Do You Crate Your Pooch When You're Not At Home?
- Thread starter Peggy G
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I responded "Didn't one time and will never make that mistake again" because one time we left Prince alone in "his room" (a small bedroom in our apt) with the door closed and the crate door open...we came home to mass destruction. He somehow managed to pull down one set of mini-blinds from the window and transform them into a huge ball. He had obviously attempted to tear the other set down, as they were mutilated from the bottom half down (amazingly the damage was in the area that was within his reach). He went to the bathroom in the middle of the floor (no, not the easy one to mop up) and put all his toys in the mess and obviously had a field day throwing them around in it and all around the room. Paw prints were everywhere (again, quite disgusting as the prints were from the mess in the middle of the room :eek: ) and it was just a disaster...it honestly wouldhave been easier to clean had a tornado gone thru there...less of an "icky" mess to clean up. he was 7 months at the time, so he was still a baby. he's 13 months now and we crate him only when we aren't home- when we are at work M-F. All other times he has complete run of the house and terrace (he loves people watching!) and when we do get home from work, the reception is comparable to that of a reunion with a long lost relative...lots of kidney-beaning, kisses and wiggles- I LOVE it! We have been trying to leave him out if we run out for 15 minutes or so...he's been doing well, but he has a long way to go before he gets out of the crate for good!
H
Hera's Mom
Guest
Do you crate your pooch when you're not at home
This was a real biggie for me. The first time we left our Hera she was very small with a real big cage. We did leave her in her cage because she was a mere 4 - 5 months old. However, after we saw that she was pretty much house broken, there was no way I'd leave her in a "CAGE". We did cut her off from the carpeted areas like the living room, kept her in the mud room, kitchen, bathroom, den, etc. places we could wash down. She started showing that she could contain herself & would wait until we were home to go outside. You just have to start trusting that they will wait until you get home to go "Potty" outside & make sure that you make a real big deal that they did by giving them a good treat. It will eventually happen, trust me. Please, please don't do the "CAGE". That's so unfair when these dogs can learn to not go in the house. Hera's Mom
This was a real biggie for me. The first time we left our Hera she was very small with a real big cage. We did leave her in her cage because she was a mere 4 - 5 months old. However, after we saw that she was pretty much house broken, there was no way I'd leave her in a "CAGE". We did cut her off from the carpeted areas like the living room, kept her in the mud room, kitchen, bathroom, den, etc. places we could wash down. She started showing that she could contain herself & would wait until we were home to go outside. You just have to start trusting that they will wait until you get home to go "Potty" outside & make sure that you make a real big deal that they did by giving them a good treat. It will eventually happen, trust me. Please, please don't do the "CAGE". That's so unfair when these dogs can learn to not go in the house. Hera's Mom
Peggy G
Boxer Insane
Re: Do you crate your pooch when you're not at home
I used to think a crate was mean until I did some reading on the subject before we got Scarlet. If you introduce the crate at an early stage in a dogs life (and many dogs even later in life) it becomes their safe haven. Just like a den to wolves. Scarlet can be trusted out of the crate for short periods of time (few hours) so naturally we allow her to be out of it *but* when we come home thats where we find her anyway, right there in her safe haven.
Just like anything else, one has to use common sense. You shouldnt leave your dog in the crate 24/7, shouldnt be used as punishment, etc.
Go to this link for a great write up on the crate.
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/crating.html
I used to think a crate was mean until I did some reading on the subject before we got Scarlet. If you introduce the crate at an early stage in a dogs life (and many dogs even later in life) it becomes their safe haven. Just like a den to wolves. Scarlet can be trusted out of the crate for short periods of time (few hours) so naturally we allow her to be out of it *but* when we come home thats where we find her anyway, right there in her safe haven.
Just like anything else, one has to use common sense. You shouldnt leave your dog in the crate 24/7, shouldnt be used as punishment, etc.
Go to this link for a great write up on the crate.
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/crating.html
Crating
Maya who is now 17 months has gotten really bad when left alone. I used to be able to leave her and no problem. However she's been getting worse about causing damage to my couch, etc. Although she doesn't mind the crate, I never crated her for more than 4 hours. For my sanity ;and her safety, I'll have to crate her whenever we have to be gone for longer periods. Hope that she will mellow out as she gets older.
