# Where do you keep your dogs crate?



## erniesmom

I am not sure where to put the crate. 

Ideally I would think I would like it in the living room so the dog can see all that is going on when we are home. 

I don't have a huge house and the only place in the living room to put the crate would be next to the cats suitcase (my cat has turned it into her bed). 

I could put it next to the cats bed but I am not sure how the cat would feel (at least initially). 

We have a spare bedroom that we use as a tv room I could put the crate in. I'm just not sure how puppy will feel being in there away from all the action. Also, my son sometimes sleeps in there and not sure if puppy should be sleeping in a bedroom. 

Any thoughts?

Thanks!


***not my first german shepherd puppy but I have not had one in a long long time. I feel like a new parent.


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## Cpulley1

I adopted a German Shepherd puppy last week. We have our crate next to the cat's scratching post in the living room during the day, and in the bed room at night. She won't tolerate being left alone at night yet without crying all night. 

Our cat and puppy started playing together after coexisting for 5 days. The past two days they have taken turns chasing each other around the house, or pawing at each other's faces. Believe it or not, we have the shyest cat in the world, but they are both about 11 pounds right now, so neither is too intimidating.

Lastly, if your cat bothers to use his/her bed, that would be an oddity in its self by comparison. Our cat doesn't even know what her bed is, but sleeps anywhere else she chooses.


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## KZoppa

our dogs crates are right next to the back door,which is where they are when we leave and we have another crate upstairs in our bedroom for Shasta who isnt totally reliable left out at night yet. Sounds like you could move it around and see the best fit. good luck!


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## Stosh

I put the crate next to our bed and had them sleep in it for the first 3-4 weeks they were home. During the day I put it where the hallway meets the kitchen, so it's near all the action.


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## LaRen616

My dogs crate is right next to my bed.


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## Samba

I have mine in the living area. When they have crate time, they do like to be with the family and in the midst of us. I have a rescue whose crate will not fit up in the living room area. She is in the den. When I am gone on trips with the others, she really seems to like the chance to move into the dining room where she is with the rest of us.


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## gsdraven

When Raven was a puppy, her crate was in my bedroom. It's where I put her when I left the house and then she was in the bedroom with me at night.

For fosters, I have a crate in the living room and one in the bedroom so they are with Raven during the day and with us both at night.


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## Emoore

Mine is in the bedroom. We have an exercise pen that he uses during the day if we can't watch him, and that's in the living room.


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## Rott-n-GSDs

erniesmom said:


> Ideally I would think I would like it in the living room so the dog can see all that is going on when we are home.


Do you plan on crating the puppy a lot while you are home? We personally never crated Luna when we were home... unless we were doing something that she would get into, and then we found it easier to crate her in a quiet room so she would settle down and not whine to get out.

I personally recommend putting a puppy's crate in your bedroom. It helps them get used to it quicker. Luna never whined in her crate at night because we were right there in the same room with her. It didn't take long for it to become a "safe place" for her.


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## cassadee7

I had her little crate in my bedroom beside my bed for a month or so. I would carry it out into the living room/dining area in the daytime. Then when I had to get a bigger crate, the first day I carried that huge XL VariKennel from the living room to my bedroom and back, smashing my fingers and knocking things over, I decided she could just sleep in the living/dining room. So we leave it there now. I am right up the hall and can hear her. And she can see and hear us as we go about our day if she is crated.


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## Pattycakes

I had a crate in my bedroom at night (don't use that anymore since she is left out of it at night now) and I have another crate in my family room that she uses.


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## RogueRed26

I have my crate in the kitchen. It onlooks the living room, but it also gives her privacy to own her crate. It is also easy clean up when it comes to her shedding periods.


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## GSDAlphaMom

In the garage folded up against the wall. LOL, I'm sorry I couldn't help it. 
When I used the crates (puppyhood), I put them in my bedroom.


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## Kris10

Max's crate was right next to our bed. We didn't crate him much at all while at home, but did at night for the first few months, and when we were not home. He no longer needs a crate at all.


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## Sigurd's Mom

When Sigurd was a pup, his crate was beside my bed. When he was old enough to leave out of the crate during the night, the crate went into my living room. I like it there because if it was upstairs, we'd never see him. It seems as if when he is indoors, he likes to just sleep on his bed.


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## Klamari

I have an ex pen in the living room, and a crate in my bedroom for sleeping at night. During the day, I know I'm going to want her where I can see her and where she can see us, even when she needs to be in a pen.


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## carmspack

every one plans for their dog's activity --- here is chance to plan for the rest periods.

sticking a crate in a high traffic high activity area gives as much rest as lying on a gurney in the hallway of a hospital .


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## PaddyD

Mine had a crate in the bedroom until she was 6 months old. After that we just closed the bedroom door so she wouldn't wander at night. She has always had a crate in the enclosed breezeway just outside the kitchen. She was crated there during the day until she was about 7 months (with a dog walker at noon). The enclosed breezeway is 10 x 12 and it's heated and A/C'ed so it's her room when we are out. Otherwise she has the run of the house.


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## elisabeth_00117

Stark's crate is in my bedroom, even though he doesn't use it anymore, it's there if he wishes. It'a away from the daily traffic in the house like Carmen said, and gives him his "own space" to just relax.










When he was a pup, I had 2 crates and 1 exercise pen out.

One crate was in the bedroom for sleeping. 

The other crate had the x-pen attached to it in the kitchen for when I/he needed a break or I left for a few hours. Gave him room to stretch but also the enclosed space of the crate.

I would do it the same way next time. It worked out great.


