Training Cages

Hi,

We are thinking of getting Cherry a training cage for when she comes home to live. Part of me wants to but part of me dont. I want her to be safe when I have to go out and when I am in bed. My husband wont let me have her upstairs which I can understand as there would be arguments with my lads as they would want her in their room. Can anyone make any suggestions on this and their experiences of training cages as well.

Cheers :smt100 :smt100

Serena

Hello Serena

There has been quite a lot of discussion and sharing of experiences with crate training here lately. If you click on 'Search' at the top of the page and enter "crate" as your seach term (or "crates" if you don't get many hits with the singular) you will be directed to a lot of posts about them. Just click on the heading of the ones that interest you. If you find nothing of help, or have any specific questions which have not been covered, just post again on the thread which you have started here

SB

If it's any help, I was undecided about a crate as I felt Poppy would be too closed in and feel like she was in prison so I got a puppy playpen instead. She goes in there to sleep and to eat, sometimes she has a nap in there too. The thing that attracted me to the pen was the fact it can be extended, it has 8 panels, we currently use 4 which is plenty for her. But to be honest, I'm now starting to wish I'd got a crate, simply because I think it might be more secure - sometimes Poppy has a habit of jumping at the bars of the pen if she wants to come out and we're not ready to let her out. I'm a bit worried about the pen falling over, OH says it won't but I don't feel confident in leaving her for an hour or so in there if we go out.

Thanks Harry, I also thought about a puppy pen instead of a crate and take your experience on board with regards to worrying about the pen falling.

Serena

i have always used a crate with my cavaliers...they love it .......its almost like a little den they can go to when tired and keeps them out of mischief ..LOL

Thanks Inca, I should imagine its a bit like having a tree house for a child, everyone needs their own bit of space eh. I love the piccie of your little puppy she is so gorgeous, makes me want to get Cherry quicker, just cant wait for her to come and join us. We have photos of her all over the house so we can look at her all day.

Serena

thats lovely i bet your so excited ..... when i got my first cavalier I was wishing the days away LOL .......... the pic in the avatar is Sophie

Is it possible to use a nicely decorated box instead? It's just, I don't want a crate because of the way they look! I don't like the idea of having what looks like a cage stuck in the house and then when visitors come round and see a puppy in cage... you know...

So is it possible to have a crate that doesn't look like a crate? People have said great things but my mum believes that before the time of crates dogs were quite happy in beds/baskets so ours will be! (I do sort of agree here)

Lottie you can buy a cover for a crate I dont think it would be wise to use a decorated box instead of a crate. A puppy would chew through it in minutes

I use a crate for Finn if they have to be left together he gets put in his crate and incase the two of them decide to run riots around the house. He likes to eat things he should not. This way he is safe

Agree with Carole's sentiments - there are some really nice crate covers around if you don't like the look of the cage

I used to think like you too Lottie but it wasn't until I investigated crate training further that I am now a huge fan of crates - remember it's all about how the owner chooses to use them - if used correctly then the bars are no longer an issue....it's great for keeping pup/dog safe and a nice cosy retreat for them to hang out in when they are quite frankly sick of us or just plain doggone tired I could almost use one myself to retreat to, in order to get away from the world