I don’t actually plan to take my dog’s crate away, because he likes to use it as a place to relax during the day. When the dog was a puppy, I was told that you shouldn’t let dogs roam unsupervised until age two. My dog is almost two, and he hasn’t had an accident in well over a year. He doesn’t destroy things besides his own toys, and tissue (does anyone know what it is with some dogs and tissues?), so I was thinking he could at least be free at night.
The first night went fine. Every night after that he’s started barking at 3 or 4 AM. The only way to get him to stop is to lock him in the crate, where he promptly falls asleep. He rarely barks in the crate, and it seems like he feels happier when he’s locked in at night. I’d think he’d enjoy the freedom, but I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking he’d want what a human would. Has anyone else dealt with a situation like this? I wasn’t planning on crating him forever, and want to eventually get to the point where he’s free all the time.
I had to re-introduce the crate for my doggies.
My pet sitter pointed out that as pack animals dogs like having a safe place to curl up into and retreat to when scared, tired, or pissed off.
My mom’s dog is sequestered in the laundry room at night.
If the the crate door is removable just leave it off so that it is just a cave for your darling to hang out in.
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose” applies here I think, dogs like to curl up and feel contained at night-this is based on my experience and observations only of course.
The thing is, the crate door is off during the day, and the beag goes in and out at his leisure. Until recently, the we were putting the door on at night, when the dog would be alone, and when the dog needed to be contained. I just started leaving the door off at night too, but for some reason, he’s not happy about it.
My dog is 4 this year and although he likes to snuggle under the blankets if we let him out, he also loves his crate. It has a few toys, his “fuck-bunny” and some fleece pillows and blankies in it. It is nice and warm and we just never took it away, since he likes it. Some nights, we leave the crate open and he will come snuggle us, but most of the time, he just stays in his crate. It’s up to you and your dog and what works best for you both.
Never. Well, never while I had dogs, that is. The door stayed open when I was around to supervise, and a quick “Bye-bye, Champ!” was the dog’s cue to get in. My favorite dog learned how to close his door behind him (I had to help latch it for him, poor thumbless creature). If he wanted to go to his “happy place” while I was around, he’d go in and leave his door open. Sometimes he’d choose to sleep in there overnight, and that’s when I knew we were going to the vet in the morning - he only wanted to sleep in there overnight when he was sick.
He might want the door closed at night because that’s how he expects it. Change is hard for dogs. He might feel like he’s “on duty” to guard the place (either your home or his crate) until that door is shut. It’s become his signal for “nothing interesting going on, just go to sleep for a bit.” I’d just close his door for him so he’s not anxious.
If you don’t want the crate anymore for some reason (like aesthetics), I’d put a high-sided dog bed in there for a while - a couple of weeks - and then remove the crate and leave the dog bed in its place so the dog still has a comfy semi-enclosed space all his own.
Another vote fo r"if you have room for it, keep it."
Dolly had a crate that I stopped closing around the age of 2. She slept or hung out in there regularly for the next couple years. When she was 3 1/2, we moved and I did not set up the crate in the new house because I didn’t have the room.
BUT - she has several “cave-like” areas in the new house: a bed in my office closet, a space under the spare desk in the office, the space between the wall and the foot of my bed in the bedroom, and a high-sided dog bed in the living room. Sometimes she also makes use of under the dining room table, or the space between the entertainment center and the chair in the living room. She is not wont for “safe places” in the house (she seems to prefer the office closet as the safest).
She also still takes to “time to get in the cage!” when I call her in from outside - even tho there hasn’t been a cage in this house ever.
So, I say keep the cage if you can but if you need to get rid of it, provide for some nice “safe spots” (er…pretty much what **WhyNot **said).
Yup, keep it if you can. We have a folding crate for each of our dogs and they’re great for travel, and also if you have a dog that’s sick or needs to be kept quiet. Phyllis gets up on the bed and sits on our heads if there’s a thunderstorm, but if we put her in her crate she settles right down. She’s 7 and developed her thunderstorm phobia only a little while ago.
Or sometimes if we need to observe the dog for a little while (possible vomiting, recently), into the crate she goes. Or maybe she hurt a paw and should be kept calm. When they come home from any sort of surgery or anesthesia, as for teeth cleaning – into the crate for a bit. Dottie (age 5) has occasional problems with her spay incontinence (leakage while resting; she’s on meds, but sometimes we have to adjust), so into the crate when we can’t observe her, until we’re sure she’s not leaking anymore. If they use it every so often, they stay used to it. Each crate has a nice sheepskin bed for comfort. Dottie sleeps in her open crate in the bedroom most of the time.
Our rescue Sheltie, Robby would jump over the toddler gate and into bed when he was terrified of thunder. One night I reached out for Mrs. Plant’s hand and found a tiny little furry paw. The first thing I thought was, "the moon isn’t full…’
That’s why I wanted to leave the door open, not that he’s a guard dog, but if he’s free to come and go, he’s more apt to bark and alert us if something’s up. That is a good point. Perhaps the locking the door is his signal that all is well.
Again folks, I know the title asks about getting rid of the crate, but I never planned to do it. I just wanted to use it more as a cave than a cage at night and eventually when we’re gone.
See, this is the point I was hoping to get my dog to.
Could be. IMHO, much (most?) of dog acting-out is because of anxiety stemming from a lack of a strong pack hierarchy. If you don’t show them that they have an alpha dog to take care of them and protect them, they look around and go, “Oh, shit! We need an alpha/a guard/a scout…it must be ME! Zoinks!” and then they go a little apeshit trying to fill that role.
Another example: my theory is that this is the largest source of leash-tugging while waking. The poor thing instinctively knows SOMEONE has to be in the front and calmly watching for trouble, and if you’re not strong and in command, he’ll do his best to step up and do it, but that means we better check behind every tree and bark at every loose leaf, because he’s not been trained by his pack in how to do this job very well. But by gum, he’ll give it his best shot, 'cause he loves you and wants to see you, as the rest of his pack, safe! But he’s not really happy and excited, he’s stressed out and a bit anxious. Put yourself strong and capable and (this is the important part) just slightly ahead of him in the walking order - that is, train him to heel - and you’ll have a much calmer, more relaxed dog, 'cause he knows you’ve got the security detail covered and he can chill until you need backup.
All of my dogs continued to bark their alarm bark even from the crate. Their ears are so much more sensitive than ours, it doesn’t really matter much if they’re behind bars or roaming free, unless the crate is in the deepest quietest corner of your dungeon or something. Most dogs bark when they hear something unfamiliar, they’re not relying on their eyes too much.
Our dog is about four years old, and we still have her in the crate at night, because we just can’t trust her on her own at night. She chews everything in sight, bugs the cats, and generally gets into trouble.
He definitely has his share of anxiety, which comes out when people try to leave. It’s something we’ve been working on for awhile.
Mine does not though. It’s only within the last few months that he’s even bothered to bark when he actually sees someone approaching the house (he’s always been curious enough to go investigate though). If he’s free, he’ll go look out the window to investigate a noise, and will bark if he sees something. If he’s locked in, he’s unable to investigate, so the second step never happens.
Good idea. I’ll try this tonight. Or, perhaps I can set his crate up with one of those 70s style shell and bead string curtains.
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