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## PaddyD

That pad is suspiciously white.


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## GeorgiaJason

We have two dogs and both are in their own crate one on each side of the bed. we keep the crates there and don't move them, when we are home the dogs are out except for "nap Time" about two hours when my daughter takes her nap. this allows for house cleaning / adult time with no lil ones under foot.


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## Syaoransbear

I keep the crate is the living area outside of the bedroom. Not sleeping with him in the room has helped a great deal with his separation anxiety.


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## CPH

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> Do you plan on crating the puppy a lot while you are home?


I was also asking my self this questions. We never crated Capone when we were home except for sleeping. Having them out and about with you is amazing training time and allows them to learn what not to get in to. Perhaps just put a bed in your main living area for the dog so they can have somewhere to go lay down while your home and still be in the action. I also agree with keeping the crate someone a little bit quiet to serve as a relaxing comforting place.


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## Goofy

Goofy's crate is right next to the sliding door which leads to the yard in the 2nd. living room.


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## elisabeth_00117

PaddyD said:


> That pad is suspiciously white.


White sheets mean they can be bleached. 

I am also a tad (okay, a lot) OCD about cleaning my apartment so I clean and do laundry almost daily.


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## dhughins

*I know this is and older post, but i'm wondering*

I have a newly adopted 11 month old who I crate in the *living room*. her crate is too big to move back and forth, and we dont have a 2nd. She has only been here 1 night so far it went well. Am I a bad owner?


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## AbbyK9

Well ... we move every so often (being military) so finding room for the crate(s) largely depends on where we have room. In our last place, we had a 5x5 kennel downstairs in what was meant to be a family room but was really more of a dog room, plus the two crates. In the place before that, we had both the crates in the kitchen. In our current place, I have the crate in the sun room but if it were to get really cold (the sun room is part of the house but tends to be cooler than the rest of the house), I will probably bring it in to the dining room. 

We only crate when we're not home.


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## kiya

dhughins said:


> She has only been here 1 night so far it went well. Am I a bad owner?


No your not a bad owner! I always kept the crate next to my bed because when I am up and about my pup was with me. I only used the crate for bedtime & when I couldn't supervise. Most of the time (younger) pups carry on when you have them in a separate room at night.


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## PaddyD

dhughins said:


> I have a newly adopted 11 month old who I crate in the *living room*. her crate is too big to move back and forth, and we dont have a 2nd. She has only been here 1 night so far it went well. Am I a bad owner?


Living room seems like a good place to start. Also, the dog will get accustomed to laying down in a central location, where a lot of the action is.


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## lhczth

Donovan's crate is in the living room. Nike is pretty much never crated. Alexis's and Deja's crates are in my bedroom. Elena and Vala each have two crates. One in the dining room (I have a fairly open floor plan so no real walls between living room, dining room and kitchen) and one in the bedroom for night time. When the girls are in heat they are always crated in my bedroom. My bedroom is small. I have a king sized bed, two dressers, a small end table, 2 500, 1 400 and one extra large wire crate in there. I have to move Deja's crate to get to my closet and Elena's to get to my one dresser. :rofl: Donovan's crate acts as a table in the living room. I have another couple of crates in another room for when I board dogs.


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## iBaman

his is under the bar right now, so he can overlook the living room. Usually, it's in the corner where the dining room table should be, but we don't have one yet. eventually, it'll be up in the craft room, which is across from our bedroom...hopefully soon he won't need a crate =3


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## Warrior09

my bedroom


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## TrickyShepherd

Dining/Living room area. The only perfect spot where the kennel fits nicely, and out of the way. It's a large kennel, so not many options as to where it will fit! 










Works nicely, she gets to lay down in there when she wants during the day and can pretty much see the majority of the house, except for bedrooms.


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## Tankin

Our crate is in the bedroom in the corner, pretty much used for feeding him and when we are away at work. While we are at home he runs around the house and sleeps in our bedroom with the door closed.


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## Lilie

I have one large kennel in my bedroom and two medium kennels in the living room.


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## shepherdmom

4 or 5 extra crates in our garage, old dog only uses his if we traveling. 1 crate in our bedroom for new puppy at night.


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## Jo_in_TX

I have two 42" inch crates - one in in the family room with clear visibility to the kitchen and one in our bedroom. I still want her to be near us even when crated, but she's just a little over 3 months. We'll eventually go to one crate.


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## llombardo

Its in the dining room area, which has a clear view to almost every room, including my bedroom, but she sleeps in the bedroom with me most of the time anyway.


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## Pepper311

I have 2 create in our bed room. One for cookie one for Indy and the. There is a doggie too for our old man meat ball. We have a dog bed down in the living room. When we are home dogs have free run of the house. Create are for night time or if no one is going to Be home for hours.


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## Kaity

Vida's kennel used to be beside my bed before I moved her to the crate. Her crate was always in my bedroom at my moms house, now that we moved I put her crate in the foyer by the front door of the apartment. I then moved it to the 8x4 'den' but needed that room for my dressers, so the crate went behind the couch by the balcony.. then got moved to a corner by the window. THENNNNN I moved the couch and TV and her crate was on the left side of the TV stand so she could look out the window. It's now back by the foyer, haha.


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## Chowgal

All 3 of my dogs' crates are in my bedroom. Dixie's is in an empty corner by my window, Jasper's in a little down the same wall from Dixie's (so her crate can still be accessed), in front of my window (he's got a wire crate with a side door), and Todd's is next to my dresser by my bedroom door.


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## pinogirl

We keep Stella's crate in our family room. There is where we spend most of our time.


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