Saying goodbye to the crate?

[harleychik66]

Alright, so I'm thinking (hoping) that in two weeks when Lou sees the vet he will be off of restrictions.

This of course means he will be able to come upstairs with us including bedtime.

I got to thinking about this and here are my concerns. Lou loves his crate. About 50% of the time he will choose to go in it to take a nap. I'm sure it has become his own little haven.

Any dogs I've had in the past, have never been fond of their crates so when the time comes that they are trustworthy, taking down the crate has never been an issue.

Boppy will always ( I think) be crated when were gone due to SA and again no issue as she loves her crate. Dude has free run ( except the basement) when we're gone.

Since Lou's crate takes up about a quarter of our dining room, I can't wait to either take it down or move it upstairs.

Bop's crate is in one of the upstairs bedrooms where Todd has his computer ect ect. I'm considering putting Lou's crate in the other spare bedroom which has a futon, table (for my puzzles) armoire and bookshelves galore.

I am not at all concerned about Lou being trustworthy in the house. He is not destructive in any way shape or form. His previous owner also stated that he was never crated at her house. My concern is if I remove his crate completely or move it to another room, will he feel he has lost some security? Now I know( as most of you do too) that Lou is a totally confident dog and rolls with everything. But I still want to consider what may go through his mind.

I'm considering setting the crate up in the spare room. When we leave, Lou would be put in the room with the door shut. He would not be crated but would be able to go in and sleep in there if he wanted. After this new transition I would leave the crate but possibly allow him full house access. This way again he would still have his comfort zone if he needed it. After this period, I was then considering doing away with his crate completely. Will the moving of his crate location stress him out?

Keep in mind I've never seen this boy stressed. So he doesn't go in his crate to get away ( at least not that I see) only because it's what he is asked to do at bedtime and when we're gone. I genuinely think he likes it.........but who knows.

Am I over thinking this? He's been through so much and I know when he's allowed full house access he will be over the moon with joy that he can finally be everywhere we are all the time.

I just want to keep him happy. Any thoughts, suggestions.

Thanks you guys. I appreciate it.

Shawn

[AngelBunny]

I've moved the crates of foster boys to different rooms around the house for various reasons (room was being painted, for instance). Once the dog got used to the crate being in room B instead of room A, the dog was fine. It didn't take the dog very long to understand the crate was moved.

Since Lou is stable, I don't think he'll miss a beat when his crate is moved.

[jlaack]

I would move but keep the crate. I like having a spot where my dogs absolutely positively know is there own. When I come home that is almost always where my dog is, its his spot. We also move the kennel around the house at times and that doesn't bother him but I think he would miss it if it were gone totally. We even take it on vacation which provides a ton of security in an unfamiliar setting.

[brookwood]

I set up the crate again for Cira after her surgery. I wanted to make sure she didn't try the chairs and she thinks she owns the couch so it kept her from climbing. She really loves having a crate again so I will keep it out. At about 10 pm she gets in it automatically- has to have her beauty rest you know!

Lou might still like his crate, but move it if it will give you some more space - you deserve it!

[amontague]

I've never found a dog that loves his/her crate to get stressed if it's moved, as long as he can still get to it when he feels like it. I have seen a crate-loving dog get *very* stressed out if the crate suddenly disappears. This was a dog with a much more fragile personality than Lou. Still, if Lou loves his crate, it would probably be nice for him to have access to it, even though he's trustworthy in the house. I don't think moving it would cause him distress, but try the move when you're going to be home anyway and see how he likes it.

[MarieM]

I know Ellie would miss her crate as she goes in it quite often just to take a nap (or when I'm not home) - Tex will go in his to take a nap if he is not sleeping on 'his' chair. I wouldn't think it wouldn't bother Lou if you moved his crate somewhere else as long as he knows where it is!

Boy, I bet guys (and Lou) can't wait for the restrictions to lift. My first rottie had acl surgery but I can't remember the strict restrictions (that was around 10 years ago) but then again, I only had 1 dog - I can't imagine doing that now with Tex or Ellie but you've got to do what you've got to do!

[OWQ]

My Betsy (at the Bridge) loved crates so much that she thought it was great fun to go to Pet Smart and try out the crates! I could put one anywhere in the house and she would find it and happily settle in. The only thing that would have stressed her out would have been eliminating the crate all together.

[harleychik66]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. When the time comes we will be moving Lou's crate upstairs.