crate versus gate

[Zeus and Cody's mommy]

OK so Cody had a re-curring peeing problem I posted a little while ago, and after a clean bill of health from his vet check...no urinary or bladder problems detected, or anything, the vet suggested we try to re-introduce the crate for bed time. He had been using and loving his crate when we were away at work but I felt he'd be in the crate too long for overnights and during the working hours, so I took some advice off previous posts and borrowed a friends' baby gate to keep him contained in the kitchen al this weekend so he is on tile only.... rather than having him out and about on the carpets. Well he is doing great...all 3 nights he didnt touch the gate, he didnt even pee anywhere, and I laid his mat on the floor right where his crate WAS and he has been sleeping there or on the kitchen rug in front of the gate. Could it be that he now views the kitchen and this gate cutting him off from the rest of the house the same as he considered his crate his den? He has more room to move now even though he has an extra large crate, by being in the whole kitchen, and he's not a chewer or never breaks/damages things when left alone, but I was just curious that maybe he feels the whole kitchen is now his domain-make any sense to all you experienced parents of BC's? I just wish I would have tried this idea before, to give him a little more freedom. Anyhow, so far, so good, so we shall see!!! Thanks alot, Kathy and Cody

[silhouettestable]

It seems to work, designating a certain room for the dogs. My mom uses her downstairs bathroom for her dog. It's quite a large bathroom that was never fully finished (previous owner was going to put in a hot tub etc. but never got around to it), so it's just got a sink and toilet and a nice smooth floor. It's a perfect room for the dog. We did something like that too when we had danes that outgrew their crates, only we used a hallway. We would close the bedroom and bathroom doors and have a gate across the hall. The only thing was, the danes were still pups (8-9 months or so), plus my collie Noah was a pup so we had 3 puppies "playing" in the hall. They decided to tear off the mouldings around the doors and they also crushed the plastic doorknobs. When those knobs were replaced with metal ones they left dents in them. It was the male dane that was the instigator though, so we ended up building our own custom dane sized crate and crated him, but we had to take down our spare bed to make room for the crate. The other two dogs were then able to have free access to the house without any more problems.

[Meg's mum]

Meg is inconsolable behind a barricaded kitchen gate, and spends the time more easily in her crate. She defied every attempt we made to make the gate unscalable, so I have to say that it didn't work with us. We don't leave her in the house unattended and let her out a lot. But she'll go 8 hours free in the bedroom without incident.

[Zeus and Cody's mommy]

Well he is doing alright so far, yet, even. Now hubby was home with him today so tomorrow all day he will be in the kitchen so let's see what happens then!!!

[Joe Anne]

I would put his crate in the kitchen with the door held open by a bungee cord or something. This will give him the choice to go in on his own whenever he wants. Also now and then,you have him go in the crate while you are home or away for 'short' periods, even if you have the kitchen gate up. It is a good idea to keep him used to his crate, you never know when that will be what is needed, for whatever reason. You may also want to take the crate in the front room, bedroom or where ever else you relax and put him in for 15-20 min, now and then while you are watching tv or reading or just in that room for awhile.

If the gate is working, I would keep it going, but I do think it important to not completely do away with the crate.