crate or locked room?

[Huggirl84]

My parents just bought a boxer puppy that will come home on wedensday We already have a six month old boxer that is crate trained. His crate is getting too small for him and we were going to give the new puppy this crate. My question is would it be better for the 6 month old to get a bigger crate or just lock him in our bathroom where he can have his bed and more room? We intend to let him just be free in the house as soon as he's completly trust worthy alone so I'm not sure if I should invest in the crate or not because they are so expensive? would having more room just set him up to go back on his potty training? he's only ever locked up for a maximum of 3 hours and has never had an accident in his crate and rarely has house accidents. Any suggestions please!!!

 

[Checkers]

Leave him out, theres no reason to crate a dog that doesnt need to be crated But do it slowely, a few minutes left alone at a time. Dont just jump straight into leaving him for 3 hours alone, work up to it.

 

[Rosieren]

We had a dog that we put in the laundry room after having crate trained him and he chewed on all the wood trim moulding and ate a hole through the drywall in the half hour he was alone. He was well past the puppy chew stage and had never shown any signs of being prone to chewing so we thought he would be fine. I definatelty agree that you shouldn't have to crate if it is not needed but sometimes they will suprise you and you'll need to crate just to keep them out of trouble rather than just to hold their bladder. Good luck and I hope all goes well!

 

[BoxerBubbles]

i have the biggest crate,so right now i am able to crate them both in one.they are almost 7mths and 1omths.if it were me,and him being 6mths,i would go ahead and buy another crate.yes,no doubt they are expensive..that's why we went ahead and bought the biggest one...that way we won't have to upgrade.i don't think i would chance the bathroom....unless you really hate it..LOL.they like to tear things up sometimes.....

 

[swooley]

I believe crating is fine

Dogs have natural denning instinct and will come to see their crate as a safe haven. I have three dogs, 2 boxers and 1 basset hound. All three are crated while we are at work and at night when we go to bed. While we are at home, the crate doors are left open. Nine times out of ten, when the dogs want to lay down, they walk to their crate and go to sleep or chew on a bone. When weather permits, we do have outdoor kennels with runs. We have to go to these measures because my Wyatt will literally eat everything. But Wyatt has a medical condition where anything larger than a grain of rice will get lodged in his esophagus and causes bouts of vomitting. So I see nothing wrong with crating as long as your pet is out enough to spend time with the family and run their energy off.

 

[aynoT]

Huggirl: If you have plans not to crate him later in life, I suggest not crating him now get him used to being alone now... I would rather say leave him in the bathroom if its big enough while you are away just to make sure that he's not gonna chew anything and can prove to you that hes gonna behave while you are away from him.. I have a 12 week old boxer myself and when i leave the house i block her off in the kitchen, its a big open space, i also but her bed in there and lots of toys to keep her busy, She has never once chewed on anything but her toys.. I am now gonna try and chance her out to run the house next time i leave for a few but no more then an hour, Its a baby step proccess and they have to gain your trust... But i suggest do not crate unless you plan to stick with it and use the crate... Hope this helps, and good luck....

 

[Louise501]

Ruby isn't crated now at all, she goes in the kitchen when I need to go out, she is 19 weeks, I have a tiled floor so its not terrible should she pee, make sure you let him out before leaving him and he should be fine

 

[jaimie]

CRATE HIM!! I have so many stories of my uncrated boxer (Britnee my first one at the bridge). At 6 months old the safest place for him is the crate, would you want to chance him getting into something harmful? Coming home from work with the laundry room wood all chewed up? Believe me, it happens we used to leave our first one in the basement when we went to work. Well we came home with the moulding & door completely ruined. The stairs & floor peed & pooped on it was a MESS!! If she was in the crate she wouldn't have done that. The safest place for any puppy, or dog for that matter is the crate. They are safe until you get home and you don't have to wonder what they have done on your way home. Our 10 year old boxer is still crated although I know she wouldn't get into anything and would probably sleep the whole time we were gone. I would not want to chance her getting into anything or getting hurt some how while we are gone. I think of the dog as a baby, would you put your baby on the floor to play when you can't watch them all the time or would you put them in the playpen where you know they will be safe?