To crate or not?
Everything I have read in books and online says that I should crate train my pup when I get him I was just curious to see if this is absolutely necessary or if I choose not to crate train Zero would that be okay too. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks :o)
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sam & Shelby on
-
It's extremely helpful. It's almost vital if you can' be with them all the time. It heps with: potty training, barking ( don't ask, it just does), SAFETY, and behavior. I reccomend it 10000000000%. If you don't want to, that's completely fine. At night, I don't use the crate. I put a gate enclosing the kitchen. She can go through the doggie door and potty, she can eat, she can drink, and I can Make sure to hide all the electrical cords. Kitchens work just fine. But, it's all your choice.
-
Permalink Reply by FuzzyButt on
-
"Odds are the answer is, "Yes". Then I ask you, were these dogs kept in cages? Odds are your answer is "Never!"."
Actually the first answer is "no." I knew a lot of dogs that were not housebroken and they did not use a crate.
The second answer is a "yes," but it was only in the case of my cousin's Shi Tsu. My cousin would just shove her dog in the crate, leave it there all night, and expect him to hold it. Dogs, puppies especially, simply cannot do that. You have to ease them into a longer time. Never all day or all night.
"Caging," an animal to me is throwing a dog in a cage, and never playing with it, letting it out, or letting it be around other people. Owners who crate their pets are given strict rules to follow. Put the crate in a high traffic area in your home, do not use the crate as a form of punishment, always make sure that your dog is comfortable with being in there. No one says that that cage door HAS to be closed at all times.
"You wouldn't keep your child confined to his room for his entire youth and adolescence, would you?"
No, they kind of do that themselves.
This individual sounds very angry in his opinions of crating. Anger is never a good way to get your point across. I know that you were trying to show another view on crate training, and I am thankful that you did. But I disagree with this gentleman's views. Ever since the crate training fad has started I have seen many dogs become house broken faster, and with less messes. If it truly was cruelty then the ASPCA would not encourage it. In fact, not only do they encourage it they have instructions on their site on how to crate train.
-
Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
-
Well, Warren Eckstein is certainly not just another angry individual :) He's quite famous actually. In order to fully understand someone, you'll need to understand what their background is.
There is no doubt that crate training works, I think most people who are against crate training because they see and hear the horror and extreme case of crate abuse and neglected cases.
There is simply no one perfect formula that fits everyone. We have owners that live in high rises and farm as well, so our lifestyles are all very different and have different needs. What works for some of us might not work for others, so i think it is important for us to agree to disagree on certain matters.
What Warren Eckstein said is true, he grew up at was a different time and place, crate training was definitely not popular back then, so it explains why and how he come to the conclusion.
-
Permalink Reply by Blithe on
-
So many good points in this thread and I must admit, It's got me thinking! I received Dodge at 10 weeks and began crate training him immediately based on an article I read, my vet's recommendation and the Breeder also said it is a great tool for the Corgi breed in particular. I sort of saw it as keeping an infant "swaddled", safe. Now that Dodge is 5 months I am thinking of phasing it out and allowing him the crate when he feels, when we travel, or when we stay at other's houses. He seems more comfortable now that he understands routine, has some training under his belt and has the ability to regulate when he gets too excited, threatened or scared. Perhaps I will initiate the transition as a rite of passage. I really enjoyed reading the article 'Against Crate Training'. The crate worked fabulously for our family but we only use it for routine, bedtime, and an hour or so when we had to go on an errand. It is recommended that you never leave a puppy or dog in a crate for lengthy periods.
-
Permalink Reply by Butter on
-
OK, I am with CorgiCapers on this. I remember the day when dogs were dogs, companions in the home. Noone ever talked about "behavioural" problems, we didn't psychoanalyze every movement, behaviour of theirs to death. We recognized that they were animals and did things differently than humans. There were no crates. They usually had a blanket or a bed in a corner. They were housetrained and we weren't afraid to leave them in the house alone.
What has happened? I was thinking about it the other day and talking to someone; their opinion is that we have raised dogs to the status of human children and are trying to put human behaviours on them...something to think about.
As for crates, when we adopted our 9 year old two months ago, he had been crate trained. However, he also slept on the floor on a cushioned pad. From the 1st night we got him, we set up the crate, he has loved it....he and we treat it like his little bedroom.
We will never shut the door; I never want him to feel like he is imprisoned. In fact, we are trying to figure out how to get the door off. We do not and won't ever use it for punishment. When we leave the house we never put him in it and he doesn't touch anything when we are gone. If we were to have a problem leaving him, I would work on training him from another aspect than crate training.
He seems happy to sleep in it and voluntarily goes into it.
I am concerned that for some people they see crates as their solution to go to work all day and not have their house ruined. Not everyone, mind you. I have seen ads that are written frantically saying "I need a crate ASAP because I just got a dog and I have to go to work and don't want him to wreck my house". I have seen quite a few of these ads. In this case, I don't think a crate is the answer. There are other options like training a dog, not getting one if you can't look after it, etc. Why didn't they think of this before they bought the dog...?
I guess that I would have to sum it up, in my view, crates are fine if they are treated like little bedrooms without shutting their doors on them. There are other ways to housetrain dogs and history points to that. That's all, folks
-
-
One further thing...when we first got Butter, a neighbour told me to never chain him up outside because he would go mad. I would never do that anyway. We both talked about another neighbour who was having behavioural problems with his dog and so chained him up 24 hours a day. The dog has gone mad...the owners now warn visitors to stay away from him because they can't predict what he will do.
Now I know that crate training is much more responsible than this chaining. However, chaining, confining by crate echo each other....why have a dog if he can't live his life as he was meant to live it. If a dog is going to be confined most of the time then as CorgiCapers said, why not get a fish instead.
-
-
Having a dog in a crate isn't always like being "confined". I would use the word confined when talking about a punishment. I only put Shelby in a crate for a little while, otherwise I gate off my kitchen and put her in there. That way the other dogs in my house can jump over the gate, while Shelby can't. She can go outside via doggie door, get food and water, and still have plenty of room to play with the other dogs.
-
-
My definition of "confined" would be if the door is shut and a dog can't get out. If the dog wants to be in an unconfined crate then that is great; he is free to decide. Gating sounds like a more open concept to me.
-
Permalink Reply by alynne on
-
we didn't crate train but she also has been comming to work with me since we got her and she never wandered/had accidents at night we also take her almost everywhere with us and if we couldn't we kept her in our bedroom (totally puppy proof) now if i have to run out and can't take her she isn't put in a room. she has flown a couple times for vacation and moving with us and has a crate for that, it sits in our living room and she occassionally sleeps in it and hides her toys/treats in it.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next ›
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
