What is with this crate training for dogs?

Question

I read a question about crates for dogs? Someone suggested leaving the dog in a crate while at work. Thats like 8 hours. Dogs are extremely busy animals, like humans! Could you imagine being locked up for 8 hours in a crate?


Why get a dog if you dont have a yard or a house to keep it in?

Do you think its cruel to keep a dog in a crate? Or not really?

(It's SOO strange the things i hear on yahoo answers, no one i've heard of over here in australia, uses crate training. I'd never even heard of declawing a cat until i got on here)

Answer 1

Crates are wonderful training material for a puppy or dog, but no - never leave them in a crate for 8 hours. They teach positive manners and are not a punishment. When the dog is used to the crate leave the crate door open and they will often consider it their very own "den" or sleeping space where no one will bother them. Your shoes won't be chewed up either You can start with fifteen minutes and gradually work up to a couple hours. If it is a puppy add a safe toy like a Kong for entertainment. However if you plan to be gone all day long a crate is not an option, that is too long for any animal to be confined in a small space.

Answer 2

I despise people who use crates for the wrong reasons. They are used to housebreak a puppy and used for a den area. The whole point of crate training is so that the puppy doesn't mess in his den, which will soon be the house. I wouldn't imagine leaving a dog in a locked crate for any more than 3 hours at once. It just seems so cruel.

A dog is a social animal and shouldn't be left in a crate all day just because it's not convenient for the dog to have free access to your house in the day. If a house or a lounge suite is too precious to you, you should never get a dog.

I don't thinks it's cruel if they are used properly. That is, as a den and as a housebreaking aid.

I, too, am in Australia and have never heard of a crate until I started considering a puppy for myself. All the articles I read online (mostly websites made in the US) were advising a crate for a puppy to feel safe and to aid in housebreaking. I'm not getting my Dalmatian puppy until late June, early July but the more I hear about crates, the more I think that they may help. I would NEVER even think about leaving my puppy in a crate for too long. It's just not right. I agree with you; declawing was only something I heard of thanks to this website!

Answer 3

I think the crate is a great tool. We brought home a 1 1/2 year old foster dog and she wasn't housebroken at all. After several accidents, we got a crate and started training her. She took to it like a duck to water, staying overnight the first night. Each day we'd let her out in the morning and take her out again before going in the crate at night. As her bladder control developed, we started having her stay in the crate for an hour, two, or three hours at a time during the day. Again, we'd take her out before and after. She got used to being on a schedule so it didn't matter if she could tell us she needed to go out. But funny thing, she eventually learned how to alert us, so now she's taken care of either way. She also likes the crate as a 'den', a place she can go hang out if she wants to. She just goes in there all by herself with the door wide open. I'm sure that there are dogs that wouldn't take to a crate this way, but it sure worked great for us.

Answer 4

I am not fond of the idea of people leaving their dogs in a crate for 8+hours a day either. I wish they would have got a stuffed animal instead. The most I would dream someone would leave a dog in a crate for is 4 hours. It's not bad for a short time. It helps with Potty trainingg and also helps if they are still puppies so they don't get into something that could hurt them. It does quicken the process for potty training a great deal. Most dogs like the crate and will sleep in it even when the door's open. It's a den to them, a safe place.

Answer 5

No, I think you're misunderstanding the professional advice. A crate should be used like a den for a dog, a refuge where s/he can have privacy. It can also be used for housetraining and is very effective that way, but a dog should never be left there while the owner is out or it will mess in its own space, which is against the dog's nature and exactly what you DON'T want. Maximum time for a puppy with the crate shut should be one hour. I'm in Australia too, by the way, and our puppy trainer recommends crating for housetraining. OK, she is Swedish but she has lived here for a long time!

I agree declawing a cat is weird and cruel - so is debarking a dog. A neighbor of my aunt and uncle in Florida did this to her dog, instead of training the poor creature properly not to bark. When it tried to bark, it sounded bizarre and painful.

Love your avatar, btw - my daughter has Puss in that pose on her computer desktop!

Answer 6

I think its for use when they are pups and housetraining and chewing on everything. Pups won't soil their crate so its used to speed housetraining. We did not leave ours in for 8 hours, but three - four hours and then they got a walk and then three more hours and another walk. We had to pay for a dog walker while they were little. At 6 months we got a dog door and a fence and they had access to the backyard and inside to a run in our basement. Now they are 4 and ever since they were about 2.5 they have the full run of the house and backyard as they are reliable.

Supposedly a dog can stay in a crate one hour for each month it is old up to 8 hours.


