This seems to be the place for animal related posts. I have a new puppy. He will be 45-80 lb when grown. We are considering crate training due to friendly advise. I had never considered this before because it seemed cruel to leave an animal in a small cage for hours at a time. The people with which I've spoken say that it's great, healthy, and the pets seem to favor it. That said, if anyone could weigh in on this subject with experience, or point me in a direction for some appropriate reading, I would appreciate this much.
Would you leave a 45 to 80 lb child in a crate for hours? I think your friendly advisors should try it on themselves first.
To Hught If you read my original, that is my feeling on the matter as well. However, the people that I have spoken with are true believers in the method. More importantly they are animal lovers. As they are known, they care deeply for thier pets. My intent is NOT to offend, but I'm looking for fact and experience, not opinion. As stated, my original position was against. Now I question my position due to the beliefs of good people. But, I still thank you for your opinion!
I've never seen a pet that even show's a remote liking to being in a cage. What are your other options (to compare to)?
I have a friend that has, in my opinion, used the crate to excess and is probably doing psychological damage to her dogs. She has two Shelties that are at least two years old, maybe three. Those dogs are in the crate all night, are let out to go potty in the morning, and then crated again from around 8:00 until around 3:00 in the afternoon, every day, except on weekends, and even then if no one is home. If they do anything "bad" while they are out, they are immediately crated again. I was talking with my friend the other day and she was talking about how one of the Shelties now starts barking the second her paws hit the grass when being let out to go potty... and doesn't stop the whole time she is outside. She also is having a very hard time getting that dog back in the house. I thought it was pretty much a no brainer... the poor dog, after years of being crated, doesn't want to go in the house because she knows that eventually she is going to be put in jail again when she is in there. So, I think crates are fine for housebreaking a puppy, but it can easily be overused, creating a psycho hyper dog. That is JMO though.
What are your other options (to compare to)? Our last dog was on a chain 12 hours and in the house 12 hours. Please don' preach on chain keeping since he was still included in the family. When outside, there was regular company for him so he was not alone all the time. I have read and been told that the chain is the worst way to keep an animal. That's why I'm looking for new alternatives. We wouldn't keep a dog in a cage for more 4-6 hours at a time while we're gone shopping. We are comfy potty training without the cage, so the rest of the time would be with family inside. For now, we are taking turns with the pup as a child and carrying him wherever we go. This can' last forever.
Here is an excellent article about crate training. www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html I know a number of people who crate-trained their dogs and after training, dogs and people both seemed content. Be sure to get a large-enough crate as you are going to have a large adult dog. (See the pictures in the article.) I didn't crate-train my dogs. Instead, they stayed in the kitchen while I was gone. Also I dual paper/outdoor trained my dogs. They preferred to do their business outside, but if I was late getting home (and one time I was snow-bound overnight), they would use the papers I left on the kitchen floor. You might want to PM zookeeper as she has a lot of experience with dogs.
Excellent post devilock! And I particularly like this statement: Many people adopt a cute puppy without considering the considerable effort (with frequent mistakes, cleanups, and resulting odor problem) to house-train the puppy. People with limited time or patience might think about adopting an older, already house-trained dog. Another consideration is the cost of owning a dog, which includes veterinary expenses. This cost may be significant in the puppy years and in old age, and of course if the dog becomes sick or injured.
Wow, That's a lot to think about. I think I'm going to use the crate on occasion. Thanks for the link and the personal experience. Ihave some reading to do!
My Chow mix was never "crate" trained but when the thunderstorms come thru she is in her kennel so she doesn't tear the molding off the doors...literally. We have made the mistake 3 times leaving her out and having free roam of the house but a storm comes up and she rips the molding all to pieces. Anytime we leave, she is in her kennel. She is now almost 15 years old and loves being in her own "room". She is there now taking a nap.
I can see that this will be a touch and go situation and we will have to take it one step at a time to see what is best for our situation and the pup's. We will be getting a lerge crate at the beginning of the week and go from there. He already likes his box(no top + cut out on one side), so the transition to crate should not be difficult. Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to post back when I have more experience of my own to share. PS If anyone is interested I've had good luck with the code word style of potty training. That is, when the pup does it you say the word you want him to "go" by. They usually go within minutes because you essentially trigger the response.
dj~ Devel's post was great! AL's link is grat too. All good advice. I have a bigger dog and she hides under tables when it storms. That's because, after she grew, we never got her the crate that was big enough for the adult in her. She likes her own "safe space", so now that's under my feet or in my skin whichever she can do . Once she was trained, we'd leave the door open to her crate. She'd go in if she wanted some down time from the fam and when storms scared here. She also slept in it when away at a strange house (when we were traveling). However, she is a big dog, so has an invisible fence and igloo for outside. Now that we're in our new house her "safe space" is our screened in back porch. She has her own bed and "knocks" when she wants in. Frogger
We have our dog kenneled, and he pi$$es in it daily. He spent the first 3-4 months of his life outdoors. I think we are going to get an outdoor kennel to use while we are gone during the day, we have him on the invisible fence - but he is still too destructive to let him run wild. I don't need to come home to a chewed-up pool pump. He goes into the kennel just fine (esp if you just washed his blankets!), but he just doesn't get the whole "don't pee in your den" idea.
:lol: Sounds like my cats, they stand watch while I clean the litter box, then proceed to dirty it up again as soon I get finished, it's hilarious.
I'll have to get back to you on the specifics, but you are absolutely right about his slovenness. I'm just happy he is not whizzing on my carpet. Yes, the boxer is about 10 months old and he has been crated for about 6 months now.
Ken, the crate has a depth of about 36 inches, and is about 30 inches tall. I thought this was huge when we first got it, but the dog can no longer stand up straight and can not stretch out. I'd measure him, but I can't catch him right now! I'd say he is close to 50 lbs @ 10 months old. He pees all over his blankets, then balls them up in one end of the crate. Always has.
