Two weeks ago, I wrote about crates and their ongoing use in a dog’s life. Our readers responded with their own tips and tales about how important a crate can be for a dog, from puppyhood to old age . . . and in emergencies, big and small.
Virginia Rhodes Korn We have two large dog crates in our living room! They are our dogs’ houses. Shadow especially needs hers for comfort. People without dogs ask, “What is that?!” Living with dog crates in the living room is just part of our decor!
Andrew Scheldt I never used a crate until we got our last puppy. He was crate/potty-trained by the breeder, so I got one and he did well with it. I think it was harder on me to put him in it than on him. Now, when we go to eat, he goes in by himself. Snickers’ crate is in our living room. Although we don’t use it much since he turned a year [old], it’s great for when we eat or when I need to vacuum or Swiffer® the hardwood floors.
Toni Vignogna If you train your dog to a crate properly, it will not seem like a prison. My last and my current dog both had a crate and put themselves in it all the time. It’s their safe haven and a quiet place to sleep. A firefighter once told me he loves it when dogs are in crates. If they have to go in to save the dog, they can find it easily and not have to chase a terrified animal all over the house. Your article is spot on!
Margaret Tyler Even when I retired and had all the time I wanted for [a] puppy, I didn’t have 24/7 available. I had to sleep. I had to grocery shop. I had to cook without the danger of a puppy under my feet. So until I could give the puppy my undivided attention, I crated her. My dogs don’t need crates in the house now, because they are housebroken, but they are crated in the car, and they are crated at dog classes sometimes, if a run-through without the dog is part of the process. Crates are never a bad thing for them.
A crate shouldn’t be a big deal to a dog. My dogs learn quickly not to need a crate to stay out of trouble. My foster dogs are not crated unless it’s necessary. Sometimes they are “crated” in a separate bedroom while I’m gone—particularly early on, when we are learning temperaments. My dogs happily jump into the crate in the car, and they’re fine with waiting in a crate at a class or competition, although unless I’m gone for a walk-through or a bathroom break, they’re generally out with me.
My dogs’ favorite place to be is with me. Given a choice, that’s where they will be. With the older dogs, I can send them to a mat or, if it’s just a couple of minutes I need, put them in a down stay. With a puppy, I’m not going to set her up to fail. A crate is not their favorite place to be, because that’s by my side, but neither is it a scary or bad place to them.
Leonard Buzz Cecil Crates do not need to be prisons. They can be temporary restraints for the welfare of the dog. Since many dogs like their own “den,” they will even appreciate this opportunity for some down-time, something that can be especially beneficial to dogs living in otherwise stressful environments (for example, with noisy, undisciplined small kids). Put an open crate in a storage room with an open crate door and a baby gate to keep the little kids out and you might get a less frazzled and therefore potentially dangerous dog until you can teach the kids to respect a dog’s wish for chill-space.
Like many “tools,” this one can be used well or abused. There are many positive benefits a dog can have from a positive approach to using a crate. I’ve “saved” a couple of dogs from rehoming by introducing a crate as a “safe haven” for the dog until the toddler in the household can learn not to hit the dog. It’s still the parents’ responsibility to teach the toddler not to hit, but the dog does have a safe retreat.
Nancy Zietlow Crate-training helps in emergency situations, too! When we do emergency sheltering, the pups are generally held in crates. Dogs who are crate-trained tend to do better in this already stressful situation.
Harve Morgan The ’94 Northridge earthquake [in California] convinced me to keep a crate ready at all times. Fences fell down; packs of dogs were running in the streets. Of course, inside glass [broke] and [most of] all, [we had] no lights. Most people keep carriers in the garage, and doors [were] warped so you couldn’t get to them. It was bad. Many people didn’t get their pets back.
People also learned about crates during the ’03 fires in San Bernardino. Many dogs, mostly large dogs, had never been crated. We had to tranquilize them.
Your piece reads like I wrote it. Train your dog to the crate—not necessarily locking them in, but so they accept it as their space. When you need to contain them after surgery is not the right time to train this. I consider crate training as important as any other training.
Thanks for writing it.
