I think crates can be a useful tool if used correctly for short periods, they should be used rather like a dogbed and provide a safe haven mostly with the door open .

Having said that I have never used one, they were not around when I first had dogs though we did have dog boxes for transporting dogs. I prefer something larger,when Amy was small I made a play pen to contain her and used it on the odd occasion I was unable to watch her, it had hinges and folded up and could also be used in the garden, you can buy then nowadays . Later I made a sliding panel to fit between the kitchen and hall, both shown below.

I am lucky in that my garden is fenced and secure and there is a dog door out into the garden,with the wire panel in place Amy had a large confined area for her use if she had to be left for any time

I have always used a cardboard box to enable me to have a puppy with me at night during houstraining , being open I can put a hand down to touch and reassure a scared puppy ...

i have always used a create with ella and poppy , for me i think if there used poperly there fine , a safe bed for them where there not disterbed { in my house any way } i can go out for short periods knowing i wont come home to my house eatten , makes me alot less stressed as well , they no if they want to go in there they wont be disterbed and during the day its not shut i have found them a god send

This is exactly how I feel.

Hi there

the only time I would use a crate is while housetraining my puppies during the night and perhaps a place for them to go when I was having a shower etc., just to know they are safe. I could just as well use a cardboard box like Mini does and a playpen but I just have the crate and its only for very very short periods of say 5 minutes.

I too believe that cages are abused and I have known dogs that have been left in them all day while the owners work. That, to me, is downright cruel. Somebody once said to me (who works for the largest dog charity!) that leaving a dog in a cage is better than the owner coming home to find the house wrecked as it won't damage the relationship!!! I was absolutely astounded. If somebody feels like that they shouldn't have a dog. I too believe that owning a dog is a privilege and not a right and couldn't bear to think that my dogs were unhappy.

Kind regards
Annie

I agree with most other people on here that crates have their place.

Jack my Patterdale has had a crate since the day we bought him home. He sleeps in there at night and the door is open all day for him to use as his 'sanctuary'. I have 2 kids and an older dog and it allows Jack to get away from everyone should he want to.
He goes in there with out commands at the end of the evening when he knows its bedtime, no encouragement or bribery necessary. If he disliked it, he wouldnt go near it.

The door is shut at night but during the day it is always open for him to use when he wants to. I would never use it when we are at home or awake to separate him from the family as he is very much part it.

I'm sure people do abuse them, but then people abuse dogs in all sorts of ways that most of us would never advocate.

We have a giant crate for Suki - she can stand up in it and it has two sections (my OH fits in it with her and he's 6')

The longest she has been left in the crate is for one hour (one-off occasion). We've got it primarily for her safety due to her insatiable appetite for all things non-food.

Suki is lucky that she has OH at home with her all day - that is his job and her job is to look after him! I would never use the crate for any long periods of time and would get someone to be with her if need be while she is so young. HOwever trust with the household items will have to be earned and like children she'll get a little at a time until I'm sure she can cope.

I have no wish to offend anyone. However, I must speak on a subject

see you haven't offended anyone

I'm glad your not offended either

Hi
We have a crate/cage for Poppy .. as I write this, she has the choice of her sheepskin on the sofa, her fleecey bed in the corner, my bed, the sofa etc.. but she has cuddled down in her crate.. she has no objection to it at all ... it is her space and she, as far as I can tell, likes it. Poppy is shut in when I go to bed and let out again when I get up, if she is not in her "bed" she is upset and restless and cries until you either take her to bed with you or settle her in her "bed".. she gets in lays down and waits to be covered over..
During the day the door is open and she comes and goes as she likes... its a big crate for such a small doglet but even so I would not leave her confined to it all day .. she is generally left with the whole house but no garden access (barks!) if I go out for a coupla hours.


As others have said, sadly everything is open to abuse/incorrect use in some hands, people use leads to hit their dogs across the muzzle, but I use one to keep my girl safe.

Crates have their place but are not in my opinion, the best option for all day & all night use with only a few hours freedom whilst owners are home and awake, there are puppy play pens etc available to give your dog freedom albiet in a safe/confined space, whilst you are at work.

Rachel

Well said Darasa

I think they work for some people but should be used very carefully and not as an alternative to proper attention, care and training but I know some dogs love to have their own space.

I tried one recently to try to keep Loki safe during the post-ictal phase of his seizures. During this period he paces around compulsively, disorientated, confused and not seeing properly so he stumbles into things. I was worried that he was knocking his limbs off things and that he would seriously damage himself.

The crate didn't work as he didn't want to stay in there and got upset so we couldn't continue with it, however he actually chose to go in there for some quiet time to sleep during other periods when he wasn't recovering from a seizure and it was a nice place to give him his bones if it was raining outside, instead of the kitchen floor. We didn't close the door.

We dismantled it in the end though as it was in the way and not being used enough to warrant keeping it. Plus we were just using it to stash stuff on top of .

I'm not really in favour of crating an animal and closing the door though, not for periods of time when nobody is in the room, and not for long periods of time either, unless it is for health or safety reasons.

The other thing I was unhappy about was he had a seizure while in the crate and I felt he could have been injured as his paws were coming through the bars, so we had to try to get him out, so it wasn't such a safe haven for him afterall.

How about a nice wooden kennel instead?