# Crates, Pros & Cons how many owners crate.



## Skywalkers Mom (Oct 26, 2012)

Do you crate your dog? Reasons why. In travelling or at home, or both.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Yes, because the dog is young and has D R I V E.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Every dog I have had has been crate trained and that will always be the case. It is safer and less stressful for them in emergencies. 
At home they are crated dependent on personality and training level. Sabi was hardly ever crated, her BFF Lex was crated when we had guests. Bud and Shadow are on crate and rotate to prevent fights, he is fairly insistent that she does not need a head, and Shadow is crated while I am at work to prevent her standing on the stove and climbing bookshelves to chase shadows. Kiera was crated while I worked after she dove through a pane of glass. Any rescues I have are crated until personalities are determined.
When my old house caught fire we saved all 9 dogs by simply carrying their crates outside where neighbors dragged them a safe distance. When the gas stove ignited I yelled kennel and all of them dove for crates. How much longer would it have taken to find leashes and collars and folks to hold them safely? As it was we had us and the dogs out in under 3 minutes. We shoved the crates out the door and the neighbors just dragged them out to the sidewalk.
When I travel the dogs are crated in the vehicle and in motels.


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## zetti (May 11, 2014)

I started crate training in 1986 on the advice of a friend & never looked back.


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## gsdheeler (Apr 12, 2010)

My dogs have crates in both vans, in the kitchen for feeding, and I have crates I keep at the place I do agility, also xtra crates in the one van for going to trials. Baby dog has a crate in the bedroom. I use mostly wire, I have 3 soft sided crates which are packed away for good.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

My dogs can stay in a crate without stressing, but we rarely crate them. The only dog I have that was crate trained from a puppy (only at night) was Kaleb. I did not trust him not to destroy the house. When He was around 7 or 8 months he was allowed out of the crate at night. He has not destroyed anything.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I crate train for house breaking purposes. My house is fairly dog-proof, though, and I usually start allowing them out of the crates when I'm gone around 7-9 months of age. After that they're rarely crated.


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## DonnaKay (Jan 20, 2014)

The breeder had started crate training so when I brought her home, the crate was no big deal. I taught her to go in her crate when I say "night night" and she caught on very quickly. I stopped using the crate when she was about 5 months old as she is fine when alone. She will occasionally go in it on her own to nap and I've crated her when the plumber was doing some work. I'm in the "crates are good" camp.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Yes, I crate. Pros: Safe for the dog, safe for my house, useful in teaching a multitude of things (house breaking, impulse control, etc). Makes it loads easier when traveling, vetting, visitors come, etc. Cons: None, that I can think of. 

My male has been given freedom of the house since 2 years of age, but we do crate while traveling. My female is 10 months and will probably not be trusted to be loose in the house until at least 2 years old.


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## JoeyG (Nov 17, 2013)

Yes I crate on advise from this forum. Our guy was destroying the house at night or if left at home. When we got it he went in like he had always had one and even now that he stays out he goes in to sleep at night or if he needs a break. It became his home and where he feels comfortable and secure. I honestly don't see anything wrong with them. We hardly ever close the door now but keep it because he loves it.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

I was against crate training when I first bought Nara, our first dog. I thought it was cruel, like a prison, to be used as a time out location for punishments. Boy was I wrong and misinformed/misled. Crate training has been wonderful, at home, in the van on cross-country (VA to OR) road trips, and even now as adults. Plus, now that they are older, I have their crate door open 24/7, with a wool sheepskin down, on top of the metal crate bottom pan. They love their cozy little nook. We have both the wire crate and the regular walled-plastic travel one. The plastic bottom that comes with the wire one cracked over time/usage, and I would notice clumps of the dog's fur stuck in the crack, as if torn out. That's when I switched to the metal bottom. It's noisy with nails clicking, so I put cardboard under the metal bottom to act as a silencer. Perfect setup IMO.


