Crating questions

[tj_4x4]

I started crate training our BC at approx. 4 months old but only at night when it was time to sleep. During the day she was allowed to roam inside or outisde the house.

 

She's gotten very used to her crate and as others have mentioned she will go to her crate when she wants some quiet time. If we leave the house during the day or evening upon our return we will find her lying in her crate. We use a mesh sided crate with a zippered flap. We haven't zipped the flap in about 2 years so she can go in there when she wants.

 

At night she knows when we start turning off lights it is time for bed and she goes and lies down in her crate. She gets a treat for that.

 

I like the idea of crate training from an early age but we only used at night to prevent potty accidents. Also, it was a very quick way of potty training her. First thing in the morning I would take her outside to go potty. As soon she went potty she would get lots of praise. Easiest method of potty training that I've tried.

 

I'm not a big fan of leaving a dog in a crate for any extended time during the day; however, each dog and situation are different. I'm sure there are some BC's that can get very curios about things when left alone. Not to be taken as a bad thing though, it just shows how intelligent the BC's are and they can get bored easily.

 

That's my $0.02 (can't find the cents symbol) worth.

[sandra s.]

I'd never consider locking Kessie up in a crate for hours (no aggro to those whose dogs are okay with it, I just couldn't do it), but she has a crate which I'm grateful for in some situations:

 

- mostly it's her den in winter. I can't sleep when the window isn't wide open, and she can't sleep under the covers, so the crate gets stuffed with blankets and covered with a thick sleeping-bag. She normally goes in there at some point before we get up.

The crate door is normally not attached and she just goes in and out as she likes.

 

- on very long car rides. She has a seat belt but she goes a bit hyper with excitement when there's so much rushing by at such a speed. When she's in the crate she gets p*ssed off because she can't see anything, and then she curls up and sleeps.

 

- for certain meals. I feed raw, and the day she discovered the joys of tripe shaking, I was VERY grateful for the crate

[Deneen]

After responding to and reading this thread, I bought another crate today. lol. I had mentioned that we crate trained and potty trained both dogs and now Sydney is in the crate due to some creativity she has when we're not at home. Sarah no longer has a crate because she has run of the house.

 

However, Sarah has a few issues with shyness and submissiveness. When she stays at my parents' house, she's been known to hide under tables and pee submissively. I'm hoping if I give her a crate again to use (when she wants it), it will make other places easier to deal with if she has the safety of her crate/den when we travel. Duh. Why didn't I realize that before?

 

~Kelly