The crate debate - Page 2

Miss Snickers · 03-10-2010, 08:30 PM

Ok, let me reword this... Snickers is in one of those playard pens, shortened enough to fit her, her bed, and her food and water bowls. Sorry I didn't differentiate the word crate from pen. But she is in there while my husband and I work (full time) And I am usually off Tues. and Fri., and he is off the weekends, so she's not in there for 8-9 hours every day.
Thanks again for all the input... so nice to have such a strong support system

Mikey T · 03-11-2010, 05:11 PM

The effect of confinment are not the result of the size of the encloser but the deparvity of mental and physical stimulation, In most single dog households the dgo that is not crated or penned spends the vast majority of time sleeping just as the penned or crated dog because of the lack of mental stimulation. Including interactive toy, buster cubes, stuffed kongs etc can go along way in keep a pup stimulated which cuts down dramatically on destructive behavior.
If interested in interactive toy cleck out Interactive toys for one of the larger selections in one location.

The fact the dog is confined is not the reason some are hyper when let out of confinement rather that is caused by thre factor two of which I already mention which confimenent can exaserbate but are easily overcome with some fore thought First is lack of mental stimulation, second is lack of physical exercise. As mentioned befored they physical exercise that a single dog gets when left alone to roam free in the house is not signicantly different that of a confined dog. Excersise is in either case going to occur only when you are hiome so you just have to include that in your schedule.

The thrid cause of overall hyperness is what I condsider one of the most important because it greatly effects how easy the dog is to live with and that is self control. What happens is to often people rely on the confinement to control the dog. rather than training the dog on how to behave appropriate in certain situations. By using the crate in this way the dog is often out of control because it has never be thought how to be in control. They also lack as much mental stimulation because during social encounter because they tend to be out of control they get crated away from it etc. This was my biigest conern when you mentioned using the crate to control the dogs behavior at meal time. Granted it is a streach to say your headed down the slippery path but it could be a step in that direction.

It appears you and your husband disagree on how extensive the use of confinement should be It is best to reach a comprise that you both can live with there appears to be a lot of middle ground to the position you both staked out. Keep in mind no one here knows your living situation nor Snicker's her personality etc so they are not in a position to tell you wlth any authority what is best, you have far more information to make that determination all we can do is offer some prospective and idea, concerns that you may not have considered.

Yogi's Mom · 03-14-2010, 01:10 PM

We have used a crate for our last three dogs and I would always recommend using one. This coming from a person who once thought crates were horrible and mean! When used properly a dog will view a crate as a den and go in there on their own whenever they are stressed or tired etc.
We mainy used ours for housebreaking and for whenever the dogs couldn't be supervised. When they were out of the crate, they were confined to one room until they were housebroken. They earned being able to have access to the whole house, one room at a time.
Having said that, I don't agree with people who use crates for a dog's entire life. When mature, a dog should be able to have full run of the house when owners are not there.

angelfotheprairie · 03-17-2010, 01:15 PM

I had a German Shepherd who we never even thought to crate...ever. We owned a big travel-crate, but that was just for driving. After her, we took in a rescue dog and the oranization was a huge proporter of crates, so we gave it a try. We now have Maggie, our Basset. She slept in an open closet at her last house, leashed up. She was very unhappy with this system at our house and we are hesitant to let her be loose at night, as she is a bit of a chewer and would undoubtedly go on the furniture, where she is not allowed. So we started crating her at night and playing some Lorie Line at bedtime. Bingo. Worked like a charm. I also remove the door during the day and she goes in and out as she pleases. It's a good place for her to go to get some quiet time away from our troop of kids.

slbj.mouse · 03-17-2010, 04:16 PM

I prefer to have crate trained dogs. My crated dogs have always been more settled than the ones that aren't. I have given them a mix of it being a safe haven and a space where they know they have to wait (until I can focus on their needs). Although the wire crates are cooler. I like the plastic crates because they can be taken apart and used as a familiar bed. Something I discovered with my beagle who was distraught about the removal of his crate when a new partner was vehimently against crate usage, so the compromise was to turn it into a bed.

B. Basset my foster and I discovered a game today for dealing with whining. If he wasn't happy in his crate he could be snapped to a lead fastened close to me. If he still whined he got a chance in the yard. When he barked to be out of the yard we went back to the crate. I'm sure the neighbours thought I was nuts cause I have to go all the way around my apartment building to put him in the yard. The third time we went back to the crate he settled and stayed put for long enough for me to finish melting cheese on nachos. When it was walk time anyway.

Miss Snickers · 03-17-2010, 05:11 PM

Update: We have been doing VERY well lately.. we have now learned to alert mom and/or dad when we have to go out. Pen time has been reduced to only when Mom and Dad are not home with me. Accidents have dropped dramatically (yes I did knock on wood) And the weather the past few days has been prime for evening walks/ meet and greets (cause we are always meeting someone new!)
Thanks again for all the advice! We love our Basset family!

