When did you stop crating?

[Lael]

So Lael is loving her crate and doesn't mind being in there at all. I expect that she will use it often for some time to come. When did you stop crating your dog at night and while you are gone? At a certain age? Or behavior? She's about 3 1/2 months, and is not ready to not be crated; I am wondering when in the next year I can expect to let her be in the house unsupervised?

Cat & Lael

 

[DogNamed_Boo]

We stopped crating Boo at 10 months old...he never did sleep in his crate at night ....he has always slept with us..I agree ..at her age she is way to young not be be crated. Around 8 months we started testing Boo ...a little at a time ....We would leave for about 30 minutes with him out of his crate ...but 1st we made sure that all the remotes ....papers ...glasses anything else he loved to chew ..was out of sight...closed all the doors to the bedrooms ...bathrooms ..left the tv on Animal Planet ...Then the next time ...leave for an hour....etc
He NEVER did mess up anything ..chew anything ..only his toys..I remember one time we left him for 7 hours ..I was so worried the house would be a mess...but it wasn't ...nothing out of place...he was so good...from that day on we have not crated him...As a matter of fact ..his crate is put away...but I fully intend to keep it ..never know when it might come in handy ....like another puppy ...

When can you leave your baby unsupervised..?? That depends on your baby...every Boxer is different ...some people never feel comfortable leaving their Boxer out of their crate ...some started sooner. You'll know when the time is right ..if ever.!
Just start out slowly ...leaving her out a few minutes at a time ..slowly making it longer ....Just make sure everything is put up ...doors closed.
lovicon
Boo & Vickie

 

[SkippyToo]

Samson and Delilah sleep with us many nights and they were allowed to do this from the time that they entered our lives (9 weeks old respectively). They never caused any problems. They were happy to sleep in a comfy place! They do get crated sometimes at night. Don't take this wrong, but they normally get crated when I want to sleep past 6:00 AM, ha! Samson will not allow me to sleep much past that time.

As far as how long they should be crated when unsupervised, I personally will probably always crate mine when I am not home. Even if I am going to be out of the house, in the yard for example, for a length of time, they go in their crates. I only do this for their safety. They are like small children, if they find an opportunity to get into something, they will. They are both still young, at 13 and 16 months old.

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

We still crate Mia (the 2 yr old boston terrier) because she is way too destructive. I am not sure if we will ever be able to let her out unsupervised. All the other dogs we have had were able to be on their own at about 2 yrs old. My new boxer Rocky seems especially mellow and does not seem to have any seperation anxiety. Perhaps Mia will take a hint from him!

Dora & the Zoo Crew

 

[frankied]

Angel is almost 5 and Frank is 2 we still crate them when we are gone more than 30mins. otherwise they go in to destruction mode. It' s just safer them so that's why we leave them crated when we leave. Good luck if you decide to try otherwise

Christa, Angel & Frank

 

[JodyO]

Cole came out of his crate at night around one year old. We started slowly with the freedom when we were gone and puppy proofed the whole house and left him for short periods of time when he was one and a half.

It depends on your dog. Cole never chewed furniture or anything, but he felt more secure in his crate and would worry more when we left him out of it.

Just do some trial and error and you will discover what works best for you...

Good Luck
Jody

 

[titusismybox]

my wife and i hav two boxers and we've found out that the love to tare things up when alone. we had sasha for 10 mounths before we got titus and she loved to throw fits when we would live even for ten mins. so we crate them when we leve, but the sleep w/ us every night. that took a little work w/ sasha though. the first night we brought her home my wife insested the she slep with us. that turned out to work, the first night. the next night i woke up with a puddle next to my head. titus didn't have a problem with that. i guess it depends on the dog. who would of thought??????

good luck and becareful......

 

[shannonmac]

kneesaa was crated up until 3 months ago... she's now 1 year and 10 months.... however she does not have full roam of the house just yet.... instead of keeping her in the crate (which she HATED from day one) we opted to leave her first in the bedroom (when we were in our apt.) but now in our new house she has her own puppy room with toys, puppy bed, bones and a window to look out and a puppy-proof-rug! (which rules)
she does much better with the puppy room... i keep telling her someday when she is oh around 4 or 5 she'll have free roam
kneesaa was also never crated at night... she's always slept in the bed with me... i'm a sucker for having a boxer in my bed

 

[sashamygirl]

Sasha never in her crate at night i got her at 7 weeks and been in our bed ever since but when i leave she goes now she goes in there if not id come back with out a house Jenn and Sasha

 

[BooBoo & Riley]

We stopped crating Courage both during the day and at night last month. She is now 7 months old.