Crating Time Question

[Guest gecko_foot]

While I understand that there are dogs that really find safety and comfort in their crates, I tend to wish that folks would at least try to wean there dogs away from it, or at least leave the crate door open so the dogs can use it at will.

 

I have tried that before, and my dog howled, barked, and generally made a racket for a good 15-20 minutes. He also jumped the baby gate (at least 3 ft off the ground) twice. When I put him back in his crate, he whined but didn't make the awful ruckus like before. My dog is also the type to shred things when he's frustrated, and I have no doubt that he would be able to shred blankets, etc. even with a muzzle on. I would love to leave him out of his crate while I'm gone, but I don't want to be evicted because of my dog's noise or pay for an avoidable surgery because my dog decided to eat a blanket.

[Guest lasharp1209]

Ours is a chewer and general mischief-maker. He LOVES his crate, and HATES the muzzle. We have tried leaving him babygated in a room and he chewed the gate to bits, along with part of the door. So we weighed the options, either give him muzzled freedom, or crate him while we're gone. The latter works best for him and is much less traumatic. Yes, bottom line - it really depends on the dog and what works best for them and you.

[Guest tammy]

Thanks for the replies everyone - and we understand that there are mixed feelings on the question. The main focus for the question was to see if there was anything intrinsically wrong with the notion - but if it varies from dog to dog we may just have to try it out and see how it goes.

 

We keep an internet cam on him all day for observation since he is new to us (checked every half hour if not more) and he is usually sleeping in his crate. The radio is on and he is not in distress at all.

 

In fact he is most upset right after leaving from the mid day walk - then he will howl and bark for the next hour until he goes back to sleep. Which is why we have reluctance in hiring a dog walker.

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[Guest tammy]

i am also a 1st time new owner. my dog was crated in her foster home. she was left for about 9 hrs in a crate w/no problems. i personally do not like crates unless necessary. chewing, other dogs in the house etc. i am gone 9hrs a day also. she is left w/ run of the house. i also only leave a small amt of food and water. (which is usually still there when i get home) she likes to eat and drink as soon as i get home. in 3 mos she has never chewed or went potty in the house. i do make sure each time i leave for work that she pees and poops before i leave. maybe i am just lucky. i did felt better about having to do this since the foster said she was used to holding it that long. big d

 

 

 

 

 

big dogs can usually hold it that long. i'm glad i don't have to leave her any longer than that. also i am lucky that it is only 3 days a week. i'm sure all dogs r different. good luck. work out what works best for u and your dog. don't let people make u feel bad for having to work! lots of people work full time and r great dog owners.

[Guest BostonDan]

Volcano,

 

We do the internet cam thing to which is great. this subject does tend to get a lot of different feelings, and it is hard when you work full time. When we first adopted our GH we crated her for short periods of time. We were lucky that one of us worked from home most of the time duringt he adoption, but we knew it would not be forever. So we trained her more and more time.

I go home at lunch for a walk with her, but she has been in the crate for 8 hours. Her crate is huge, she can stand up in there, walk around etc. She mainly sleeps, watches TV, and plays with her favorite toys (mainly her kong). We did build her into a routine. I do prefer to come home in the middle of the day and take her out for a long walk or a run, but there are times when I can't do this, though we watch her like a hawk from the security webcam, which we can hear her as well as see her.

I found that when I do not crate her and leave to run down the road, she tends to grab a few toys one at a time bringing them to her crate, then grabs a pillow off the couch and lays down in her crate bed playing with her toys. That camera is a great way to see how your GH(s) are doing and what they do when your not there.