03-10-2010, 08:30 PM	#11 (permalink)
Miss Snickers Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Middletown, PA Posts: 103	Ok, let me reword this... Snickers is in one of those playard pens, shortened enough to fit her, her bed, and her food and water bowls. Sorry I didn't differentiate the word crate from pen. But she is in there while my husband and I work (full time) And I am usually off Tues. and Fri., and he is off the weekends, so she's not in there for 8-9 hours every day. Thanks again for all the input... so nice to have such a strong support system __________________ I could sure go for a Snickers Blizzard right about now!

03-11-2010, 05:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
Mikey T Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: West Warrwick, RI Posts: 7,728	The effect of confinment are not the result of the size of the encloser but the deparvity of mental and physical stimulation, In most single dog households the dgo that is not crated or penned spends the vast majority of time sleeping just as the penned or crated dog because of the lack of mental stimulation. Including interactive toy, buster cubes, stuffed kongs etc can go along way in keep a pup stimulated which cuts down dramatically on destructive behavior. If interested in interactive toy cleck out Interactive toys for one of the larger selections in one location. The fact the dog is confined is not the reason some are hyper when let out of confinement rather that is caused by thre factor two of which I already mention which confimenent can exaserbate but are easily overcome with some fore thought First is lack of mental stimulation, second is lack of physical exercise. As mentioned befored they physical exercise that a single dog gets when left alone to roam free in the house is not signicantly different that of a confined dog. Excersise is in either case going to occur only when you are hiome so you just have to include that in your schedule. The thrid cause of overall hyperness is what I condsider one of the most important because it greatly effects how easy the dog is to live with and that is self control. What happens is to often people rely on the confinement to control the dog. rather than training the dog on how to behave appropriate in certain situations. By using the crate in this way the dog is often out of control because it has never be thought how to be in control. They also lack as much mental stimulation because during social encounter because they tend to be out of control they get crated away from it etc. This was my biigest conern when you mentioned using the crate to control the dogs behavior at meal time. Granted it is a streach to say your headed down the slippery path but it could be a step in that direction. It appears you and your husband disagree on how extensive the use of confinement should be It is best to reach a comprise that you both can live with there appears to be a lot of middle ground to the position you both staked out. Keep in mind no one here knows your living situation nor Snicker's her personality etc so they are not in a position to tell you wlth any authority what is best, you have far more information to make that determination all we can do is offer some prospective and idea, concerns that you may not have considered. Last edited by Mikey T; 03-11-2010 at 05:15 PM.

03-17-2010, 05:11 PM	#16 (permalink)
Miss Snickers Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Middletown, PA Posts: 103	Update: We have been doing VERY well lately.. we have now learned to alert mom and/or dad when we have to go out. Pen time has been reduced to only when Mom and Dad are not home with me. Accidents have dropped dramatically (yes I did knock on wood) And the weather the past few days has been prime for evening walks/ meet and greets (cause we are always meeting someone new!) Thanks again for all the advice! We love our Basset family! __________________ I could sure go for a Snickers Blizzard right about now!

03-14-2010, 01:10 PM	#13 (permalink)
Yogi's Mom Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,109	We have used a crate for our last three dogs and I would always recommend using one. This coming from a person who once thought crates were horrible and mean! When used properly a dog will view a crate as a den and go in there on their own whenever they are stressed or tired etc. We mainy used ours for housebreaking and for whenever the dogs couldn't be supervised. When they were out of the crate, they were confined to one room until they were housebroken. They earned being able to have access to the whole house, one room at a time. Having said that, I don't agree with people who use crates for a dog's entire life. When mature, a dog should be able to have full run of the house when owners are not there.

03-17-2010, 01:15 PM	#14 (permalink)
angelfotheprairie Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North Dakota Posts: 7	I had a German Shepherd who we never even thought to crate...ever. We owned a big travel-crate, but that was just for driving. After her, we took in a rescue dog and the oranization was a huge proporter of crates, so we gave it a try. We now have Maggie, our Basset. She slept in an open closet at her last house, leashed up. She was very unhappy with this system at our house and we are hesitant to let her be loose at night, as she is a bit of a chewer and would undoubtedly go on the furniture, where she is not allowed. So we started crating her at night and playing some Lorie Line at bedtime. Bingo. Worked like a charm. I also remove the door during the day and she goes in and out as she pleases. It's a good place for her to go to get some quiet time away from our troop of kids.

03-17-2010, 04:16 PM	#15 (permalink)
slbj.mouse Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 40	I prefer to have crate trained dogs. My crated dogs have always been more settled than the ones that aren't. I have given them a mix of it being a safe haven and a space where they know they have to wait (until I can focus on their needs). Although the wire crates are cooler. I like the plastic crates because they can be taken apart and used as a familiar bed. Something I discovered with my beagle who was distraught about the removal of his crate when a new partner was vehimently against crate usage, so the compromise was to turn it into a bed. B. Basset my foster and I discovered a game today for dealing with whining. If he wasn't happy in his crate he could be snapped to a lead fastened close to me. If he still whined he got a chance in the yard. When he barked to be out of the yard we went back to the crate. I'm sure the neighbours thought I was nuts cause I have to go all the way around my apartment building to put him in the yard. The third time we went back to the crate he settled and stayed put for long enough for me to finish melting cheese on nachos. When it was walk time anyway.

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