Maya who is now 17 months has gotten really bad when left alone. I used to be able to leave her and no problem. However she's been getting worse about causing damage to my couch, etc. Although she doesn't mind the crate, I never crated her for more than 4 hours. For my sanity ;and her safety, I'll have to crate her whenever we have to be gone for longer periods. Hope that she will mellow out as she gets older.
tanyaj77
Completely Boxer Crazy
Crating an animal is not unfair. In fact, using a crate is a very safe thing to do. A crate is a safe place for animals to be kept so they don't get into anything that could possibly harm them.
My Boz loves his crate and he goes in it willingly. He feels safe there and he is out of harms way.
After doing tons of research on the topic of crate training, I have found it to be the safest and most comfortable method for my baby Boz.
boxerprincess
Super Boxer
absolutely..
Princess and Mac are both crated when I go to work and am out of the house. At 5 months Mac is being weaned off lunch-time pee breaks and he hasn't had a single accident. They both know the routine, and the command 'go in your house' and everytime they do, they get a fabulous prize...a nummy chew toy or a treat.
Its mostly for their own safety...I have a backyard pool and Mac hasn't learned to swim, who knows what kind of trouble they could get themselves into in the house and the fact that its 110 degrees here during the day - I don't want them getting outside at all! What if they got somehow stuck outside in that heat?
When I'm only leaving for a few hours I've started letting Princess stay out in the house and she's been an angel - BUT everytime I come home, no matter how long I've been gone, she's laying in her crate with the door open.
I'd agree they consider it their den, and their safe place.
Princess and Mac are both crated when I go to work and am out of the house. At 5 months Mac is being weaned off lunch-time pee breaks and he hasn't had a single accident. They both know the routine, and the command 'go in your house' and everytime they do, they get a fabulous prize...a nummy chew toy or a treat.
Its mostly for their own safety...I have a backyard pool and Mac hasn't learned to swim, who knows what kind of trouble they could get themselves into in the house and the fact that its 110 degrees here during the day - I don't want them getting outside at all! What if they got somehow stuck outside in that heat?
When I'm only leaving for a few hours I've started letting Princess stay out in the house and she's been an angel - BUT everytime I come home, no matter how long I've been gone, she's laying in her crate with the door open.
I'd agree they consider it their den, and their safe place.
Sarah
Guest
Yes and no. We have a extra large crate and a 10'x8'x6' kennel with attached doghouse and roof so Brody is in there when we go to work and the door is always open when we are home and it is cool for him when the heat is on.
We used the crate until we found this wonderful setup. The doghouse is fully insulated and there is a nice wooden pallet on the concrete for him to have his blankets, toys and water. He loves it and is often asleep in the doghouse when we get home!
He would get into everything if left out. We tried this once and never again! I often wonder if he would hurt himself if left to his own discretion. Kennel to the rescue!
We used the crate until we found this wonderful setup. The doghouse is fully insulated and there is a nice wooden pallet on the concrete for him to have his blankets, toys and water. He loves it and is often asleep in the doghouse when we get home!
He would get into everything if left out. We tried this once and never again! I often wonder if he would hurt himself if left to his own discretion. Kennel to the rescue!
Dexter was crated all the time when he first came at 10months old. But now he only gets crated sometime. He likes to sleep in his crate when i'm on the puter. Last week I should have crated him one day. I bought my niece a giant stuffed sheepdog for her birthday. Dexter took it out of the bag and chewed it's nose off. A big hole right in the middle of it's face. So off to the toy store to buy another one. When I came back I decided to fix the torn one too. I put it on the floor to go get a button and when I came back Dexter was standing over it like he was dominating it. I guess he thought it was a real dog. :D He is so silly.
maple leaf
Boxer Buddy
All I need to say is "bed" and the girls will stop whatever they are doing (including sleeping on the living room floor) and run down to their crates.
From the first time I put them in a crate I've always given them a small treat when they go in. Both crates are placed so they can see the other. I've never had any problems short of when one got sick or couldn't wait until they got outside to go potty. Those times are extremely rare though.
Lexxus would not need a crate if it weren't for Paige who is a wanderer. Lexxus would be content to lay around and I know I could trust her but Paige would get into everything.
The dogs never bark or scratch or complain when they are in the crates.
My sister used to crate her boxer and I hated it but I guess I've been converted.
From the first time I put them in a crate I've always given them a small treat when they go in. Both crates are placed so they can see the other. I've never had any problems short of when one got sick or couldn't wait until they got outside to go potty. Those times are extremely rare though.
Lexxus would not need a crate if it weren't for Paige who is a wanderer. Lexxus would be content to lay around and I know I could trust her but Paige would get into everything.
The dogs never bark or scratch or complain when they are in the crates.
My sister used to crate her boxer and I hated it but I guess I've been converted.
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