Crating Question?

[jppodst]

Crate training is the way to go

Crate training is so much better then putting them in a room. From the past dogs I have had they will destroy a room like its nothing....eat trim, tear things up etc......Once a dog is put in a crate and trained correctly they find the crate to be a safe place for them. They will go to it for safty etc.....

 

[lilroxy]

I still can't get her to just go in w/o whining, I have a kong for her, put treats in there and everything. I feel bad forcing her in. Does this last for long?

 

[jppodst]

I still can't get her to just go in w/o whining, I have a kong for her, put treats in there and everything. I feel bad forcing her in. Does this last for long?

I wish I could remember how long it was before my lab was use to the crate...it was 7 years since he was a puppy then we got Sadie, our boxer. Shes 4 months old now and whins. What I found thou is if I put the crade in the basement (its finished) next to the other dogs she was real Whinny.....if I put her in the kitchen she was not so bad. With Zoey(Boster Terrier) we have to put a blanket over the crate to keep her from whining (would not whin hearing us just seeing us). Just got to find the nic to keep her quite. I have also heard people putting on AM talk Radio (small alarm clock) for the puppie to listen to and my wife will wair a old sweatshirt then put that in the crate at night(scents).........she thinks it works!

-Jason

 

[Misnobabi]

I know it's been about a month since the last reply on this topic.

My husband was against the crate when we first got our dog. He insisted that we could put him in the bathroom with a gate. Problem with that ended up he would throw his weight against it and somehow got it to come out. Or he managed to shut the door and the back of the door ended up scratched up. On top of that he went to the bathroom EVERYWHERE. So our neighbor said we could have their new crate they never used. Everything was happy then. The dog didn't go the bathroom inside the crate and didn't even whine his first time in. He just adjusted. He's been using the crate about three months. He goes in at night, when we aren't home and when he wants to be alone away from everyone. The last week we have been testing him. We allowed him to stay out of his crate at night. He stays out of everything. Just lays down until one of the kids wake up to put him outside. He doesn't use the bathroom in the house anymore either period. We aren't ready yet to allow him to be out when we are gone yet. Maybe eventually. I would suggest the crate for a little while in my opinion.

 

[Firerobin]

I look at it as I wouldn't want to spend 4, 5, 8 or more hours in a space that I could only turn around in. Within the last 15 years I have had 7 dogs, different breeds, different sizes, I have never owned a crate. I have had different items destroyed but mostly because I didn't dog proof, like a converter that was left on the coffee table. When I got Stryker, we decided that we would lock the dogs (we had 4 at the time) in the back bedroom the room where the dog door is that was they had access to outside. It worked for about two weeks until one night I came home from work and saw the dogs in the livingroom waiting for me. Stryker had eaten his way thru the door (picture in my gallery), he was thoughtful though he made the opening big enough for my 100lb gsd to get thru also. All that to say that was the last day they were locked them in anyplace.

 

[Hi From NZ]

One huge advantage of crate training that hasn't been mentioned in here yet is the reason I've started crating Bruce again at night. You can go (and be welcome!) virtually ANYWHERE if you have a crate trained dog. I am staying in some rented holiday accomodation at New Years and we made enquiries as to whether the house/owner was dog friendly. The response I received back was "that's fine as long as he's outside during the day and crated inside at night". 4 or 5 or 8 hours in a confined space would be fine with me if all I was doing was sleeping in it!

Bruce was perfectly fine out of the crate at night, but he was and is also perfectly fine in it too so I've decided to keep him in the routine, especially now that he's outside during the day. For me it just means I have options for travel and visiting friends/family that I might not otherwise have. I guess it comes down to your dog's willingness (or not) to accept the crate, and your own lifestyle. I'd just advise to think ahead!

 

[BonnieBoxer]

I look at it as I wouldn't want to spend 4, 5, 8 or more hours in a space that I could only turn around in. Within the last 15 years I have had 7 dogs, different breeds, different sizes, I have never owned a crate. I have had different items destroyed but mostly because I didn't dog proof, like a converter that was left on the coffee table. When I got Stryker, we decided that we would lock the dogs (we had 4 at the time) in the back bedroom the room where the dog door is that was they had access to outside. It worked for about two weeks until one night I came home from work and saw the dogs in the livingroom waiting for me. Stryker had eaten his way thru the door (picture in my gallery), he was thoughtful though he made the opening big enough for my 100lb gsd to get thru also. All that to say that was the last day they were locked them in anyplace.

Oh my i always heard people saying there dog ate through this or that but never actually seen it. I'm speechless, Did he actually eat the door or just chewed it and dropped the pieces on the floor?

 

[kathysboxer]

when I first started crating Tyson, I had to put him in. Tons of praise and treats. He would whine, but he would stop after about 5-10 min. At night, I would drop my arm down beside the bed so he could feel more secure. He would sniff or lick it a few times then off to sleep. Just remember patience and praise. Try putting an old t-shirt in there that you have worn. Just your scent maybe enough to calm him also.

 

[turklock]

Crating Questions

We just got a new puppy, and my boyfriend and I disagree on the crating. He thinks that is mean, but I think that letting her run around is to dangerous. He suggested locking her in our bathroom but I don't think that is a good idea either. Any suggestions?

There is nothing wrong w/ crating your boxer. I crated my boxer for a year or two when he was a puppy. #1 for his own safety. Now he is 7 years old and I no longer crate him but he still loves to go in his cage. Even though he has his own room and I would like to get rid of that huge thing (cage), I can't because he goes in it on his own, .