Crating your dog...forever?

[Sportyj]

Do some of you crate your dogs for their entire lives? My female is a year now and I trust her completely to be left alone in the house I just think she feels so much safer and more secure in her crate. When I leave her out to even go to my car she sits at the front window with a look of panic but will go to her crate with tail wagging, like "okay nap time!' I do not think I will ever feel the need to leave her out. She is crated 6 hours a day during the week while at work, we have had her since 12 weeks. Seems like most people crate for a short time and then give them free run, should I do that?

**HA HA that title sounds cruel! I DO NOT mean I want to leave my dog in her crate HER WHOLE LIFE!!! :p**

[frontierrots]

99% of all the dogs I've owned in my adult life are crated when I am not home for reasons that all revolve around their safety

[Brooke&Ryan]

It just depends on the dog & your level of comfort. Julius was completely reliable around the house at about 1.5 years of age. We still have his wire crate in the mud room & half the time he is in there (by choice). If he was a chewer, I would have NO problem keeping him crated on a daily basis while we weren't there.

It just depends on the dog & your living situation.

[Sportyj]

Thanks, I was just unsure if crating was only supposed to be a short term thing. I am very happy with it and really do not feel the need to let her have free roam. Our home is safe, and she is not a chewer, but I like the idea of knowing where she is and what she has access to while I am away.

[2rotties2luv]

If there is a fire or other emergency, the firefighters can just pick up the whole crate to rescue your dog. Much easier than trying to find and capture a loose and frightened large dog. All three of my rotties were crated for safety reasons when I was not at home for their whole lives. They liked their crates and were calm and relaxed when crated - and I was calm and relaxed not having to worry what they might be getting into!

[trackermom]

All of mine do not need to be crated but one absolutely must for her own saftey. She has already jumped through 2 windows in her lifetime. (once when left uncrated and the 2nd time when she played hudini out of her crate) She now has a very thick drop pin metal crate, that is zip tied all over the place. I find it easier with a multi dog household that all are crated, that way I know where they are, what they are doing. So yes, for me it comes down to saftey as well.

[LynnS]

Our girl is rarely crated at home anymore but she is always crated in the Van, at shows, training etc...

[Storm]

it all revolves around situation, and providing a secure contained facility whenever you are not able to be with the dog.

[Anne]

I don't crate my dogs at all though I did crate train them as young pups. I have crates here and the doors are always open if the dogs want to go in.

My property is secure and they have 24/7 access to outdoors. They don't chew anything in the house so I don't see any need to keep them crated.

I just can't get my head around a dog being locked in a cage for 10 hours per day and then again for another 8 hours at night.

[poohbearsmom]

Each of my dogs have crates of their own. More often than not, when things are quiet around the house, the dogs choose to be in their crates to rest. It is a place each dog can call 'their own'.

As with Diane, when we're not at home, most of the dogs are crated for their own safety, as we have a very large window facing the road. We will leave one dog 'loose', but more often than not, if the dog isn't sleeping by the front door, we'll find it inside it's own crate when we get home.

We do have one girl who is definitely NOT a good candidate for being left loose in the house without parental supervision... ever. She is much more comfortable in her crate unless she's being engaged in training or play. She would be the one to go through the front window after a squirrel, a neighbor's cat, or someone walking down the street, a butterfly.....

[Storm]

Originally Posted by Anne

I just can't get my head around a dog being locked in a cage for 10 hours per day and then again for another 8 hours at night.

...................I guess if people get a dog and their environment isn't really conducive to it being safely contained then crated is a better option then in the streets etc. But sure not the ideal circumstances!

[trackermom]

Originally Posted by Anne

I just can't get my head around a dog being locked in a cage for 10 hours per day and then again for another 8 hours at night.

I guess that is where my situation is different, I do not feel bad about my dogs being crated while i'm gone, as the most they are in a crate is 5hours a day and that is rare. I'm home all day, work in the evening for a few hours and none of my dogs sleep in their crates at night but in my bedroom.

[Mojave's Mom]

All four of ours have crates and all four are crated when we leave the house. Our schedules don't keep us away for long periods or time so the longest they are crated is just a few hours. At night the two youngest get their room with a baby gate up and our two oldest get the rest of the house. The crates have made it not only possible to handle four dogs properly, but also keeps our boys from killing each other, keeps them quiet when we have guests who don't appreciate dogs, and makes for traveling with and WITHOUT them a heck of a lot easier.

We've found they will actually put themselves to sleep when they are tired by running into their crates and lying down even with the door wide open. I have never bought the "dogs hate to be caged" theory as I believe it is a very positive thing to give dogs a place of their own. Proper use of the crate is ANYTHING but cruel.

I feel no guilt for crating as long as we have and won't change a thing. And our oldest is 12.5 years old.

[Ayoka]

Since I got him, Bear has been crated when I am at work.

I did feel a bit bad about this until I was on disability leave for some time last winter. During that time I was home most of the time to supervise so Bear was out of the crate. Do you know what he did for a good 95% of the day!?!?! HE SLEPT! Or layed quietly on the floor or couch.

After that, I stopped feeling bad for him. He has a big kennel (he can lay down sideways and not touch the edges), with a nice soft bed (probably softer than the couch) and he is safe from the kitties and his own curiosity!

Of course the added bonus of being kennel trained is that he is safe and comfortable anywhere's as long as he is crated...Car, pet hotel, human hotel, flyball tournament.

I think I will continue to Kennel him at home while I am out because it does give me peace of mind knowing that I won't come home to a scene from National Lampoons Christmas!!!