house, they my dogs adore, they would go nuts without access to their kennels, but they are definatly NOT for cageing the dog, play when you want and cage it again! my dogs are confined to crates, when no one is home, to eat, when someone is at the front door, and for flyball. a crate should be considered a safe haven for dogs, when my dogs are tired or scared they go strait to a kennel, after running a race in flyball for example you cant keep the dogs OUT of their kennels.

[ChrisH]

I have used a crate - for the first time in years of dog ownership - for Bob since he first came to me at 6 weeks, and it is still in use and he is nearly six years old.
He really loves his 'den' and goes in and out all the time, I think he would be lost if I took it away! I do lock it sometimes; mostly when I have a caller, deliverys etc, so he doesn't slip through the door, also when Ebby the cat is downstairs and I can't watch them. And even then he goes in of his own violition, when there is a knock on the door he runs straight in there, barking all the time though to let them know he's about!

Crate are great things but only when used correctly. If need be, when leaving a dog home alone, so that he is comfortable and nothing can be soiled or destroyed, helping with housetraining, and confining at times when he may be underfoot and over excited.
It seems to me, from what you write, that your MIL and niece are using the crates in a totally wrong way, indeed, even a cruel way.

Chris

[stacwase]

It might look like I'm taking the chihuahuas out of the crate to "play with" and then "putting them back when I'm done", because I'm housetraining them and they can only be out when I can keep my eye on them.

It might seem cruel, but it's cruel not to housetrain them properly.

[RobiLee]

I also use to think crates were a bad thing. I have learned so much since then.

Katie was our first dog to use a crate and it is the best thing ever. Like others have said it is her safe place. Tori has her own crate and it is her safe place also. It is like their own bedrooms. Their doors are always open except for Tori's at night and both of them are closed when we are not home...which isn't too often because we all work different shifts so it seems like someone is always here. The crates have been wonderful and the girls have no problem with them what so ever. Now when I am at work and no one is home I don't have to worry that they are destroying the house and chewing everything up and maybe even swallowing stuff that they shouldn't have. Our RB Chloe was so bad when she was younger and once swallowed a whole sock and we didn't even know it. When she was spayed she threw the whole thing up and that is how we found out. The sock was still one piece. It was a knee length sock! Now I know my girls are safe when I am gone. They do not have to go into their crates when we are home although their doors are always open and they are often in there on their own will sleeping away. We never had too much problems with Katie and she has never had to sleep in her crate at night. She has always slept wherever she wants and been a good girl. Tori is a bit more hyper and I'm not for sure I can trust her just yet so her door is closed at night. In another thread I posted how last night was her first night outside her crate. She did wonderful!

Even my sister says that she sure does wish she would have known about this when her little westie, Lily was a baby. Boy, for a little dog she sure did major damage. My sister would put her in the kitchen with a baby gate and Lily would chew up all the leg chairs and even tore a big hole in the linoleum floor How did she do that! She even chewed her way through the baby gate.

I am now a firm believer in the crate system when it is used properly. Our crates are not used for punishment! My girls are young (one and six months old) so they can get quite rowdy and once in awhile I will say "timeout" and they will go to their crates for a treat or their kongs filled with a bit of peanut butter. I think they like their timeouts also Hmmm...maybe that is why they get so rowdy....they want their kongs filled with peanut butter! Those sly little pups!

[4 Dog Mother]

We have five dogs and all of them use crates. As others have said these are their 'bedrooms' and as so their safe place when things get too rowdy or scary or whatever for them. (Scary as in we are packing things up to move and I dropped a box and almost hit Dazzi - she went to her crate to be "safe' from falling objects). They are used when we are gone but I don't work right now so most days they are home and free. They are all shut in crates most nights (except Jack who sleeps in my room on his bed on the floor) because they all want to sleep with me and more importantly against me. I wake up and can't even roll over cause there are dogs on all sides and right up against me and I am just too old and restless for that!

When I say get in your beds they all run to their crates (except stubborn Taggert who just loves to do the opposite of whatever you ask) because they know they will get their favorite treats. Used properly crates are a wonderful thing both for the dogs and their owners.

[Kfamr]

Crating definitely should not be used the way you described.
My dog Simba, who is now 6, was crated for a year or so when we first got him at 8 months. We only crated him while we were away. We no longer crate him because we full trust him with free run of the house.


Nala was crated for the first few months we had her. She could not be confined to a room, as she'd tear the carpet, she could not have free run of the house, as she'd tear up everything else.

Neither of them use it anymore and it is collapsed and under the bed.

It helps greatly while training and teaching a puppy..... used the correct way.

[Catsnclay]

Wow!! Thanks for all the replies!

I wish I knew about a crate when I had a Golden Retriver many years ago! He would have really benifited from that.

My MIL should know better, but I have no idea what goes on in her mind. Lady is crated all day and only comes out when she is fed or for a potty break, or when Judy feels the need to play with her. Lady is a Springer Spanial and a fairly good size dog...who's cage is too small for her They have another dog, a German Shepard is isn't allowed in the house at all!! And then they have a cat who is confined to a small room all day & night. I really feel sorry for all of the animals.

My niece and her mother have smaller dogs, Yorkies (I think) and since my niece is pregnant she only allows the dogs to come out and play with her 5 year old at certian times. She was planning to bring both of the dogs to my house for an overnight visit (they live 2 hours away) but when I told her no, because of my cats - who have never been around dogs - that's when she told me that they stay in crates all day! ( I still told her -no-)

These people are good people, I just don't know why they are doing this. I can fully understand what all of you have told me about behavior problems, etc. and I do agree with that, but to have pets at your convienece is beyond me

Thank you for all of your inputs......I did learn something. It just breaks my heart to see these loving dogs locked up for no good reason. Thanks again!!