PS - I think I am locked in a crate - my cube space at work is like 5 feet *3 feet!.

Answer 7

Crate training is like so many things - it can be useful, if not overdone. A puppy isn't ready to have run of the house while you're gone, so a crate, for a few hours at a time, provides a safe, secure place (especially for apartment dwellers), where your dog isn't, for example, getting under the sink and swallowing the drain cleaner while you're out.

Dogs are "denning" animals by nature - they like a safe, secure, comfortable den. Crating a puppy can speed housetraining, because dogs don't like to relieve themselves where they sleep. If you feed and exercise your dog, then let it go to sleep in the crate for a few hours with a toy, it can be very happy - but not if left in the crate all day, every day!

We used a crate when our youngest dog first arrived (a high-energy stray puppy from a rescue group). He was in the crate when we couldn't supervise him. As he grew, we used an indoor, portable pen (high enough so he wouldn't jump out), if we couldn't be watching him. Some breeds (like the sled dogs) are expert "escape artists," so if we couldn't supervise him, the crate (or pen) was preferable to him digging under the fence and playing in traffic, or jumping the fence.

In the beginning, you want a crate that's just big enough for the puppy to stretch out in (because he'll relieve himself in one area of the crate and sleep in another if there's room). Later, you can use a very large crate so he has room to play in it, if you're gone for a few hours.

They also are great for travel - keeping your dog from being injured if you have to make a sudden stop in the car- and using the crate beforehand gets him used to it (our dogs will jump into their crate on command when we get ready to go).

So I'm a fan of the crate in the right situations - but I wouldn't place my dogs in one for 8 hours without a break. If you come home at lunch, walk your dog (or have someone exercise your dog) and after that, he's ready to go back in the crate for a nice, long nap, then fine - dogs actually sleep a lot of the day.

Answer 8

Crate training is mainly used to teach a young dog to control his bladder better and to keep in on a schedule. Once the dog knows to hold it and go out doors you leave the door open. Believe it or not dogs sleep most of the day when you are gone. If you don't believe me set up a Video camera and you will see what they do. I my self crate trained and then once the dogs knew where to go placed a dog door into the wall to the back yard. My dogs have complete freedom to go lay in the sun, come in and sleep till I get home. Hope I explained the reason why. It saves your carpets and furniture during the puppy period which can last up to 1 year.

Answer 9

I don't know where I came from, perhaps another planet, but it would never have occurred to me to "crate" a grown dog, or a puppy. I've never even heard of it! Yes, I think it's cruel, under ANY circumstances. I think the answer is, if you haven't got a "safe" yard, a doggie door, etc., DON'T HAVE A DOG. It's as simple as that. When I hear about people who de-claw their cats, I can't help thinking someone should rip out their nails & mutilate their fingers. The same with de-barking dogs.
Cut off their bloody tongues & let them grunt & make noises!
I can't comprehend why people think they have the RIGHT to do such things; it should be ILLEGAL. There are so many ways to train a puppy without resorting to a "crate." As for people who care more about their precious furniture, they should NOT have a cat, & even then, you can encourage--& be totally successful--in having a scratching post for your cat. It's one of those "After me you come first" things. I actually "catnapped" a cat, (while cat sitting!) because the cat wasn't loved, had no name, & wasn't fed properly. I'd better calm down, or I'll get in a royal RAGE. (It may be worse after I see your answers!)

EDIT: I NEVER "crated" my dogs for house training! Why not just lock someone in a closet to see how long they can control their bladder? A dog house, with an open door is perfect "security" for a dog, NOT a crate! There are many things one can do to "protect" their dog if the dog is left in the house. Disconnect the electrical cords, put safety bolts under the sink, use you HEAD & HEART. I've never heard such nonsense.

EDIT: I'm still not "impressed" by the link. If I could "train" my puppys without a crate, (& no messes in the house), obviously there's a much better way to do it. You can give me 50 thumbs down & I won't change my mind.

Answer 10

I used a kennel cab to crate train all my dogs and it was a great help. I did not mis-use the crate though. My dogs were out more than in, and I didn't leave them for hours in one. Once trained they no longer used the kennel cab except that one sees it as her den and likes to go in there to sleep from time to time. It just stays open for her. I agree that it is cruel to put a dog in a small area for hours on end. I liked the kennel cab to assist in training better than a yard. I like the yard to be associated with play and outdoor fun and not a lonely place to be left for hrs on end either.
My dogs are free roaming indoor dogs. lol
They use the dog parks or country areas to romp and roll, aside from their three walks a day.