What is a crate???

[mark downing]

I Asked

I asked at the begining of this discussion what a crate was and now i have the answer.I think you would agree ,if your first expierience of crating had been the same we had you wouldve asked aswell.

 

[KonaKoffe]

It's amazing how such a common well intended practice always stirs up so much controversy and misunderstanding.

I guess it comes down to what works for you and your lifestyle; how much damage you are willing/have to deal with and can afford; and ultimately what you feel is best for your baby.

 

[courtney323]

Hi Mark -

Welcome to Boxerworld

Crate training is essential in my opinion, and is one of the most effective ways to train your dog. It's not cruel by any means -- unless you are a cruel person -- in which case you will likely misuse all other training tools (collar, leash,etc)

The following links may provide a better explanation of how crate training is done.

http://www.barkbytes.com/training/crate.htm
http://www.perfectpaws.com/crt.html

You can also do a search here on Boxerworld for "crate training" and you should find some very useful threads where this has been covered in the past.

Good luck

 

[haleyandmark]

Oh, the crate controversy ... :rolleyes:

Asia is for sure crated during the day when we are gone, which is not often, and at the very most between 4-6 hours.

At one point in time, not too long ago, we began leaving her out. For a day, we'd go run for 30 minutes and come back, and the next day we'd be gone an hour. Once we were actually gone for four hours (golfing) and came back and all she had done was chewed a wooden knob off of an old dresser. Then, one day I left for work at 4 and Mark got home at 4.45 -- he came home to a half eaten book, blinds torn up pretty bad, carpet by the door torn up, among other small things. That was it for us. We live in an apartment that is as dog-proofed as possible (no chemicals or any other bad stuff anywhere near where she could even try to reach - I can barely reach some of them)! We just could not risk our couch, wooden furniture, the carpet, our blinds -- basically everything that came with our apartment and everything we had spent long hours working to buy. She began to tear up things that couldn't be replaced without taking large sums of money out of our checking accounts for.

I understand that people have different views on crating, and I realize that it works for some dogs, and not others (they are just like us, different personalities - I prefer to be around people while Mark prefers to spend time alone sometimes, so I DO get it). But, I think that for the most part, a crate is a very good way to keep your dog safe and happy. I would rather Asia stay in the crate for a few hours a day rather than have something happen to her (or our furniture for that matter) knowing it could have been prevented!

 

[gmacleod]

Just to add to that, you would also find that the advice given on this forum is invariably that the crate is training tool, not a way of life. You seem to imagine that dogs are crated all day from the day they come home at 8 weeks until they're geriatric. Not true at all.

It is not a great idea to leave a young puppy home alone and loose in the house. One would either crate the puppy (providing adequate potty/play/food breaks can be given) or else gate the pup in a room such as the kitchen.

but as the puppy becomes housetrained and is learning basic rules such as what it may chew on and what it can't, then the dog should be given short periods of freedom home alone. Those need to be short periods, because dogs need to be trained to be loose in the house and not to chew up your couch.

Depending on the individual dog, most are able to be crate-free by a year or two old. In my guy's case, it was six months. And he'd been trained to be loose starting with very short periods from about 4 months (like minutes), and gradually increasing those periods of time.

I do agree that the vast majority of dogs can, and *should* be trained to be loose in the house during the day. I do not, however, agree that the way to do that is to leave them for extended periods and hope that one day they'll decide that chewing up the couch is no longer fun (I have never, incidentally, lost a couch to a dog. The worst thing I've lost was some junk mail - and that was about a month ago with a dog who hasn't seen a crate in 2 years LOL). Until the dog can be trusted loose in the house, it should be crated. It's just that the training toward being crate-free should also start at a young age.

 

[courtney323]

Just to add to that, you would also find that the advice given on this forum is invariably that the crate is training tool, not a way of life. You seem to imagine that dogs are crated all day from the day they come home at 8 weeks until they're geriatric. Not true at all.

Oooops, and I did leave that point out! Maddie hasn't been crated for years, but crating was a very necessary training tool for a while.

Gwyneth, I recently lost some junk mail (and a case for my sunglasses) to Maddie LOL

 

[beausmommy]

One of my dogs is able to be left outside the crate and the other is not. Bailey will just curl up and go to sleep if I leave him alone with free roam of the house. However, in a matter of minutes, Beau has destroyed a tv remote, my purse (including checkbook, hairbrush, ink pens, license and a pack of chewing gum) and who knows what else. He just cannot be trusted outside of his crate. I don't find crating inhumane in any way. I don't think it's fair to crate one and leave the other out, so they are both crated 5-6 hours a day with their crates side by side. They also go to their beds when asked, although Beau is more reluctant. There have been some instances when they've had to be crated longer than that and have never had a problem. In my opinion, it's the only way to keep my babies safe while I'm gone. Furthermore, I don't have the extra cash around to replace furniture, walls, carpet and most of all MY SANITY!!! They both have comfy pillows or blankets in their crates and usually they immediately lay down and curl up. They have also been known to go to their crates on their own accord and inspect them to make sure they are the way they want them.

I can understand not wanting to crate a dog, but to think it is a bad thing to crate a dog for 4-6 hours a day for their SAFETY and your SANITY seems a bit silly. We do all we can to protect our skin children so I think we should do the same for our fur kids.

 

[duke'smommy]

Crate Controversy (long)

I too thought crates were cruel. When we got Duke he was a little over 3 months old, and we decided not to crate him, but to leave him in a puppy proof basement. Well.... lets just say that he chewed almost all the molding in our back hall (by back door) so we purchased a baby gate, he jumped over one so we got another. We used these gates to keep him out of the back hall. But then he chewed walls in our basement and ripped our curtains complete with curtain rod and molding off the wall. We were going nuts! Finally the trainer said try giving him free roam. We thought she was nuts! But we agreed to give it a try starting slowly with 10 minute increments. Well he's been great, by the time school let out we were able to leave him for 4-5 hours with no problem. But we took a big risk with our newly renovated house.

If I could do it again I would definitely crate train. I'll never forget crawling around the basement looking for a nail that came out of the molding, wondering if Duke had eaten it. (I found it)

 

[bubnmugoo]

we were never thrilled with the idea, but recently we had to give our old girl up, (she went to grandmas cause she has arthritis and couldn't handle kobe pouncing on her). kobe has seperation anxiety and we had to go buy a crate. it really is the only thing that will keep him from hurting himself in the house. luckly i am not working right now so we are slowly working on getting him used to the idea of being alone. he seems to be much more comfortable in the crate than just being left in the house. i still feel bad putting him in it though.

 

[Checkers]

Im still not completely convinced on the crate idea for an older dog. For a puppy its great, but for a dog that has the POTENTIAL to be let loose, but its only the owners lack of training holding it back, that is what bothers me. Dogs must learn what is theirs and what isnt. Dogs need to learn that you leaving does not mean they can do what they please.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is a safety issue. Yes in some cases it is safer to crate, but what if there is a fire? The dog cant get away and i shudder to think what would happen.
I count myself fortunate that i have a dog that can be left alone because of a little training so she knows what she can and cant touch. I can leave her outside all day and not have to worry about her getting out or destroying anything.

If a you leave and a dog chews something up, i think some serious training is needed for both parties.