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

Lisl was my first crate trained GSD. I can't believe how easy the housebreaking was. She stayed in her crate while I wasn't home until she was 16 months. She started escaping from the crate and earning her whole-house privileges when she was around 10 months old.

She was potty trained at around 4.5-5 months.

When she proved to me over a couple of weeks time that she wouldn't eat my house, I folded the crate up and it sits in the garage to this day waiting for the next tenant.


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

I too think the crate is invaluable. I travel a lot with my dog in my SAR training and it is like traveling with his house with us. I can trust he is always relaxed in his crate no matter where we are. In the car in particular, he is much more calm than the other dogs I see going ballistic at every they see while in a car and lunging and barking and then the owner doing their own version of lunging and barking back at them. Chaos. Also if you travel, say to a friend's home in another city, and it is really too hot to leave a dog in the car and further you want to you to out to see the sites. In my experience, my dog is relaxed in his crate in someone else's house. If I tossed my dog in a friends house without a crate he would disassemble it to get to me because it is not his place. 
I guess I am saying if trained right and not abused it helps by providing safe, calming and relaxing spaces for dogs and it is portable.


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## alexg (Mar 22, 2013)

Skywalkers Mom said:


> Do you crate your dog? Reasons why. In travelling or at home, or both.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Dexter, no he does not have a crate, though i may buy him one because the other 2 have crates and he sulks when they are in theres, sometimes he will go hide in Shiggs crate for the day. Door open. 
The pro's- Great space to themselves
Safety
travel

I have had guests that were so terrified of my GSD's that i put them in there crates

Plus, have you ever tried moping a floor with 3 dogs dancing around your feet? 


When we leave our house the dogs are not crated, but they sleep in there crates. I say come on lets go to bed and they slide right in onto their beds and go to sleep on their little crate sized pillow tops.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Prolongs the dog having a home for one reason. I did raise one pup without crate training and it went fine. But with Barker the Elder something like 20 years ago, I started using crates. My dogs like their crates. It works for training (we wait our turn), it works for guests who may not be comfortable with enthusiastic hairy hosts.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

My guys are all crate trained, but I only crate one (Bruiser) when I go out. He and Slider are locked in the "dog's room" and Faith and Ledgie have the run of the house.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

I forgot to mention that Kaleb loves his crate. He is rarely locked in it, but he does go in on his own to lay down sometimes.


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## Lark (Jan 27, 2014)

Mine is crate trained, but he only goes in the crate at night. He is 2.5 yrs old, and has just recently been able to handle being uncrated during the day. It may be in my head, but I feel when I don't put him in the crate for the night he acts like a wild hooligan the next day. For some reason he seems far better behaved if he is crated - maybe he sleeps better or something.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

I crate Raina at night and while in the car in a hard airline carrier type crate. In the house she is usually with me in my work space which is gated. I do not crate Raina in hotel rooms at night when I am in the room, but I do crate her if I have to leave the room for any reason. My dogs have always loved their crates and I begin crate training at a young age so they learn to love their space. Toys, filled kongs, treats, etc all make the crate a happy place. I do not leave stuffed toys in the crate with my dog unsupervised - she would tear it apart and eat the squeeker and stuffing. I will leave her with a stuffed kong or antler though as she can't destroy those - or at least hasn't so far. I also have a folding crate for carrying to shows or other places.


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## ChouMaKen (Apr 28, 2014)

It took 5 nights to crate train Neo, it was a pretty awful 5 nights but now I feel it's the best thing I have done. 

I kknow I have a place where I can put him at night and whenever I have workers or other strangers at home. 

I am a light sleeper and him walking around all night long would have been a nightmare for me. 

He never had any accident in the crate, not even once and was sleep thru the night since he was 13 weeks. 

He is now 15 weeks and sleeps from 21h till 6h30 am


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Yes .. crated anytime he wouldn't be directly supervised for more than a few minutes. We gave him a test trial a few months back and he scratched up the drywall so he's not going to be allowed out unsupervised for quite some time (or ever...his daddy doesn't trust him to not tear up the house anymore).


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