I personally use the crate for two reasons.

1. For Potty training

2. For house training.

What is the difference? House training teaching the dog what is appropriate to chew and how to behave when no one is home. Potty training is usually done be 12 - 14 weeks so the dog will know not to soil in the house.

House training takes longer but if done correctly the ultimate goal of being out of the crate should occur between 6 - 12 months. This age is NOT set in stone. There are several things that determine when this occurs. Mostly it is when you believe you can trust the dog.

To transition the dog to being crate free, I go in several steps.

1. On short trips such as 5 - 15 minutes away from home, I give the dog something to occupy his time. I use stuffed Kong's or buster cubes with dog kibble. Once the dog is occupied and not paying attention to me then I leave. NEVER MAKE A FUSS WHEN YOU ARE LEAVING THE DOG. Nothing like "I'll be back in 10 minutes Fido, behave for mommy while she's gone." Then the dogs attention is on you and they may have a tendency to be depressed because you are leaving.

2. Work your periods up to longer times away. If you have success continue moving forward until you can leave the dog all day long. If you do not experience success either the dog is not ready and you need to stop trying for awhile or you need to go slower.

When I leave during this transition period, I usually put the dog in the crate with something to occupy him in the crate and then leave the door open. He is usually so busy with his treat that he doesn't even know I'm gone.

If the dog doesn't respond to this scenerio, then there are probably other issues that need dealt with such as seperation anxiety or aggressive chewing tendencies.