should a new puppy live in a cage?

Question

should a new puppy live in a cage?

Answer 1

A puppy shouldn't live in a cage but they are useful for training. If you are planning on using a cage make sure it is the proper size for the breed of dog and that it has comfortable bedding and water available in it.
The cage can be used when the puppy is left alone and some people use them at night time.
It can take a while for puppies to get used to being left in the cage (they may whine for a bit) but will settle with it eventually - my dog used to go in to his cage on his own when he knew we were going out.
As the dog gets older you won't need to use it - once the behaviour its teaching has become learned you won't need it anymore.

Answer 2

If you mean should the puppy be constantly enclosed in a crate or cage, the answer is no. Puppies need time to investigate their surroundings, time to play and bond with you. This time should always be supervised, letting a puppy wander around your house is a disaster waiting to happen. Apart from the mess and possible damage the puppy will inevitably cause, it might also harm itself.

Using a crate as a training aid is probably the quickest way of house training your pup. Its mother would have taught it not to "mess" in the den, and the crate becomes its den. Just make sure you take the puppy to your chosen toilet space regularly. The crate can also be used to confine the puppy for short periods of time when you are not around to supervise. The rule I was given for time in the crate was 1 hour for every month in age plus 1 hour (up to a maximum of 6 hours). So a 3 month old pup should never be crated for more than 4 hours.

Answer 3

A new puppy needs to explore, play, poo wee, chew a lot, run around... these things can't be done in a cage.

However, a puppy does need somewhere safe to sleep and to take their trophies for chewing and for time out when they get too hyper. Young puppies especially sleep alot. Older puppies tend to get too lively and need to be calmed down.

This is when cages - or crates - can be used in caring for a puppy.

A new puppy shouldn't live in its cage but should have access to its cage to come and go as it pleases. You should also be able to restrict the new puppy to the cage when you can't supervise it, for periods no longer than 2 hours at a time.

Answer 4

All the time? - No way but should a puppy be crate trained? - YES. Confining a puppy to a crate is not the same as crate (or cage) training.
A crate is comfortable retreat for when the rest of the family gets to be too much. Also, crates are great tools for housetraining because dogs don't like to soil their immediate environment. In addition, for car travel, inside a crate is probably the safest place for a puppy to ride. There are lots of websites with more info on how to crate train a puppy. This is a good place to start.
http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/crate.html

Answer 5

Not 24/7.
Lets get something straight; when pups are born in the wild they are born in a nest, in a den, down a tunnel.
They don't run around all over the place. They don't stray far. They learn discipline from the older pack members - like not to mess around, not to run away. And they don't have a problem learning any of the lessons. If they don't learn them they don't survive.

When you take a pup away from its mother and litter mates it has no idea who you are and no idea where it is.
It gets homesick.
You then make the pup a comfy nest in a crate, and it thinks of that as its den.
You shut the door when you can't keep an eye on it, and that way it doesn't chew electricity cables, swallow bits of plastic, get trodden on or mess all over your carpets.
You take it to the toilet on the hour every hour, you play with it for a while once its been to the loo, then you put it back in the crate.
Crate training isn't cruel. It helps the pup learn where the toilet IS and where not to go.

Keeping a pup in a cage is not crate training.

Answer 6

A new puppy should not LIVE in a cage, but one should be used for training. Use it while you are out, but when you are home your time should be spent spending time training and bonding with your new family member, not making him stay in a cage. If you are doing this, maybe you should think if you really have tie for a puppy or not before it becomes a uncontrollable dogs, and no one will take him in when you no longer want him.

Answer 7

When I get a puppy this is what I do, first I keep a leash on it at all times when he is out and about, it will tangle on things no biggie, keep the leash on the pup to teach it not to wander from you, and you know what it is up to, after it eats or drinks you will be able to judge when the best time is to put it out to go, for the cage or crate, I use it while not at home, not as punishment when the dog is bad. When I think the pup is old enough to be alone in the house I go outside and peek in the windows now and then to see what he is doing, if something is wrong you can correct it faster this way, eventually the pup will be able to roam the house when you are gone to work or what have you. I potty trained my last pup i just three days, it did take her quite some time before she was aloud to roam the house when we were gone

Answer 8

Hi there it is good to start create (cage) training at a early age so the pup can get used to it. I have a 14wk year old staffie who has been create trained from the age of 6wks that's his own wee den when he wants to chill he loves it we don't put him in the cage all the time just when we go to bed, when were out of the house we do this not to be cruel just to keep the puppy safe because pups can get into all sorts. I think its a good idea just make sure its comfortable for the pup.

Answer 9

My dog had a cage but NOT to live in. He went in at bed time and when we were out of the house or had the front door open for a length of time such as bringing in shopping, just until he learnt not to roam and come back when called. He liked his cage as it was never used as a punishment. He used to go in of his own accord when he wanted to be left alone or was tired and we did put him in it when we had visitors who thought (stupidly) that all dogs are vicious and didn't like having them around, we don't let them visit any more needless to say :D Also puppies are inquisitive and need time to play about and sniff around and be with the family. Though when we were very busy doing things like decorating and house work he would be put in there until we had finished but he could still see and hear us though. Never force the puppy in at first, we put a trail of biscuits up to the door and a nice bone inside it so he looked upon it as a nice place to be.

Answer 10

You should only put it in a cage while you are sleeping or while you are out of the house, you should take it out immediately when you wake up or return home, this is known as crate training, it's a house breaking method that works very effectively, although if you have a small room such as a laundry room you could buy a baby gate and keep the puppy in there instead of in a crate, leave him food water blankets toys...this way he would have much more room for exercise especially if you work long hours during the day, but once he is housebroken you won't have to worry about it anymore.